Bitcoin Forum

Outdoor Bitcoin/Litecoin mining package:

• SolarMiner box with 16 USB 2.0 ports connected to Raspberry Pi B, 4GB SSD
• Three Monocrystalline Solar Panels, Batteries of 60,000mAh in total.
• Ethernet cable and in-box WiFi dongle.

https://i.imgur.com/HuPJI86.jpg

Compatible ASIC Devices:

• Block Erupter USB 334MH/s
• Bi•Fury 5+ GH/s
• RedFury 2.7GH/s
• BlueFury 2.7GH/s
• NanoFury 2.5GH/s
• TerraHash 4.5 GH/s Modular
• If you have a device that can be powered by USB 2.0 standard, we are glad to list your device in here

https://i.imgur.com/miZCaxS.jpg

Compatible FPGA Devices:

• Xilinx Spartan-6
• ZTEX USB-FPGA 1.15x
• Icarus
• If you have a device that can be powered by USB 2.0 standard, we are glad to list your device in here

Machine Specs:

• Mainboard: Raspberry Pi B with 4GB SD card
• USB Ports: 16 USB 2.0 Ports connected to Pi.
• Connections: Ethernet socket, in-box WiFi dongle
• Batteries: Total of 60,000mAh
• Solar Panels: 3 Monocrystalline Solar Panels, 5 Amp (peak)

https://i.imgur.com/TewybXj.jpg

What is the fastest mining speed this can power?

It depends on the mining device you plugged in. There are total of 16 USB 2.0 ports, 14 of them with power of 5V 500mA by default (max current can draw is 0.75A each, and that will limit the currents in other USB ports), and 2 of them to power cooling devices in 5V 300mA each.

With 14 of the BlueFury/RedFury 2.7GH/s USB miners, you are getting around 37GH/s. When sunlight is not available at night, you could continue mining by changing the power supply to wall sockets, giving you a 24 hours continuous mining every day.

Who are we?

Located in Ottawa, Canada is the leader of solar-crypto-currencies power manufacturer. SolarMiner is the only manufacturer in PV manufacturing and power managements dedicated to Bitcoin/Litecoin minings as well as other potential crypto-currencies.

Our mission is to turn crypto-currency mining into an affordable and sustainable green economy for everyone to be able to contribute, and benefit from mining! We are also building a stronger community not only to serve our customers but also for people to exchange ideas and solutions.

Let us be your most trusted partner and let us change the world together!


So, what's the price?

Price is initially set to $899.95 USD + tax, payable by Paypal and credit cards and will be ready for order soon in January 2014. For early bird buyers, there will be an $100 USD discount, so $799.95 USD + tax.


If you are interested, let me know, we are setting up official website with details in January, and you will be able to purchase the device direct from our website, by phone or from one of our resellers.

I'm interested and watching.

watching. just wondering how long your batteries last before needing new ones. thanks.

Each battery can last for about 1~2 year before it really needs to be replaced.

Batteries are lithium iron phosphate (LFP) ones. In case of no sunlight is available, batteries can last for about 6 hours. Solar panels are designed to make sure the charging current is higher than LOAD consumption.  Each solar panel generates 5A (peak), and there are three of those solar panels generating a maximum of 15A.

Is there an automatic mains failover implemented, or will you have to plug it in every night? A simple low-light/low-batt detector that kicks on a wall charger input to maintain power shouldn't be too hard to include - couple Schmitt triggers and a relay or something.

Is the solar input bus proprietary, or can it be expanded readily by the user with different and/or additional panels?

This is a really nice idea,how about another set of solar panels to charge the battery untill it runs out

This device is only worthwhile if you live in a hot country

wow that so cool and inovative + cuts down your electricity bill, interested to watch this run.

Is that at 12 volts, so 180 watts peak output?

Not so if you live in cloudy northern Europe like I do. Now if there was a wind-powered miner, maybe that would be worth considering.

Or a drizzle powered one

So an overpriced solar panel with overpriced li-phos batteries that will only last two years and a nifty looking USB hub? Really people if you want a solar powered USB hub you can slap one together with ease. You can buy solar panels with charge controllers for less than $1 per watt now, get some car batteries and a power inverter and use any gear you want. What's the situation where someone needs this and it save them any money over a power bill? Stuffed full of the most power hungry USB asics, it will barely operate, the batteries wouldn't last through the evening so it needs to be plugged in...

