[Review] Avalon 6 Miner - Winter Mining - Notlist3d - Also FAQ and Help

[nhando]

Yeah, this was my fear from day one when it operates at such high temperature even when my garage was very cold.  There's not much room for error when the box likes to play in the 73-75 space and have only 1 FAN.  I did a heat stress test a month ago.  If it's a slow steady rise in temperature, the box have no issues handling it but I only tested it up to 90 degrees, not over and definitely not while Over volting.  Didn't have the Voltage control at the time, even if I wanted to.  =)    The box runs best via set it and forget it.  It's pretty much maintenance free for 2 months if I don't over volt.  I notice that the box tend to be hotter on 2 sides.  That's the side I keep on top and have my box fan cool. 

I knew my risk when I decided to over volt it.  I'm usually more conservative but seeing others have done it with great success, I figure it's lower risk.  AS a matter of fact it went so smooth to the 3.9TH, it almost makes you want to try even higher limits.  It leaves me very curious as to whether it would continue running fine for a long time, if we allowed proper cooling?   

[philipma1957]

Guys,

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I too experienced the same issue Phillip with the Over volting burnouts.  I have my IBM 4K voltage set to 12.65V which the Avalon GUI would show 12.5V.  SO PLEASE DO NOT change the voltage unless you can guarantee your environment temperature remains very cool.  My Avalon 6 is no longer functioning as a result of my wife closing the garage door all the way (I normally leave 8-10" gap).  This cause the ambient temperature to rise to 91-94F.  All the S7 handle it find as I have all the FANs set to 60%.  

I wish I did the same for the Avalon 6.  I don't care what anyone say, this SmartFAN is pretty stupid as you can see it normally let the box goes to 76C even when my garage is cold.  When you manually set it to something like 50-60% it runs cooler in the 68-72C.  I wouldn't leave it at the min of 20% for the summer months.  I'm currently temporarily hosting 2 other Avalons for my brother and I tell you, it's going to be stock voltage and Min FAN speed of 50%.  They run inside my house so they're much more pampered, however without over volting, I feel that Avalon should compensate the buyers for the misleading advertised hash rate of 3.5 or 3.65TH.  At least Bitmain say +/- 5%.  There's no such statement for the Avalon and all 3 Avalons I have are running only 3.2-3.3TH on both EVGA G2 and Dell 750W PSU. I never see it hit close to 3.5 or 3.65TH without over volting.  

Everyone knows I'm a huge fan of the Avalon 6 and have been a big supporter of it, so this isn't a bashing post but more of a warning.  Fortunately for me I have AMEX purchase protection for the first 90 days so even if my son kick it down the stairs because he hates me, it would be replaced by AMEX during the first 90days.  However, I do wish I purchased this unit thru Block C or Oregonmines vs Zoomhash.  All I need is a statement saying that over volting voids warranty or simply a price quote for 2 hash boards so I can get AMEX to approve the reimbursement and get this fix.  You would think that is pretty easy as there's no liability for Zoomhash and it's a sales opportunity, but it's like pulling teeth. This is where I applaud Yan at Block C for his wonderful support for Phillip.  Needless to say, I won't be purchasing anymore units from Zoomhash.  

Too summarize, the Avalon 6 is still a great box as long as you use it as designed as I never had a single issue for 2 months I've owned it.   Unlike the S7, it's quiet enough to run inside the house, but if you get the itch to go to 3.8-39TH via OVER VOLTING, please thread carefully and make sure cooling is consistent and monitor closely.  

I have sent in payment for the replacement board with about a 20% discount due to my running the group buy.  As of now

I am waiting on shipping info.  I hope to get

 1) the replacement board
 2) 1 blue adapter.

So while Yan has agreed to take the btc which I am grateful for the chance to get a replacement part. I will post back when I get tracking and delivery of the parts.

I will repeat this   Do not run the avalon6 with high volts  = over 12.2 at the gui

and now keep the room temps temps under 95f.  better yet shoot for 92f or lower.

[pikachuy]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

[philipma1957]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

[notlist3d]

Put on first page for and will leave it for a day or two:

If you are overvolting past the "12V DC ±0.2V" turn it down, it can damage your miner
Specs - http://www.blockc.co/collections/bitcoin-miners-shop-avalon-blockc-co/products/avalon6-bitcoin-miner

Hopefully if anyone is overvolting they will turn down.

