Sub freezing outside temps, S9 garage extended use?

[Jinx3825]

Please note this is for only one(1) S9

So I’ve hired an electrician to come wire a 220 to my garage tomorrow but I’m having second thoughts. Could running a S9 in below freezing temperates for extended use cause harm? Let me elaborate. I was debating on to put mine in the garage, considering it’s winter. Everybody always runs AC to them but never this cold. I live in MO so it rarely if ever goes subzero. Im thinking that it would only increasing cooling because the machine produces such a tremendous amount of heat as it is. Eventually the room would reach a maximum temperate but I’m unsure of what it would be. Also might I add this is only a one car ranch garage. I’m unsure of the square footage, I’d say maybe 15x15x30 with open attic access. I live in Missouri as stated so the weather it’s very unpredictable. The main thing I’m worried about is humidity. Not really rain. Think as how long and how much it takes for a cold glass of water to have water drops outside the glass. That is condensation of said humidity. This is what worries me. The head from the S9 and the cold from the garage. This small of a garage has me thinking it will warm to a somewhat decent level but I do not know. My weather app has local weather for this week as follows:

Day - high - low

Tuesday-43-37
W-58-52
Th-57-19
F-30-19
S-25-9
Su-22-13
M-26-12

Any help would be helpful as he is scheduled for 9am Wednesday morning. Thank you!

[MinerMEDIC]

Besides winter being inherently dry, your miner would have to be colder then the ambient air for water to condense on it and cause a short (and miners are most definitely hotter not colder).

Did I hear someone mention that the cold might affect operation due to a physical design flaw? Solution: turn it on immediately after letting it warm up in the house.

[Jinx3825]

So do you think I’ll be fine then? As long as the unit is warm prior to booting? Also I might add I was planning on pre heating the garage before initial start up.

[lrowland21093]

The S9 has trouble starting when it is below about -5°C.  I had to bring my S9 inside to warm it up before it would startup.
Once it is running, it does well with the cold air as long as it is dry.

Side note:  Did not have this problem with the Avalon 741s - they always start right up.

[unholycactus]

Manufacturer recommends between 0 and 40 Celcius.
Doubt you'll run into any problems.

[Jinx3825]

Thank you!

[fanatic26]

The miners have a built in warm up cycle to get things up to temp before hashing so you should be fine. Also I have restarted an entire datacenter full of s9s after a power shutdown where the ambient temperature was about 15 degrees with no issues.

[Flying Hellfish]

Think as how long and how much it takes for a cold glass of water to have water drops outside the glass. That is condensation of said humidity. This is what worries me. The head from the S9 and the cold from the garage.

You're doin it wrong mate!  you don't have a cold miner in hot conditions (like a cold glass of water on a warm day).  You have a hot miner in cold conditions, more like a hot cup of coffee on a cold day.  Ever seen condensation on a coffee cup in the winter???

As long as they are on and producing heat condensation will not be an issue.

[IanWorthington]

Not a silly question.

I can't speak to the S9, but standard PC components (non-MILspec) are not speced for very low temperatures.  There's also the issue of any dampness on the board freezing and causing physical damage. We had to get some heating for a server exposed to a CT winter.

I think I would want to heat it the room slowly before I started it up, then check the exhaust was maintaining the correct working temperature in the space.

[jackacelives]

My miners are in my garage, we had crazy arctic weather the last couple weeks and the machines loved it. ran without a single hiccup and chips stayed in the 50-60* range. The garage is sealed of course, but I leave the side door open about 1/8th of the way to give a very gradual balance of fresh air. They are about 15 feet from the door so they are safe from the elements

just run them!

[Jinx3825]

I think I would want to heat it the room slowly before I started it up, then check the exhaust was maintaining the correct working temperature in the space.

That’s the plan. I have a concern though. Original plan was to use my propane heater. Usually more effective than electric space heaters for example. I don’t see why but would the propane fumes cause harm to the machine? My other option is the space heaters. I HIGHLY doubt they will even put a dent in the temperature though. Keep in mind the heater is only for INITIAL startup. A heater will NOT be on upon machine boot.

[m3hm3t]

I have like this issue; I have a cold storage "2m x 3m" in size and internal temperature is 0°C. so I have 2 S9 but when the temperature goes down to 0°C, then hashrates of the devices is also falling.. any idea so why? btw in the storage don't have air evacuation.. all areas is closed so is this the problem you think ?

[IanWorthington]

I think I would want to heat it the room slowly before I started it up, then check the exhaust was maintaining the correct working temperature in the space.

That’s the plan. I have a concern though. Original plan was to use my propane heater. Usually more effective than electric space heaters for example. I don’t see why but would the propane fumes cause harm to the machine? My other option is the space heaters. I HIGHLY doubt they will even put a dent in the temperature though. Keep in mind the heater is only for INITIAL startup. A heater will NOT be on upon machine boot.

I'd be nervous about running it on fumes, though in truth it would probably be ok. 

Can't you just put it in a cooler with warm air to start up, and use the exhaust to warm the space?  Or even redirect part into the the cooler?

[leowonderful]

I live in NW PA when temps went down near -5F last week and my miners ran quite well in my garage. I have heard of miners not starting well in cooler temperatures, but you probably won't have issues near freezing. Even though the miners do make heat, ideally you still want some heat to start the miner.

Always, always have ventilation no matter what the temperature in your mining space is. A small space can quickly heat up and a miner can easily overheat in such a scenario.

[the_electronrancher]

I have miners in the garage and my wife loves that they keep it a little warmer in there.  Good wintertime space heater..

If your power goes out for an extended time, bring them in to prevent condensation when the cool down, but otherwise your plan gets thumbs up from the boss of our household.