So, I can buy this for 800 and save a maximum of 25 a year on electricity, then have to replace the battery after 2 years, while I am still -750. There is no way that this could ever be economical.

And also, I loose 10-12 hrs per day of mining(no sunlight)  Does this product make sense to anyone??

Thats why you have multiple solar panels charging batteries,so you can cover the 24/7 cycle. but this will not work in the winter season for sure,i have 3x 7 volt solar panels and i can barely charge my mobile phone right now.

You won't lose your mining hours. Batteries are large enough to power the FULL mining continuously even without solar panels, before batteries are running out, before you rest in midnight, plug it into the wall for the rest of midnight hours.

Please bear in mind that this device is not for replacing your normal power supply completely, it's been designed to reduce your electricity cost to the minimum so that you are more likely to make a profit from mining.

They already said the batteries won't last through the night anyways, and they have a two year lifespan. If you want to do something beneficial, spend the $1000 improving the efficiency of your home, buy more energy efficient appliances, insulation.... hell, you could make a significant start on a real solar system for that kind of money with the price of solar equipment these days. 

Here, I'll help. You can get everything you need for a great solar installation at this website. They have pretty much the best prices online. They have a nice little selection of windmills if that is your tilt...

http://www.solarblvd.com/

So, do some math for us, I don't want to waste my time on it. How much do you think this will save anyone in a year of constant use. Account for daylight hours, panel efficiency, battery life, base your consumption numbers on real products. Don't worry about geolocation, but don't lie about how much power will still need to be used on grid. Give us the real numbers.

So.....Every day I have to unplug it when the battery goes dead and plug it into the wall..convenient.


also at maximum production this will only make $25 per year in electricity, with an 900 dollar price tag and two year battery life how is that going to save me money? Even if the battery lasted forever it would take 36 years to break even, and the lifespan of most solar panels is only 25years

Absolutely, upgrade your windows, furnace or a/c.  Blow some more insulation up in your attic.  All of these items will save wayy more energy.

I encourage you to do it, replace your roof with those big panels and paying huge moneys just to fix it later on. change your windows that far more than what the machine cost you.

For what? you really want to turn over your house, risking your HOME to leaking, damaging with huge investment just for Bitcoin mining?

No offense, but we are here to offer people a great product, we are here to contribute with our hard works and heart.

Really, because it seems you are trying to play on peoples ignorance to sell them a product that will never break even.

Ahh, now the negativity comes out. Sorry buddy, but the repairs and upgrades I listed will save someone far more money than your box ever will. blah blah paying huge money to fix later on? vs paying huge money for no benefit with your solar usb charger? ha.

No Deal for me. Reason: No actual mining hardware. We need tech-guys to fill the USB-Miner gap asap!

This statement is ridiculous.. Are you honestly telling me I am going to save money by buying a $1000 dollar usb hub that will allow me to save on electricity half the time? So basically cutting my electricity cost down from $20/year to $10/year (assuming sunlight 12hrs every day). ROI is ~100 years for this device no matter the hashrate. Why would anyone who is seriously concerned about efficiency spend it on this novelty instead of buying extra hashing power.

If nothing else, it's a start. It's a step in a good direction; the first step is never very efficient or cost-effective but if folks run with it the next steps will get progressively better. Same thing we've seen with GPU/FPGA/ASIC; someone puts up the effort to do it once and folks decide to keep doing it and get better at it because someone else wants it.

Solar panels are not new technology

Yeah, not by a long shot. But has anyone else put out an integrated product geared toward mining? I haven't seen it.

There should be units in the future that will have more hash using less power so they could eventually roi but if going solar it would be wise to spend a little more and get a grid tie system.

The cost of batteries will kill any saving that you make from solar.

If there are more efficient asics in the future then why use this at all? You can get a shitload of electricity for $1000.

I didnt say you should get it. Solar will roi long tern anyway unless someone invents free energy.

Who is mining with a $20/year electricity bill?!

Definitely works here in Malaysia. Looking forward to the whole packing + pricing details.

Tesla did it:
http://teslafreeenergygenerator.com/

I hope youre joking

Can we have more pictures, and maybe an example set up?

Someone news about this product?

