I melted my Avalon today and need your help

[lukestokes]

So this is your "wow, I'm glad I'm not as dumb as that guy" moment for today. Yesterday I was excited to finally receive my Batch 3 Avalon. Having had ATX/AT power supplies before, I incorrectly thought it was an either/or situation and didn't connect all the power wires from the PSU. I fired it up, mined some coins through the night, checked it in the morning, all was good... went to a meeting, came back and discovered a melted ATX wire which then melted the PDU.

You can see the whole story here:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=140539.msg2885086#msg2885086
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=140539.msg2886607#msg2886607

Here's where I need your help:

I have to decide on what to do now. Should I sell my 4 modules and be done with it? I'm fairly confident they are all working, but understandably the forth one may bring some doubts with it. If you are interested in buying them, please PM me. I spent 101 BTC on this rig, not including the PSU I purchased and I'd really hate to lose so much money.

Or, if you have spare parts or work with someone who does, here's what I need:
- One (1) Batch 3 PDU (what I have looks different than this picture: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Avalon#PDU ) (see posts linked to above for pictures)
- four (4) power cables.
- one (1) usb cable
- one (1) 10-wire cable connecting the PDU to the Control Unit
- 5 zip ties
If you can give me a quote for these components along with shipping costs and estimated delivery time to middle USA, please PM me.

There's also been some talk of having someone else host my modules. I'm interested in all possibilities to get these things running again as soon as possible.

So, those are my options as I see them. Do you see any others? What do you think I should do? Can you help?

[Edit: I'm selling the components in hopes of recovering my costs. Modules are in the process of being sold, other components will be auctioned.]

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[Ytterbium]

Damn, looks less "melted" and more "charred" as in "had been on fire"

[Zalfrin]

Have you checked out the guy who was selling lancelots site? There are boards there that I would think would allow you to get up and running again, if you had the expertise to populate them. http://www.cardreaderfactory.com/shop/bitcoin/mining-devices/avalon-parts.html

[klondike_bar]

Or, if you have spare parts or work with someone who does, here's what I need:
- One (1) Batch 3 PDU (what I have looks different than this picture: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Avalon#PDU ) (see posts linked to above for pictures)
- four (4) power cables.
- one (1) usb cable
- one (1) 10-wire cable connecting the PDU to the Control Unit
- 5 zip ties
If you can give me a quote for these components along with shipping costs and estimated delivery time to middle USA, please PM me.

the zipties, usb cable, and power cable could be easily sourced locally i imagine, perhaps an avalon support ticket could help you get the PDU?

[pixl8tr]

Or, if you have spare parts or work with someone who does, here's what I need:
- One (1) Batch 3 PDU (what I have looks different than this picture: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Avalon#PDU ) (see posts linked to above for pictures)
- four (4) power cables.
- one (1) usb cable
- one (1) 10-wire cable connecting the PDU to the Control Unit
- 5 zip ties
If you can give me a quote for these components along with shipping costs and estimated delivery time to middle USA, please PM me.

There's also been some talk of having someone else host my modules. I'm interested in all possibilities to get these things running again as soon as possible.

So, those are my options as I see them. Do you see any others? What do you think I should do? Can you help?

Sorry for you melt-down.   You can get most of your items from http://www.alliedelec.com/    The PDU, maybe you can ask for replacment?

Also, Zalfrin has a good idea.  Buy the bare PDU board. There only seems to be some Capacitors and connectors to populate.  Very basic soldering skill required to populate that board.  You may be able to reuse what you have and just purchase replacement for the melted connectors/capacitors.

[lukestokes]

Thanks all. I've got a support ticket going with Avalon. I'll keep you posted.

[Ytterbium]

Someone linked this in the other thread, but apparently you can get the BTCPCB for just $12: http://www.cardreaderfactory.com/shop/power-distribution-unit.html. 

Other then that you'd just need some ATX and other power connectors, or you could even theoretically solder the wires directly to the board.

Maybe this is being optimistic - but the only devices on that board are capacitors.  It's possible you might even be able to scrape/melt off the melted plastic and re-use the board.  Worst case, you'd just need to replace the capacitors.  It just depends on how badly damaged the PCB itself is.

If not, you could get the connectors and capacitors and solder them yourself. It would be a pretty simple electronics project, I think.

[Zalfrin]

I noticed in the other thread that others had suggested options (including cardreaderfactory) for you already, my mistake.

In any case, lesson learned for you. Could have been a lot worse. Wires are perfectly happy to transmit more current than they can handle... right up until the point where they melt through their insulation and start a fire. First time you start up a mining rig, and periodically thereafter, you ought to (IMO) be grabbing ahold of the wire harnesses and checking the heat level. Slightly warm is ok, any more than that and you should think about changing up your connections.

[AdamKD]

That looks like a custom PDU design or a new PDU design.  As far as I'm aware few, if any, B1 or B2 avalons have a PDU with fan power in.  Most old PDUs (Like the card reader factory one) do not have the fan input on the PDU.

Based on wiki you may have a redesigned PDU / Control Unit.  If you do go the cardreader route you will need to, probably, get a new Controller, a new PDU, and the necessary cables.  Otherwise you won't be able to use fans and that's pretty critical.

