Anyone Farming Bitcoin in their Garage or outdoor Shed?

[dmwardjr]

Let me know how the FAN works out for you David.  I'm interested if they're anywhere as powerful as the listed ratings.

Will do.

I'm actually checking them out on Amazon right this very moment.  I'm looking at dual and single options; Reading reviews; etc...

I'm coming closer to making a decision.  I believe I found the right brand [Flex-a-lite] that is made in the USA.  I'm trying to decide which model of theirs to purchase.

[MarkAz]

Let me know how the FAN works out for you David.  I'm interested if they're anywhere as powerful as the listed ratings.

Will do.

I'm actually checking them out on Amazon right this very moment.  I'm looking at dual and single options; Reading reviews; etc...

I'm coming closer to making a decision.  I believe I found the right brand [Flex-a-lite] that is made in the USA.  I'm trying to decide which model of theirs to purchase.

I actually bought a couple of the different radiator fans a while back on Amazon - completely worthless.  The CFM values are definitely not even remotely close to what they claim.  They also have about zero static pressure (probably because they're intended to be in situations where air is basically forced in most of the time), so are terrible in any restrictive setting.

The only consumer-y thing I've bought that's worth anything are these:

http://amzn.to/1Ok7W8a

You can get similar ones from Home Depot and Lowes, and they definitely move a fair bit of air.  I usually set these up in tandem, with the auto-close grates.  The thing you have to consider with smaller fans is that if they stop working, and you have a channel that is restrictive in any way, they're going to short circuit (meaning the fans adjacent to the failed fan will just suck air back in from the exhaust side).

I also would recommend just finding multi-speed fans, instead of trying to use a motor controller to control speed.  It just adds cost and heat, with very little upside IMO.  Depending on where you're located, you could also look into buying used swamp coolers - they generally have a decent belt-drive squirrel cage blower that will be in the 3k-4k CFM range.  In Arizona they're cheap as hell, typically only a couple hundred bucks used, and have great static pressure.

The other thing to consider doing if noise is an issue is just make sure the air channels are not straight - make sure you have larger than necessary ducting, and then put two 90 degree turns in it - and if you're doing ducting, get the kind with internal insulation (looks similar to heavy duty bubble wrap), this will also diffuse the sound.  I have 2 of those fans linked above exhausting in a similar setup, and you can barely hear the sound on the vents outside (similar to what you'd expect from a laundry machine).

Anyway, hopefully that helps save you wasting money on those radiator fans.

[nhando]

For those of you who haven't seen Mark's setup yet.  This is something truly of a work of Art.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1184272

His Future version which I think would also solve all of my Garage heat issue if I have the skills to build anything even close to 70% of his design. ( Last picture on the thread below)

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1184272


I have a Vent in the ceiling soon to be installed in the garage that would be suck up by a 5000 CFM FAN.  Seeing both of his design.  If I can face all the S7 Exhaust FAN to the ceiling and let the intake air pull cool air from below, I think it will work.  I just need a good solution to funnel all that hot exhaust air to the Vent to avoid the hot air from circulating around the garage.

[dmwardjr]

I actually bought a couple of the different radiator fans a while back on Amazon - completely worthless.  The CFM values are definitely not even remotely close to what they claim.  They also have about zero static pressure (probably because they're intended to be in situations where air is basically forced in most of the time), so are terrible in any restrictive setting.

The only consumer-y thing I've bought that's worth anything are these:

http://amzn.to/1Ok7W8a

You can get similar ones from Home Depot and Lowes, and they definitely move a fair bit of air.  I usually set these up in tandem, with the auto-close grates.  The thing you have to consider with smaller fans is that if they stop working, and you have a channel that is restrictive in any way, they're going to short circuit (meaning the fans adjacent to the failed fan will just suck air back in from the exhaust side).

I also would recommend just finding multi-speed fans, instead of trying to use a motor controller to control speed.  It just adds cost and heat, with very little upside IMO.  Depending on where you're located, you could also look into buying used swamp coolers - they generally have a decent belt-drive squirrel cage blower that will be in the 3k-4k CFM range.  In Arizona they're cheap as hell, typically only a couple hundred bucks used, and have great static pressure.

The other thing to consider doing if noise is an issue is just make sure the air channels are not straight - make sure you have larger than necessary ducting, and then put two 90 degree turns in it - and if you're doing ducting, get the kind with internal insulation (looks similar to heavy duty bubble wrap), this will also diffuse the sound.  I have 2 of those fans linked above exhausting in a similar setup, and you can barely hear the sound on the vents outside (similar to what you'd expect from a laundry machine).