More pictures:
This is a set up using cellphone as wireless spot:
14 Antminer U1 miners mine around 22GH/s FREE of Wall Power.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-o3GYWX5X-n4/UyBRjUlsiXI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/-qNO-6w7bZI/w913-h685-no/DSCF0868.JPG
https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-W-0pIjgWJ3g/UyBRmNtQn1I/AAAAAAAAAEY/eLRm_ihOJhU/w913-h685-no/DSCF0844.JPG
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-ta3DzdPeNtM/UyBetDODqHI/AAAAAAAAAFU/9GVQ_l-si_A/w856-h642-no/DSCF0864.JPG

Antminers + Raspberry pi, ~40W @ 5vdc. Assume you use a crappy power supply that pulls 50W from the wall. Assume you have expensive electricity ($0.35/KWh) It would take 5.87 years for ROI on this device. (IE it would cost you the same as buying the power from a utility)

I commend you for going through the effort of designing these machines, but buyers will be restricted for those that may want to dabble with solar energy, not expect any real power savings.

Also are those solar panels epoxy encapsulated? Looks like they're plastic and leather.

Note: I have about 2,000 watts of solar on one shed and 900 watts on the other. They're finally putting out power now that spring is coming and I'm moving about 3,000 watts worth of miners out into the shed.

This is enough to balance out the load of 850gh of hashing power while the sun is shining right on the panels, maybe 4 hours a day. That's it. Going 24 hours it would barely cover 100gh with batteries supporting the load.

What you really need to do is this:

Find an abandoned dam
Enter it with a penstock turbine, miners, and a cell phone
Set everything up
Leave

The cell phone would provide the internet, and so forth. That would work.

C

One would be better off installing proper solar panels on the roof, if one can afford it, and use it to power your mining rig. Batteries would need to be deep cycle marine batteries as they last longer. Any surplus energy can be fed back into the grid or used to heat up water.

Honest answer: I had them on my roof. 1800 watts of Siemens 75 watt single crystaline panels. With some shading around here I was pulling about 8-10kw a day. Not bad, but cute.

7 years later there was a hole in the roof shingles. Granted they were older, but it turned out that leaves had gotten under the panels in one spot and the acid in them burned a hole in my shingles. Cost $1,200 to have the panels taken off the roof (and a LOT of calls, the installers had long since gone and no one wanted to do it) and with the new roof on I figured "screw this, put them on the shed".

So they're all grid-tied right now, although the install does not meet NEC 2010 so it's somewhat renegade although the SB1800 and dual SB700's are fully certified for grid isolation and all that. So I can't put power back into the grid. But I can run my miners on the shed as long as they consume more than the panels can generate. So there you go.

C

If the price will be within my limit, it sure is interesting! ;)

This is very interesting. I'll be watching this thread to see where this goes. Cool idea lightfoot. Keep at it.

Really interesting device.  But in the UK... probably not enough sunshine.

The price is around $900 and it sounds expensive

It's not within my budget, and electricity is quite cheap here in my town

But I'd still think it's a nice project. Hope that there will be a price cut later so that I may give it a try

At least his batteries will last two years.  A car battery won't last 2 months in a deep cycle application.  12v inverters generally suck for efficiency.

I don't argue your main point that it looks a bit overpriced for what it delivers but hey, people will pay for a Prius to increase their carbon footprint while telling themselves they are helping it, so why not this product.  And besides, you clearly don't understand any of the engineering issues you need to solve to run a solar powered rig.

Now, ifen you had said "golf cart batteries" it woulda shown that you a) know the difference between starting batteries and deep cycle batteries and b) know the cheapest deep cycle battery on the planet.  Bonus points woulda been given if you mentioned the need to provide ventilation and store them away from fire or flame.

Car batteries would work as long as you don't discharge them more than 10-15%.  I really want to get my hands on one of those ~300v prius batteries.

Also, Hydrogen in closed spaces is awesome, where is your sense of adventure?

You'll lose more money with down time - trying to get this shit work 24/7 (night time is a huge issue here) - than you would by paying for electricity.

Watching... Here's my situation: at night, my electricity is 10 cents a KWh. During the day, it varies between 15 and 30 cents. If I could cut the day shifts or even redistribute the load, I could save quite a bit. But $900 for just 37Gh sounds prohibitively expensive.

