Bitcoin Forum

I have access to free electricity (limited but enough to run a few rigs) and was wondering what the best way to start mining would be - like which rigs to buy to maximize hashrate? Any suggestions about setting up a solo operation or joining a pool (more likely it seems) would be welcome - I am new to mining and am doing some research but information seems to become obsolete as fast as I read it!
Thanks

sp20's, s2's, s4's, s5's, and s7's will be the cheapest to purchase and are viable with free electricity

sp30's, sp31's and sp35's require 205v power to run properly but you might also be able to purchase them at a decent price.

the sp30's, sp31's, sp35's, s2's and s4's will come with their own power supplies.

How much power/room do you have?

How is the ventilation?

okay free power is good but how much free power?  3.5kwatts?  24/7/365  is about 2 20 amp  120 volt circuits.

A good starting miner for you would be an s7ln modded by sidehack.

I have shameless self interest as I have one I could sell to you.

My miner does 2th at 440 watts and is really quiet.

It would be a good miner to start to learn the game with.

since you are a free power guy look for s7's not s9's

s7's are more reliable and less costly then s9's  they are loud as are s9's


this is the thread on the modified s7ln

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1509068.0

it is the last truly quiet miner that has a good price.


https://www.bitmaintech.com/   all s9s are sold as is the r4


https://bitmainwarranty.com/shop/products/us/antminer-s7-4-73ths-2-fan-used/  This  legit seller has used s7 in stock

https://bitmainwarranty.com/shop/products/us/apw3-12-1600/   power supply in stock

A huge issue people don't often realise is the fact that ventilation is very important to the efficiency and lifetime of miners. You'll need a well-cooled room that has ventilation; I use my basement because of its coolness and also the fact that it's pretty quiet when I put my S5s and S3's there. Everybody else has miners covered, but you'll need to watch how much electricity you can use as well- you may very well have pretty low limits.

Generally, aim for obsolete units that provide good hashrate; if you're genuinely unsure if you want to do this, a used S1 on free electricity can be a good learning experience; you won't earn much, even with free electricity, but it works.

In your situation, it seems like your biggest constraint would be power.
Even if your electricity is free, you won't be able to plug any miner you want on a 120V plug.

Some people with low hash rates like myself set their miners to solo mine. I don't expect to gain anything from them, but even in a pool I wouldn't be doing any significant gains.
However, it's much simpler to use a pool which also smooths the variance on your gains.

In order to maximize hashrates we would need to know how much free power you have? You say limited, how limited would determine what miners you could run. How many amps available? 120v or 240v?

Also sound/area/cooling also matters aswell.  A lot of these "free electricity" places are apartment's (not all but a lot) and there is limited space so you need to keep in mind mining makes heat and some miners/psu's are loud.  So there is a lot to factor in besides just electricity.

I would advise starting with 1 miner see how it goes and then moving up.   Some jump in with to many nothing stinks more then dealing with cooling problems, or not having enough electricity.