Im looking into purchasing a Sun Nuclear monitor…
anyone use these? The price over all ends up around !$1,300 not trying to be cheap but I am on a budget any other options?
What is you demand for testing in your area? Can you payoff the expense within one year while maintaining your profit margin? It’s a business decision only you and your accountant can answer.
I sub all my Radon tests out and my tester uses 1028s and will soon be purchasing a few 1030s.
He is very happy with the machines & I am very happy with the way the reports look.
Jeffrey has a great point.
Add the monitors if it makes sense to do it. Will you make money? How much time will it take to pay off and how much time will you actually spend picking them up / dropping them off?
I have 5 1028’s. I bought 2 after inspecting for about 1 year. I have added as I needed them.
Year to date I have done about 97. I will do another 15 to 20 by the end of the year. Last year I did 100.
If you are going to add this service you might want to be at the higher end of the price range. If they book you for a home inspection they will have you do the radon test (if they want that) rather than scheduling with another vendor. Most inspectors here charge $100 - $125. I charge $150. Make it worth your time/investment.
Some guys sub this service out. I did this for a short time. I was also at the mercy of the person that I had do them. When she started missing agreed to times it made me look bad. That put an end to that!
I just took a look at your website. No offense but it needs some work. It took me awhile to find your contact information. How is a client going to find you? Your phone # needs to be larger and towards the top. Every page.
Mine needs some work also just so you know.
Thanks…you made a good point about the contact info ill fix it…lol
I have lost a couple of inspections because I didn’t do the radon test also…
So I’ve looked into subing them out. Like its already been said Im at the mercy of whom ever I use. Don’t like it at all.
Look around at the almost constant flow of CRM’s for sale on this MB, mostly by failed ex-members.
Think about why that is.
I have an Alpha 2 and a Canary, I offer a non EPA approved test on the Canary for $35.00, if the level is high we go with the Alpha for $150.00 and no charge for the Canary.
The Canary (Corentium Digital Electronic Radon Gas Monitor) has been tested to be accurate after a 1 or 2 hour test, just not approved for real estate deals.
Paid $199.00 for the unit, Inspector Outlet sells them also.
I was asked to do a stand alone radon test last week, I charge $150.00 but the agent would only go to $120.00 so I passed on that one.
Who was paying for it? The agent or the client?
If the client then he/she should have made the decision.
Can you imagine the money you would have to spend on monitoring equipment if you did two or three tests at day? Calibration and shipping costs? Use Air-Chek kits. I have for over 11 years. Never a problem. No costs of equipment ownership. Check out www.radon.com
Kits are about $10 each; use two for each test. Mail them in, get the results via email from the lab. Get them next day if you use overnight shipping. Many of my clients have said that getting radon results from a machine is concerning.
You have the cost of one kit listed. You use two kits, the cost of the second kit is another $10. The cost of the shipping is $20 (that’s what I was paying). That brings the cost up to $40. Then add your time and fuel cost to go the the overnight shipper. What is your time worth to drive to the shipper and stand in line $25, $50, $100? Now what is the cost of that test? :mrgreen:
Then factor in the additional day or possibly up to 4 or 5 days for the results. For instance: It’s Friday, you get to the post office / UPS after the cut off time for the next day shipping. Your package goes out on Saturday. It is received on Monday except it’s a holiday. Now it’s received on Tuesday. You might get results on Tuesday or possibly on Wednesday. WOW :roll: Impressive. But if that works for you then that is great.
Around here most people don’t have that kind of time to wait.
The client was paying but the agent was the one who would meet me. I have had other calls where the real state agent hires the inspector. Not unusual around here. The some of the agents cap the inspection fees.
I have many realtors that set up the inspection.
Some realtors will make the decision that I charge too much. I stand firm on my fee. They go with another inspector. I never hear from them again. I am a happy guy! 
The time slot will usually be filled with another inspection for the same amount I originally quoted or higher. I don’t want the Cheap Realtor to call me!:mrgreen:
This so conflicting to the mindsets I have been hearing which is…
Using the same kind of canisters that a home owner can buy at Home Depot is very unprofessional . Im not saying what you are doing is wrong and mean no offence but to me bringing in “machines” such as the Suns or Radlinks are the way to go.
My calibration cost is $150 per machine 5 total, the performance check required is also $150, but I only need to do one machine per year. License is $200/year, nrpp cert (required for my license) is I think $275 per year. I spend about $1500/year for radon testing. Plus 5 machines at about $1000 ea. I make at least $20K in radon each year. If I was using canisters its like $35-40 per test (lab fee and fed ex shipping) that’s $4500+ in cost per year not including license fees, just tests, plus every test has a ship time and waiting for results.
I had purchased a Sun 1030 this past spring/summer. Due to a humidity sensor error, I sent back for repair. After Sun having for over a month and not communicating properly I finally received my refund. (They stated they were fixing all the monitors not just mine)
I own 4 1027’s that have been reliable.
I was given some interesting information from another radon reference laboratory that they can calibrate the 1027 to a 5% error factory. Sun labs only calibrate to the 25% error factory. (As a tester this can make a big difference if the levels are close to 4.0.)
I will never give Sun Nuclear another dime. I was a reliable customer for years.
That’s BS Paul. You are the newbie, they know it, and are using you. I am 90 minutes South of you, serve the entire State, and never run into those issues. Set it straight before they totally own you!
Jeff. the agents can cap the fees but I have years of that from contracting. I just pass on the work.
On my 203K work a couple of lenders tried that with me and I don’t work with those banks. Sure I’m a new home inspector but I do the job and from what I can tell a lot better than the P2P franchise guy who I replaced with one agent.
The last 2 weeks I lost 3 jobs because my price was higher but then got lucky and picked up 3 jobs from a lender.
It does anger me a little that someone I don’t know is trying to set my fees. Not enough to ruin my day.
I have 2 1027’s and I have some professional canisters from RTCA for backups.
We don’t have a real serious issue with radon here so I don’t get asked for a test on every inspection.
If you buy a sun nuclear from the Radon Corp. of America you get a free calibration for the first year so thats essentially a 120.00 discount.