Bitcoin Forum

I've got ~5Ghash going in my basement right now, and my inlaws are noticing scratchy throats, and light headed-ness.  When I'm in the laundry room for a few hours tinkering with the rigs, I feel a sore throat coming on.

What's going on!?

Can these mining rigs actually make us sick somehow?  I need some input from others doing 4-5 Ghash or more from their basements, can these affect air quality?

It seems it's pumping out lots of dry heat, which could be making the humidity levels low...any thoughts?

Yes, they are definitely de-humidifiers, 5GHash/sec is about the equivalent of running an 8500BTU furnace 24/7.

It is also possible that if you hvae all new parts in your rigs that there is some offgassing from the evil chinese parts as you are taking them fresh from their chemical vats and running them at high temps. If you can get ventilation going that would probably not be a bad idea. I don't have any specific data unfortunately, but there certainly are some potential issues with electronics + high heat + low air flow.

If they are not shielded/boxed you might get a lot of electrosmog, which is unhealthy  :(

Here's the key question.  Why are your inlaws living in your basement? ;)  Not that I wouldn't like to put mine there as well...

or you have a mold problem you never noticed before.

Various volatile thinners and cleaners are used during the manufacture of computer components.  As your computer gear gets warmer it tends to outgas these chemicals and hence may be polluting the air.  I don't know if ozone production is a problem with power supplies, like it is with photocopiers and laser printers.  Ozone is a known irritant.