[pikachuy]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

Well, I finally found a way to make the fan speed at a constant % without any ramping up or down. BE WARNED IT MAY OVERHEAT!!! I set mine to a constant 20% and it got up to 81 degrees. but it did stay at a constant 20% fan, which was like 1100 RPM.

The file is in /etc/init.d/cgminer and there is a line called:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-100 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

That $_fan is the % you set in the GUI and you see that 100? It's the max % that the fan can go too. So if you set 20% in the GUI, it will set your fan as 20%-100%.

So if you changed that 100 to 20, then the max would only be 20%, so it would be 20%-20%. See following code:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-20 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

WARNING: Be careful though, running at a constant 20% max might be too low from my testing (varies on your ambient temperature), since it was only at around 1100 RPM and with my ambient temperature, it rised up to 81 degrees fast. So maybe set the GUI fan speed to 100, and edit /etc/init.d/cgminer for max 100, and test by -10 increments each time to be safe, so the temperatures don't run that high.

P.S. if you don't know how to edit or get to /etc/init.d/cgminer, then maybe it's best not to touch it =)

[philipma1957]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

Well, I finally found a way to make the fan speed at a constant % without any ramping up or down. BE WARNED IT MAY OVERHEAT!!! I set mine to a constant 20% and it got up to 81 degrees. but it did stay at a constant 20% fan, which was like 1100 RPM.

The file is in /etc/init.d/cgminer and there is a line called:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-100 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

That $_fan is the % you set in the GUI and you see that 100? It's the max % that the fan can go too. So if you set 20% in the GUI, it will set your fan as 20%-100%.

So if you changed that 100 to 20, then the max would only be 20%, so it would be 20%-20%. See following code:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-20 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

WARNING: Be careful though, running at a constant 20% max might be too low from my testing (varies on your ambient temperature), since it was only at around 1100 RPM and with my ambient temperature, it rised up to 81 degrees fast. So maybe set the GUI fan speed to 100, and edit /etc/init.d/cgminer for max 100, and test by -10 increments each time to be safe, so the temperatures don't run that high.

P.S. if you don't know how to edit or get to /etc/init.d/cgminer, then maybe it's best not to touch it =)

do 30%    and let us know the temps

[pikachuy]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

Well, I finally found a way to make the fan speed at a constant % without any ramping up or down. BE WARNED IT MAY OVERHEAT!!! I set mine to a constant 20% and it got up to 81 degrees. but it did stay at a constant 20% fan, which was like 1100 RPM.

The file is in /etc/init.d/cgminer and there is a line called:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-100 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

That $_fan is the % you set in the GUI and you see that 100? It's the max % that the fan can go too. So if you set 20% in the GUI, it will set your fan as 20%-100%.

So if you changed that 100 to 20, then the max would only be 20%, so it would be 20%-20%. See following code:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-20 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

WARNING: Be careful though, running at a constant 20% max might be too low from my testing (varies on your ambient temperature), since it was only at around 1100 RPM and with my ambient temperature, it rised up to 81 degrees fast. So maybe set the GUI fan speed to 100, and edit /etc/init.d/cgminer for max 100, and test by -10 increments each time to be safe, so the temperatures don't run that high.

P.S. if you don't know how to edit or get to /etc/init.d/cgminer, then maybe it's best not to touch it =)

do 30%    and let us know the temps

After some testing, 30% is too low. I changed the code to:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-55 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

So it'll just be 20% in the GUI with a max fan speed of 55%. So the fan won't ramp up no more, the max it can go is 55% fan speed. and the temps are  28 51 67 with fan speed at a constant 2600 rpm to 2790 rpm. It won't go past 3000+ rpm any more due to me setting the hard cap of max fan speed of 55%. This seems fine too me since it seems like sometimes the Avalon 6 ramp up the fan up and down randomly like at low to full speed then back down. Probably due to the auto overclock or smartspeed option it has. This is all with a volt of 11.7 in the GUI.

The reason I'm doing this is because noise is a big factor for me and this seems like the best solution / settings for low constant noise with no ramping of the fan.

I did try the hard cap of the max fan speed to 40%, but the temps got to around 75, not sure what is safe, so I tried to tweak it where the temps are at least 70 or below.

Would it be safe to run it at a temp of 75 constantly?


Edit: Did some more testing, if you change the code to just:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan --avalon4-freq $_cf "

Then it will just run what ever flat fan speed % you enter in the GUI, so you only need to edit the file once and play around with the fan speed % through the GUI. If you do it this way, the fan speed is not variable no more, it's just a flat constant fan speed % to what ever you set.

