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Hi all,

I'm planning to build an outdoor mining rig. Basic idea is to use a waterproof garden storage box, equip it with fans for air in/out and perhaps include a dehumidifier. I live in a wet, maritime climate with generally cool summers and mild winters. The weather is fairly humid and there are considerable amounts of precipitation.

Any feedback on how to handle 1) fluctuating temperatures, 2) humidity and 3) dust? Well, I guess dust should not be a main concern if I use filters and a closed box.

I was thinking to just have the air inlets and outlets and some temperature and humidity sensors to get an idea of how 'box climate' evolves over time.

Any dos and don'ts?

I am a complete newbie, but plan to document the whole project step by step. See https://cryptocookbook.wordpress.com/2017/12/25/building-a-mining-rig/ (https://cryptocookbook.wordpress.com/2017/12/25/building-a-mining-rig/)

Cheers,
Marc

I would advise against this. It will be more costly and more dangerous in the long run. You will have computer equipment that are not in an enclosure, and if your protections fail against the elements then your investment goes down the drain.

You definitely have a point. However, the alternative is not building the rig (i live in an apartment with little space to spare). Not building is not an option.

I could find some alternative space somewhere in town perhaps, but it's an interesting challenge to build a rig that will run smoothly 24/7 and 365 days a year even though it runs outside. But sure... I may lose my investment if not done properly.

you do realize 24/7 and 365 days a year is impossible to achieve, there's always going to be some down time and I agree with other people I would advise against this kind of build simply because there's too many things that YOU have no control over and that could fail resulting in nothing less then the full loss of hardware, you have very little margin for error and if you think building a rig for outdoors is a feasible idea, I suggest you not get into mining until you have a better situation, not building the rig is a much better option than running the stupid risk of throwing hardware down the drain. its pretty much a no brainer on that one, btw unless you have lots of cash up front, good luck finding a location suitable for mining

I would not go outside with gear even if protected from dust if that wet condensation can get in and destroy your mining equipment.  Salt or regular water maritime climate you will need to separate it from your gear completely as even just a little can kill machines.

I know this is old gear at this point but it show's corrosion and what it does to miners - Old SP20 thread https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=521520.msg11018389#msg11018389

A single GPU rig doesnt take up much space, im sure you can find a quiet corner to tuck it in

This reminds me of the guy in Florida who has them on his back porch. Couldn't find the original thread but here's the youtube walk through

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-_9F8R_PFU

Thanks for the feedback guys!
I realize this is not the easiest of setups. I did find this post here on the forum: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76008.0 (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=76008.0)

Maybe I will run some tests with a waterproof box without the rig (but with a heat source) and measure how temperature and humidity evolve over time.

Haven't given up on the idea. Anyway, if you want to follow the disaster unfolding, you can look here: https://cryptocookbook.wordpress.com/2017/12/25/building-a-mining-rig/ (https://cryptocookbook.wordpress.com/2017/12/25/building-a-mining-rig/)  ;)

Just remember, if your farm turns off, condensation may fall on it. Do not turn it on immediately, put it into heat and dry it well.

the best is you can put your miners into a ventilated hole

Thx, that's a good piece of advice.


I'm actually planning for 5 GPU's, with space for more. But yeah, my first step is to get the rig running...indoor that is.

This is a two-phased project:
1) Get a 5 GPU rig running efficiently (indoor)
2) Have the rig running reliably outside

Step 2 is the most tricky and really about thermal/humidity control. I don't want to spend too much on it and if it is not doable, I will find an indoor solution.

Perhaps you could add salt to your installation to counter te humidity, this is what I used to do to store oven-dried concrete specimens during my master's project.

There are frequent down-times, I have a mining rig consisting of 2x6 1070 GTX and I am lucky if I get 7 days in a row up-time.

Can't your work provide you a storage closet?

Thx, I also thought of using salt to counter humidity. From what I have read, it should be quite effective. And yeah I know I won't be able to have a 100% up-time. Maybe 90%-95% if I'm lucky.

I'm sure I can find some space to run the rig indoor. Either at work, a friend's place or somewhere else. I'm not quite giving up the outdoor project just yet, as it has some interesting challenges.

Will keep you posted.

First, you need to have it in some sort of a container - this will reducte dust and ensure protection from outdoor enviroment (water, bugs etc). Of course the level of protection depends on the material used. Second, you need good ventilation. This is a must for rigs in all enviroments, so a no brainer. Third, remember that condensations occurs on an object with lower temperature than the air. So as long as your rig is running it's ok because GPUs will probably be at least 50 degrees. Motherboard might be at risk here however. Having that in mind power outtages will be a problem, so prepare. So you must set the rig BIOS to power on when energy is restored (and have a miner open at startup). And if rig was off for a long time and some condesation occured you have to dry it out inside before running it (better safe than sorry). Of course the question is how safe you want to be? I'm running my rig in enviroment with around 60% humidity but I get anxious when it goes above 70%  ::)