Anyway, hopefully that helps save you wasting money on those radiator fans.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the radiator fans.  I won't bother purchasing them now.

I already have two of the following fan:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002R1XFP2?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=ox_sc_sfl_title_4&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

I will purchase 2 more after my power upgrade.  I'll end up having 2 of them pulling heat out and 2 of them pushing fresh air in.  That should help with redundant air flow.

[firetreeactual]

I run an S2 and 6 S3s (presently...growing) in my living room, on the furthest west end of Kaua'i Island, the furthest west of the Hawaiian Islands. I have no AC. Outside ambient can get over 90F in the summer; hardly ever gets under 70 in the daytime any season. Anyway...I think you would be OK on S3s, or any Antminer box newer than that. They run reasonably cool if you just make sure they have plenty of "bandwidth" on the airflow. I would not, however, recommend trying to run an S2 in that environment. I have one (it was my first machine) and had to extensively mod it to not overheat. I haven't gotten an S7 yet (in the plans) so can't speak directly to that, but I would have to assume that it would be fine.

[nhando]

Wow, a Hawaiian miner!   Awesome.  Yeah you have great weather year round so probably can just air cool it.  Houston can get the 100s, so it's a bit more challenging.

[alh]

I run an S2 and 6 S3s (presently...growing) in my living room, on the furthest west end of Kaua'i Island, the furthest west of the Hawaiian Islands. I have no AC. Outside ambient can get over 90F in the summer; hardly ever gets under 70 in the daytime any season. Anyway...I think you would be OK on S3s, or any Antminer box newer than that. They run reasonably cool if you just make sure they have plenty of "bandwidth" on the airflow. I would not, however, recommend trying to run an S2 in that environment. I have one (it was my first machine) and had to extensively mod it to not overheat. I haven't gotten an S7 yet (in the plans) so can't speak directly to that, but I would have to assume that it would be fine.

For some reason, I thought Hawaii electric rates were crazy high. Am I wrong, or do you have some way to mitigate the power costs?

[dmwardjr]

Hi Everyone,

I've been a busy man today.  I completed the easiest side this evening.  I have the hardest side left to do.  Here are some photos to let you see what I'm up to:

I covered the back side of every piece of Fire Retardant Drywall with aluminum duct tape.




Here is a photo of the back side.  I took a close up photo so you can see the back side covered by aluminum tape and installed.




Here is a photo of the front side.  You can see I cut places open to allow the IBM 2980's to breath.




Another photo to allow you to see it is running all the way up.




I need to do the left side now.  It will be more involved because I have 6 shelves of S7's to do the same way I did the right side

[nhando]

Wow, looks great David!!! So clean and awesome.  I am trying to figure out how I can do similar clean and uniform flow for air with the 4k bundle but am having a very difficult time finding a good layout.

[dmwardjr]

Wow, looks great David!!! So clean and awesome.  I am trying to figure out how I can do similar clean and uniform flow for air with the 4k bundle but am having a very difficult time finding a good layout.

IT IS UNREAL how much it helped with the temps with the rigs on the right.  They were managing to pull hot air from the mining closet into the intake fans before I did this.  I had to run the fans at 100% and the temps were still between 65 and 72 C.  And that was with them under clocked from 700 MHz to 600 MHz at 4000 GH/s.

Now I have them back at 700 MHz and the fans manual to 50% with the temps ranging between 45C and 54C.  UNREAL HOW MUCH THIS HAS HELPED.

[nhando]

Yeah, that's why as soon I saw this design, I figure you would definitely be interested as it works well with the 2880/2980w PSU layout.  The 4K bundle is impossible to do something similar, a bit frustrated but it's hard to be 100% in either combinations since with the 2880W / 2980W combo, it looks like the PCI-E cable will be in the way of the hot air from the S7 exhaust fan.

I really want to aim all my S7 Exhaust fan toward the ceiling where the Giant Exhaust FAN will remove the heat out into the attic but I've been hearing people say be careful of falling heat sink into the Fan causing fire in that config.  =(

[dmwardjr]

Yeah, that's why as soon I saw this design, I figure you would definitely be interested as it works well with the 2880/2980w PSU layout.  The 4K bundle is impossible to do something similar, a bit frustrated.

Where there is a will, there is a way.  I know you can figure it out if you were to do something similar but with the IBM 2000 BB PSU's.