***IMPORTANT: USE SAFE WIRING FOR MINING RIGS!***

[cdog]

So, like a lot of folks I have a decent rig which is pushing the boundaries of heat and power consumption at my place. Bunch of different machines, power strips, extension cables - the same as many of you Im sure. Well I had a major scare tonight as I heard a loud "popping" from my mining area, I went over to investigate, and one of the cheaper, thinner gauge IEC power cables for one of my 800w PSUs was in the process of melting and shorting out!

Holy crap. That smell of burning electric wires is one of the scariest things in the world and I nearly avoided being in the 3rd (!) electrical fire of my life (the other two were faulty wiring inside the walls and not at all my fault). Had I not been home I dont even like to think about what might have happened.

So PLEASE people be careful, use good quality, THICK gauge cables for everything and DONT overload power strips or circuits. Dont run super long extension cables at full load at all if possible. If you are constantly tripping a power strip or circuit breaker, DIAL IT BACK. If a cable feels HOT to the touch, it will fail eventually and could cause major loss of property or worse. Be SAFE people, mining is fun but its not worth risking everything for!

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[rudrigorc2]

Check if the cables are still the same color when you started to use, if not avoid them, or put less pressure on them if they are getting darker. This will happen next to the connectors, where they heat most.

Be safe.

Also its always smarter do the math before setting up your setup.

[anticapt]

Automatic Fire Extinguisher https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=3OOUEZuTvZQ#t=48s

[Hephaestus]

I've always been bothered with power supplies rated over 500 watts that came with 18 gauge power cords.  The mining rigs I have running have 14 gauge cords to the outlets, which have 12 gauge to the breaker/neutral bus in the subpanel I bolted to the shelf, which has 6 gauge back to a 120/240V 50A outlet I had put in just for mining rigs.  Admittedly, if I were using all 50 amps there (using less than half now), I'd probably up that to 4 gauge.

[computerparts]

Gotta love the summer. The heat just becomes a catalyst for a good old meltdown. Unfortunately there are a lot of idiots out there who will choose to ignore this warning.

[xh4]

I'm surprised that this doesn't happen more often, given the number of milk-crate builds that I see around here!

[razorfishsl]

POP off that PSU cover and re-wire the cable in SEVERAL 15-30A cables.

Remember ohm's law resistors in parallel....

The holes in the PCB's are big enough, just cable tie the cable BEFORE soldering so you don't rip the pads.

Most PVC cables are rates at 90 Deg. c , problem is.. they start giving off toxic chemicals at about 60.

Lead is used in a BIG way when they manufacture PVC cable.....,
 its also used in the copper wire... so wash your hands after handling PVC cable.

[AlexisnaveCA]

For everyone's safety it is best to use safe wiring for mining rigs. Below are listed some of the safety tips that you should follow-
1. Avoid extension cords when possible.
2. If you're using extension cords, use the SHORTEST one you can find that will handle the current you wish to draw.
3. Even though a circuit is rated for 15A, it is recommended to keep constant load at 12A (1440W), as this will ensure that you aren't overheating the wires in the house and this will not get overloaded.
4. Sometimes circuit breakers are faulty and won't trip at their rated capacity, so if you're going to push the wattage be sure to measure the power.
  

For more safety tips you can hop on to-
1. http://www.bkelectricservices.com/
2. http://www.monsoonsafety.org/safety-prep/
3. http://www.hardscrabblefarm.com/vn/tips-2-save-life.html

[torepia]

Amen.

Also, just get quality PSU's, that can run 1 miner per PSU. This also makes the miner more stable IMHO.

I can recommend the following:
Corsair 1500AXi
EVGA 1600 G2
Bitmain's PSU.

[philipma1957]

Amen.

Also, just get quality PSU's, that can run 1 miner per PSU. This also makes the miner more stable IMHO.

I can recommend the following:
Corsair 1500AXi
EVGA 1600 G2
Bitmain's PSU.

I will add for the s-7

Evga 1600 p2 ---------
Evga 1600 t2 ---------  both of these cost good money.

On the new avalon 6

Do not use bitmains psu it has 18 gauge wires and the avalon 6 wants to use around 240 watts on each pcie.

the evga 1300 g2 is good for the avalon 6.
along with the other evga's

the 2000 watt server and the 2800 watt server's sold here need 240 volts  

 Finksy has some good psu's

linksy is here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=966135.0

[Tupsu]

Have you read before, if you wrote this ?

POP off that PSU cover and re-wire the cable in SEVERAL 15-30A cables.

.................