[philipma1957]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

Well, I finally found a way to make the fan speed at a constant % without any ramping up or down. BE WARNED IT MAY OVERHEAT!!! I set mine to a constant 20% and it got up to 81 degrees. but it did stay at a constant 20% fan, which was like 1100 RPM.

The file is in /etc/init.d/cgminer and there is a line called:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-100 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

That $_fan is the % you set in the GUI and you see that 100? It's the max % that the fan can go too. So if you set 20% in the GUI, it will set your fan as 20%-100%.

So if you changed that 100 to 20, then the max would only be 20%, so it would be 20%-20%. See following code:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-20 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

WARNING: Be careful though, running at a constant 20% max might be too low from my testing (varies on your ambient temperature), since it was only at around 1100 RPM and with my ambient temperature, it rised up to 81 degrees fast. So maybe set the GUI fan speed to 100, and edit /etc/init.d/cgminer for max 100, and test by -10 increments each time to be safe, so the temperatures don't run that high.

P.S. if you don't know how to edit or get to /etc/init.d/cgminer, then maybe it's best not to touch it =)

do 30%    and let us know the temps

After some testing, 30% is too low. I changed the code to:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-55 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

So it'll just be 20% in the GUI with a max fan speed of 55%. So the fan won't ramp up no more, the max it can go is 55% fan speed. and the temps are  28 51 67 with fan speed at a constant 2600 rpm to 2790 rpm. It won't go past 3000+ rpm any more due to me setting the hard cap of max fan speed of 55%. This seems fine too me since it seems like sometimes the Avalon 6 ramp up the fan up and down randomly like at low to full speed then back down. Probably due to the auto overclock or smartspeed option it has. This is all with a volt of 11.7 in the GUI.

The reason I'm doing this is because noise is a big factor for me and this seems like the best solution / settings for low constant noise with no ramping of the fan.

I did try the hard cap of the max fan speed to 40%, but the temps got to around 75, not sure what is safe, so I tried to tweak it where the temps are at least 70 or below.

Would it be safe to run it at a temp of 75 constantly?


Edit: Did some more testing, if you change the code to just:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan --avalon4-freq $_cf "

Then it will just run what ever flat fan speed % you enter in the GUI, so you only need to edit the file once and play around with the fan speed % through the GUI. If you do it this way, the fan speed is not variable no more, it's just a flat constant fan speed % to what ever you set.

It is supposed to be safe at 75

Ambient temps need to be under 95f  but I have found at 92f things get a bit shaky

you have 29 as ambient temps you are good.

It is designed to run  right near 75.

although I suspect  70 is better I just do not know that.

[notlist3d]

Has anyone ever figured out how to disable the SmartSpeed function other than changing the minimum fan speed? Mine temperatures are 28 53 69 and the minimum fan speed is at 20% but the fan speed keeps ramping up and down. I just want to make the fan at a constant speed/noise.

No the auto function is locked in the on position.

Well, I finally found a way to make the fan speed at a constant % without any ramping up or down. BE WARNED IT MAY OVERHEAT!!! I set mine to a constant 20% and it got up to 81 degrees. but it did stay at a constant 20% fan, which was like 1100 RPM.

The file is in /etc/init.d/cgminer and there is a line called:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-100 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

That $_fan is the % you set in the GUI and you see that 100? It's the max % that the fan can go too. So if you set 20% in the GUI, it will set your fan as 20%-100%.

So if you changed that 100 to 20, then the max would only be 20%, so it would be 20%-20%. See following code:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-20 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

WARNING: Be careful though, running at a constant 20% max might be too low from my testing (varies on your ambient temperature), since it was only at around 1100 RPM and with my ambient temperature, it rised up to 81 degrees fast. So maybe set the GUI fan speed to 100, and edit /etc/init.d/cgminer for max 100, and test by -10 increments each time to be safe, so the temperatures don't run that high.

P.S. if you don't know how to edit or get to /etc/init.d/cgminer, then maybe it's best not to touch it =)

do 30%    and let us know the temps

After some testing, 30% is too low. I changed the code to:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan-55 --avalon4-freq $_cf "

So it'll just be 20% in the GUI with a max fan speed of 55%. So the fan won't ramp up no more, the max it can go is 55% fan speed. and the temps are  28 51 67 with fan speed at a constant 2600 rpm to 2790 rpm. It won't go past 3000+ rpm any more due to me setting the hard cap of max fan speed of 55%. This seems fine too me since it seems like sometimes the Avalon 6 ramp up the fan up and down randomly like at low to full speed then back down. Probably due to the auto overclock or smartspeed option it has. This is all with a volt of 11.7 in the GUI.