Have you built off grid solar systems? I have. I didn't make my post to give a detailed explanation of how to do it, I made it to point out that the system is garbage and overpriced. Besides, you clearly don't have a clue other than what you assume in reading posts on the internet. Don't be a dick.

Thanks for this post, gave me a good chuckle.  Great DIY project but I can't see any reason to ever purchase such a device...

The entire package includes three AC adapters to be used at night times.

More Photos,

The SOLARMINER USB package also comes with THREE custom AC chargers (not adapters) and THREE solar panel stands:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-c_rdsbW9utc/UyJ70k9YchI/AAAAAAAAAGY/XDbNgywwUdY/w913-h685-no/DSCF0849.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-0deezyanHjU/UyJ8OG_P83I/AAAAAAAAAGk/B3Fdb9PxdkQ/w913-h685-no/DSCF0865.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-imOyUsr1tiw/UyJ7u7qEcvI/AAAAAAAAAGQ/BCoSVJNhucs/w913-h685-no/DSCF0831.JPG

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-p733lWgOvs4/UyJ7bVkCjmI/AAAAAAAAAGI/TzvqP5filnU/w913-h685-no/DSCF0835.JPG

I also have done solar installs and can second Rick James.  This is overpriced garbage.  If you really want to help the environment, carbon footprint, reduce daytime peak usage, just buy a solar panel and a grid tie inverter(have it installed to code!) and be done with it. It will cost less and save more money.

Unless you are going to install enough solar panels to power your entire house, and most of the time not even then, there is almost no reason ever to use batteries on a solar installation!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/COMPLETE-Grid-Tie-SOLAR-SYSTEM-300W-400W-500W-600W-1KW-WATT-Solar-Panel-system-/261288775795?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item3cd6065073

Ok here you green guys go (that isn't an insult).  The 500watt kit costs 50 bucks more but will give you almost 7 times the power generation and has no batteries.

If there's no batteries, the extra power that can be saved in day time are wasted. Batteries are necessary, it keeps extra power to compensate in cloudy days and evenings. It's especially necessary for CONSTANT BITCOIN MINING RIG.

AND SOLARMINER use LFP batteries not the batteries used in cars! For those who are experts will know why.
For those who don't, here's the quotes from wikipedia:

I like your step towards energy efficient mining and as someone stated earlier the first step will not always be so efficient but I am sure that one day you will make a really good product. The machine seems good but I think that the solar panel is where the problems are. You can't really improve solar panels beyond the worlds best because then we would have be having less problems with power in general but I think that your device needs to be built in cheaper ways and also accept wind power or make a machine that plugs into it that creates a small dam.

I am not fully sure but suggesting some ideas because most/all great inventions in the world started with a great idea.

I am currently working on building a ASIC that is very power efficient like the other leading companies that are doing it. I will be willing to work with you to make sure that the ASICs that are on the machine also take less power so that your machine will be more efficient.

Does the product come with some USBs or some piece of miner when you order it or is that suppose to be bought already. If you don't have a specific USB to give them already I can supply you with some that will be aimed at letting this project to be supported but also just for general usage.

Good job  ;)

Thanks! Would you mind telling me what company you are and what ASIC project you are working on? We are talking to some of the major players in the market for cooperation and we always welcomes new and better ASIC providers to partner with.

For SOLARMINER, we all know solar energy fluctuates depending on condition of the day, but that doesn't mean there's no other ways to improve it. We design it to overcome these condition and utilize solar as much as possible. Save power at great times and use it at overcast and nights, The product comes with three Solar panels total of 150Watts and three Lithium iron battery AC Charger for night times.

Our R&D department is also developing an even efficient way to dramatically improve the solar panel conversion rate with our patented technology. I can't disclose much of it, the only thing I can say is that, we ARE CHANGE the world and we are trying to provide much better solar solutions.

Yes, But a sine synchronous inverter will utilize every bit of power that a panel makes, without using batteries that will eventually go bad.  The kit that I found on ebay and posted earlier will make 7times the electricity as your product, has no batteries that will ever go bad and only costs 50 bucks more.

Watching, this looks like it could be awesome...

Nice idea for mining.

Looking for solar powered USB Miner, watching this space :)

FYI my panels are generating about 4kw per day, fed to the grid next to the shed with 225gh of hashing power.