So, like a lot of folks I have a decent rig which is pushing the boundaries of heat and power consumption at my place. Bunch of different machines, power strips, extension cables - the same as many of you Im sure. Well I had a major scare tonight as I heard a loud "popping" from my mining area, I went over to investigate, and one of the cheaper, thinner gauge IEC power cables for one of my 800w PSUs was in the process of melting and shorting out!

....

[QuintLeo]

One reason I don't push my power supplies.

 Also related to why I generally go "2 gauge bigger" on wiring - 12 guage on 15 amp circuits, for example, where that is specced for 20 amps, then the point of failure is either the outlet itself (easy to avoid, just don't plug too much into one outlet) or the breaker.

 I'm going to be hitting close to the limitations on my pair of main cables this week though - down side of old-style plug-in mobile home cables is the 50 amp (at 220) limit, and that is NOT a limit I want to push very hard (summers normally get HOT around here, and one of my 2 cables is kinda old).

[toptek]

Hm seems to me no mater what that should be a number one rule for PC's or any thing you plug into the wall , miners are PC's, made for one use .I always try to buy  power cords with 16 or better wire, all my psu's run on nothing over 16 weight wire,i would hate to burn my house down over being cheap on the wire , i use . breakers , I'm over kill on , i use 8/2 on my 220 30 amp line with 600 volts max or better.

[toptek]

Amen.

Also, just get quality PSU's, that can run 1 miner per PSU. This also makes the miner more stable IMHO.

I can recommend the following:
Corsair 1500AXi
EVGA 1600 G2
Bitmain's PSU.

I will add for the s-7

Evga 1600 p2 ---------
Evga 1600 t2 ---------  both of these cost good money.

On the new avalon 6

Do not use bitmains psu it has 18 gauge wires and the avalon 6 wants to use around 240 watts on each pcie.

the evga 1300 g2 is good for the avalon 6.
along with the other evga's

the 2000 watt server and the 2800 watt server's sold here need 240 volts  

 Finksy has some good psu's

linksy is here:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=966135.0

kind of the same deal here but in the US so that means to me cheaper shipping , I got this thing about what they charge for shipping which can go over board and sometimes kills the deal . I've bought a lot off that site and it is, as, you see it . and most of the break out boards are by J4bberwock or one by sidehack which i also own they all work as intend .

what i do to beat the high cost of shipping is buy all my break out boards and cables from holybitcoin sense he has all i need i won't buy miners from him his cost to much + shipping but he has really nice prices on the boards and PCIE cables that suit me,with shipping only 2 to 5 dollars per order, then order from Canada at a higher shipping, then hit ebay to look  for the PSU's that the broads run with free shipping and actually get a better deal on the PSU that match the boards with  one year warranty actually,got some brand new OEM PSU's with free shipping and one year warranty ( I know the warranty means jack  in this case ) for way less then buying the full set @ one place .

http://holybitcoin.com/checkout/order-received/1392/?key=wc_order_565cf2690fa81&utm_nooverride=1

[sloopy]

Wire size is so important. You can get 24 and 36" 16 ga PCI cables for about the same price that other people charge for 18.
I'd recommend going with the guys who get great cables. Do not skimp!

I absolutely refuse to use 18 gauge for anything you or I are working with these days. You are not saving that much money. Pennies in the grand scheme of an overall mini-farm. 

People also need to look at the direction bitmain has taken mining gear. 10 pci cables per miner. I don't care what others say, the safest is to connect all three cables per hash board and use 16 ga cables. There are some forum members who will say it is OK to use two. My question is why? You know it can cause warranty issues, you have already spent a small fortune on miners and power supplys and these are items which do not even begin to discuss miner performance.

I refuse to provide an opportunity for failure and so should you.

Look, I know an S7 would probably be OK running on two 16 ga cables per blade as the numbers look fine, but probably isn't good enough for me, and no one should settle. Consider the price of 3 more cables. We are literally talking about $12 dollars in cable price difference per miner to have the other three 16 gauge cables. If someone cannot break open the wallet for those additional pieces of insurance then they should rethink what they are doing here.
I understand that sometimes connecting those other 3 cables may mean another power supply and if so, that person should consider the why. If it adds up to another power source for one blade where you can use some for another blade then that is the correct choice. Performance comes from the right setup. It doesn't matter what you are doing, that is a simple life fact. That is especially true with what we are doing.

There is not a reason to take risks in that manner and anyone who makes the choice to do so does not understand that just because it can line up with voltage requirements does not make it good advice.

People should really run the numbers on being safe and being confident. It is a small price difference to be safe and sleep well. If using the smaller stuff, or not following the manufacturers recommendations doesn't impact someone's thought process they are not who you want to make plans with. 

Give yourself room for error, it is not that expensive when compared to losing your miners, your home, or your family, much less yourself.