The reason I'm doing this is because noise is a big factor for me and this seems like the best solution / settings for low constant noise with no ramping of the fan.

I did try the hard cap of the max fan speed to 40%, but the temps got to around 75, not sure what is safe, so I tried to tweak it where the temps are at least 70 or below.

Would it be safe to run it at a temp of 75 constantly?


Edit: Did some more testing, if you change the code to just:

Code:

AVA4_OPTIONS=" --avalon4-fan $_fan --avalon4-freq $_cf "

Then it will just run what ever flat fan speed % you enter in the GUI, so you only need to edit the file once and play around with the fan speed % through the GUI. If you do it this way, the fan speed is not variable no more, it's just a flat constant fan speed % to what ever you set.

It is supposed to be safe at 75

Ambient temps need to be under 95f  but I have found at 92f things get a bit shaky

you have 29 as ambient temps you are good.

It is designed to run  right near 75.

although I suspect  70 is better I just do not know that.

I'm guessing your getting winter air right now (could be wrong).  But I would agree with Phil 75 should be good.  The only thing is the miner twords top would be spinning faster RPM and pushing a lot more air through miner then if you max it at 40 you mentioned. 

In 90's I suspect it would be over double possible close if not hitting the 100 percent.   So my fear would be you need to watch miner temp's more carefully.  If you have a quick heat up.... might not be good for miner.

So keep in mind the risks that are there limiting the fan, as damage is a possibility in worst cases.

[pikachuy]

@notlist3d Yes, it is winter air right now, will keep an eye on it coming summer time or hot days. So far running overnight, the flat 55% fan speed is still keeping them below 70 degrees, and the low sound is nice. Now my server PSU fan is louder than the Avalon 6.

I remembered when I had an antminer S4, there was a setting for it to shutdown once it reach like 80 degrees for safety reasons, is there a safety measure similar in the Avalon 6? Because I don't see an option like that.

[pikachuy]

Anyone know if there is any benefit of running the Avalon 6 on a raspberry pi 2? Do you submit shares faster or anything special or is it just basically running the same on a raspberry pi 1? Debating if I should get a raspberry pi 2 or not since it's faster. Or would it be a waste?

[RichBC]

Anyone know if there is any benefit of running the Avalon 6 on a raspberry pi 2? Do you submit shares faster or anything special or is it just basically running the same on a raspberry pi 1? Debating if I should get a raspberry pi 2 or not since it's faster. Or would it be a waste?

Waste of money pi1 will cope easily with the amount of data.

Rich

[philipma1957]

Anyone know if there is any benefit of running the Avalon 6 on a raspberry pi 2? Do you submit shares faster or anything special or is it just basically running the same on a raspberry pi 1? Debating if I should get a raspberry pi 2 or not since it's faster. Or would it be a waste?

Waste of money pi1 will cope easily with the amount of data.

Rich

I had a rasp pi 2 

kipper01 sent me a  programmed mini sdcard..   I am using the rasp pi 2  I can not see a difference with 2 avalon6's linked.

I am getting more avalon6's in and will test longer chains.

my guess is if you are running 5 or more in a chain maybe it is better.

[notlist3d]

Removed the big red message on first page about not going above above suggested volt's.    Figure most should have seen it by now.

[kipper01]

Anyone know if there is any benefit of running the Avalon 6 on a raspberry pi 2? Do you submit shares faster or anything special or is it just basically running the same on a raspberry pi 1? Debating if I should get a raspberry pi 2 or not since it's faster. Or would it be a waste?

Waste of money pi1 will cope easily with the amount of data.

Rich

I had a rasp pi 2 

kipper01 sent me a  programmed mini sdcard..   I am using the rasp pi 2  I can not see a difference with 2 avalon6's linked.

I am getting more avalon6's in and will test longer chains.

my guess is if you are running 5 or more in a chain maybe it is better.

I'll switch to rasberry pi 1 this weekend.  I just used rasberry pi 2 cause I had a couple from work.

[pikachuy]

Well, there's something interesting that I found, after some testing with 40% minimum fan speed:

With the normal fan direction of blowing air out of the miner (stock), the temps are:
30 53 69

I then switched the fan around so it blows air inside and out from the back (reversed), and the temps are:
41 55 60

It lowered the 3rd number down dramatically, but it increased the 1st number up.