C

(IMO) unless you live off the grid...The only efficient way to power (supplement) mining is a grid tie system....

I have both a 7Kw grid tie system on my house and a ...1Kw Hybrid micro grid tie / off grid Battery backup system on my shed.....(my Solar generator)

Are you using MTTP to charge batterys????   Are the Panals in parallel or series????

From what I know about solar...you dont have enough panals....

Nice Setup tho......What would you do in a wind storm.......????

I get that there's a lot of negativity on here regarding this product but I am still curious and have some questions for solarminer.

What are the dimensions of the solar panels?

In your photos, the solar panels look like they would not do well getting wet regularly.  Are your solar panels built to maintain constant outdoor conditions, or just temporary?

Can you do custom orders, e.g. Can I buy without your solar panels, then connect my own?

Can the power source transition from solar/battery to mains automatically.  If not; could I leave the unit plugged into a mains connected timer (set to deliver power to the device only during some nighttime hours)?

Looking forward to see it working.

There is alot of negativity about these because we understand solar power and realize that this product is an absolute waste of money.

Off Grid Solar and mining do not go together...There is no savings do to the fact that the solar equipment cost will always be way more then the mining equipment would produce in coins...For any mining equipment to work on an off grid setup you would need enough batterys to run 100%, 24 hour a day for 3 -5 days.( weather , storms , snow, clouds, seasons )..with out cycling the batterys more then 50% (deep cycle batterys)..Then be able to charge the batterys with in 5 hours of peak sunlight...with maximum power point tracking which produces the most efficient output...Deep cycle batterys are charges at 13-15 volts....most mining equipment runs at 12 volts or 5volts for USB devices. Step down voltage regulators are only 80% to 90% efficient at best and the amp hours required to charge the batterys would require 110% of the storage capacity daily...

Anyone wanting to Mine coins with solar should consider Micro-grid-tie systems..They require the least amount of cost do to the fact that they have no battery, The power grid is the battery , there for, 24 hour a day operation is able to be done ...

I am not a Electrical Engineer , Solar contractor , or Math wizard....

My rule of thumb is 100 watts of power usage for  24 hours a day requires 1000 watts of solar panals and 600 Amp hours of battery storage
If this formula was scaled to This system then maybe you would have a cool product...totally off grid...

Any Solar experts ..feel free to shoot holes in my work...

Hi repairguy,

Don't wanna offend you, but really, no battery? You are assuming the sunlight is always shining on you! LoL, better not embarrass yourself like that.

Negativity? From you?

If you really believe you were correct, go ahead and build your own and and we are glad to see your work and share with everyone.

Good luck buddy!

Hi Wyatt,

The dimensions of the solar are: Folded: 24.5x19.5 mm. Once opened: 970x485 mm

The solar panels are waterproof, but not regularly under raining condition.  If you got raining days, you should switch them to main power.

We do custom orders, you could only buy the box and connect your own solar panels as long as they are between 15V to 18V and under 80W each.

There's no automatic transition from solar to battery. You need to switch to the wall power manually, but don't worry, the machine will continue running even you unplug the solar panels for hours because of the batteries.



You could definitely use timers to switch solar and wall power.

Are you that stupid? You guys should really give up, as your inexperience in solar is making the whole thing a joke.
He said you don't need batteries because a grid tie system is the only way to go for 99% of the homes in this country. It's a waste of money to buy batteries instead of doing it right, but if get that your entire product idea is based on wasting as much money as possible.

You are selling some light use panels as a full time solution, where someone has to plug the batteries into the wall to charge, it's completely stupid.

Are you out of topic? I'm not talking about grid tie system, digging wholes on your roof, paying thousands of dollars to repair.

I'm talking about off grid, small solar systems that provides solar mining without costs and punching wholes on your roof!

Wtf is a wholes.

Your wildly overpriced systems are supposed to save people money? You already admit that the unit has to be plugged into household power at least part of a 24hr day, that the panels are not quality enough to remain outside in a permanent installation. Do you think people are mining part time with USB sticks  ? The math was already done, these won't save someone enough in power to offset the unit cost.

What is the benefit of running a solar powered fpga vs. asic?

May be it's free electricity?..  ;D

nice idea, but i think it could not be compared with ordinary miners..