Any thoughts?

[kilo17]

Well, there's something interesting that I found, after some testing with 40% minimum fan speed:

With the normal fan direction of blowing air out of the miner (stock), the temps are:
30 53 69

I then switched the fan around so it blows air inside and out from the back (reversed), and the temps are:
41 55 60

It lowered the 3rd number down dramatically, but it increased the 1st number up.

Any thoughts?

The first number is the intake temperature.  The second and third number are the left and right side temps.  Hope that helps.

You are blowing hot air out of the intake which is why the first number increased

[pikachuy]

Well, there's something interesting that I found, after some testing with 40% minimum fan speed:

With the normal fan direction of blowing air out of the miner (stock), the temps are:
30 53 69

I then switched the fan around so it blows air inside and out from the back (reversed), and the temps are:
41 55 60

It lowered the 3rd number down dramatically, but it increased the 1st number up.

Any thoughts?

The first number is the intake temperature.  The second and third number are the left and right side temps.  Hope that helps.

You are blowing hot air out of the intake which is why the first number increased

Wouldn't that mean it's actually better if the fan is running reversed flow then? Since the 1st number wouldn't matter because it is just the intake temperature. And the 3rd number is actually running cooler and the 2nd number averages out and is still below the 3rd number. So overall running the fan in reversed flow actually keeps them running cooler than the other way within the same fan speed testing.

After running it reversed flow over night, the temps now read:
43 59 62

Before, it would read about:
30 53 69

For some reason, the 3rd number is always higher running it the normal way (maybe due to it's internal design), but with the reversed fan, the 3rd number is running lower and the 2nd number balances out.

I wonder if they actually did a side by side test when they designed the Avalon 6, because so far, to me, it seems like running the fan in reversed flow makes more sense of keeping the miner cooler.

P.S., I was able to set the fan speed to 38% now, since it is running cooler, and it doesn't ramp up the fan speed anymore when it has a constant fan flow of 38% minimum. Setting the fan speed at default 20% will be too low, the fan will ramp up and down due to lack of air flow. Maybe this is why we get the random ramping fans because it gets hotter due to the low fan speed, and it ramps up to cool it fast, then back down, then back up, etc. But if the fan is like at a 38%-40% minimum, then it gets constant air flow inside to keep it cool enough where it won't need to ramp up as much.

[philipma1957]

Well, there's something interesting that I found, after some testing with 40% minimum fan speed:

With the normal fan direction of blowing air out of the miner (stock), the temps are:
30 53 69

I then switched the fan around so it blows air inside and out from the back (reversed), and the temps are:
41 55 60

It lowered the 3rd number down dramatically, but it increased the 1st number up.

Any thoughts?

The first number is the intake temperature.  The second and third number are the left and right side temps.  Hope that helps.

You are blowing hot air out of the intake which is why the first number increased

Wouldn't that mean it's actually better if the fan is running reversed flow then? Since the 1st number wouldn't matter because it is just the intake temperature. And the 3rd number is actually running cooler and the 2nd number averages out and is still below the 3rd number. So overall running the fan in reversed flow actually keeps them running cooler than the other way within the same fan speed testing.

After running it reversed flow over night, the temps now read:
43 59 62

Before, it would read about:
30 53 69

For some reason, the 3rd number is always higher running it the normal way (maybe due to it's internal design), but with the reversed fan, the 3rd number is running lower and the 2nd number balances out.

I wonder if they actually did a side by side test when they designed the Avalon 6, because so far, to me, it seems like running the fan in reversed flow makes more sense of keeping the miner cooler.

P.S., I was able to set the fan speed to 38% now, since it is running cooler, and it doesn't ramp up the fan speed anymore when it has a constant fan flow of 38% minimum. Setting the fan speed at default 20% will be too low, the fan will ramp up and down due to lack of air flow. Maybe this is why we get the random ramping fans because it gets hotter due to the low fan speed, and it ramps up to cool it fast, then back down, then back up, etc. But if the fan is like at a 38%-40% minimum, then it gets constant air flow inside to keep it cool enough where it won't need to ramp up as much.

not sure reversing is a good idea.  my burnt cap was as far as it could be from the fan.

So it was near the intake and the cooler air. it still popped. ,but  here is something I do think you are doing right the 38% fan setting is better then letting the ramp up and down.
the orginal rasp pi card set temps to 75 the newer cards set temp to 68-70  so if 38% keeps you steady at 70 I think that is best.