[Ytterbium]

That looks like a custom PDU design or a new PDU design.  As far as I'm aware few, if any, B1 or B2 avalons have a PDU with fan power in.  Most old PDUs (Like the card reader factory one) do not have the fan input on the PDU.

Based on wiki you may have a redesigned PDU / Control Unit.  If you do go the cardreader route you will need to, probably, get a new Controller, a new PDU, and the necessary cables.  Otherwise you won't be able to use fans and that's pretty critical.

You could get an aftermarket fan controller, and simply have the fans run at 100%. Or you could get new fans that come with molex connector adaptors.

[Xer0]

yeah... cheap chinese cables!
burned a molex2sata powercord once - smelled for weeks

[Bogart]

yeah... cheap chinese cables!
burned a molex2sata powercord once - smelled for weeks

Same here, with molex splitters.

After I burned a few I thought "I wonder what wire-gauge these are.  They looks like 18-ga".

Looking closely at them, there was nothing at all printed on the insulation.  Then I cut one open, and there was hardly any wire there at all.  It was maybe 28-ga, with extra insulation used to make it appear thick.

[lukestokes]

Thanks for the all the input, everyone. It's sounding like the best option is to get replacement parts directly from Avalon. I'm not sure how feasible that is or how long it would take. I've also started this thread to see what interest there is in buying the modules directly: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=269845.0 So far I've gotten some offers, but they would all put me at a loss.

Any other thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.

[iikun]

Sorry to get off topic for a moment but you said in the linked thread that you emailed Avalon & they asked you to post here. Seeing as many here are still waiting B2/B3/Chip orders from them with no response to tickets etc I was just wondering how you were successful in getting thru to someone who is actually responding to emails etc?

Thx & sorry about your machine  Hope the people with more technical expertise than I have can get you sorted.

Edit: Nevermind sorry, Yifu posted a new thread today

[madsusies]

Lol 1250W people are really stupid, you can not use powerful PSU for lower unit/PC it'll burn your stuff  people never learn less is more (not in USA)

[Ytterbium]

Lol 1250W people are really stupid, you can not use powerful PSU for lower unit/PC it'll burn your stuff  people never learn less is more (not in USA)

No it won't, dumbass. 1250 is just the maximum.

[dwdoc]

Thanks for the all the input, everyone. It's sounding like the best option is to get replacement parts directly from Avalon. I'm not sure how feasible that is or how long it would take. I've also started this thread to see what interest there is in buying the modules directly: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=269845.0 So far I've gotten some offers, but they would all put me at a loss.

Any other thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.

Unless I were very technically proficient I would cut my losses and sell the parts to someone. You might never get the unit running again and the longer you wait to sell, the less you will be offered.

Phases of grief:
Denial, Bargaining, Anger, Depression, Acceptance

[thorvald]

I have a spare board from strombom , please contact him , maybe he still has some spare parts.

[lukestokes]

I have a spare board from strombom , please contact him , maybe he still has some spare parts.

Thank you, I have. It seems there are some significant differences between batch 2 and batch 3 components. strombom mentioned it should be possible to wire up the power cables even without a PDU, but I don't have the expertise for that.

[seriouscoin]

Lol 1250W people are really stupid, you can not use powerful PSU for lower unit/PC it'll burn your stuff  people never learn less is more (not in USA)

This forum now attracts dumbasses like you or what?

Dont open your mouth again..

[exahash]

Lukestokes, I feel for you, so sorry.

An alternative you might not have considered: don't try to sell the working parts on clearance.  Hang on to them and watch the forums for someone else having a problem, then sell the parts at a markup.  Since you're already in the US and you can ship them overnight anywhere in the CONUS, you might be able to command enough of a premium to cover your original cost.

[lukestokes]

Lukestokes, I feel for you, so sorry.
An alternative you might not have considered: don't try to sell the working parts on clearance.  Hang on to them and watch the forums for someone else having a problem, then sell the parts at a markup.  Since you're already in the US and you can ship them overnight anywhere in the CONUS, you might be able to command enough of a premium to cover your original cost.

Thanks. That's a nice idea in theory, but the value of the miner (and its parts) is based on time. As the difficulty goes up, the value goes down. That said, you're right that a dead miner is much less useful than a working one which means people may really want the other parts. I've got a few different legitimate offers for the modules and a couple offers for the control board, router fans, and case.

I'm not interested in charging a premium or gouging, I would just like to get back as much of my original investment as possible. It's sad to see this equipment just sitting here.

[greaterninja]

Lukestokes, I feel for you, so sorry.
An alternative you might not have considered: don't try to sell the working parts on clearance.  Hang on to them and watch the forums for someone else having a problem, then sell the parts at a markup.  Since you're already in the US and you can ship them overnight anywhere in the CONUS, you might be able to command enough of a premium to cover your original cost.

Thanks. That's a nice idea in theory, but the value of the miner (and its parts) is based on time. As the difficulty goes up, the value goes down. That said, you're right that a dead miner is much less useful than a working one which means people may really want the other parts. I've got a few different legitimate offers for the modules and a couple offers for the control board, router fans, and case.

I'm not interested in charging a premium or gouging, I would just like to get back as much of my original investment as possible. It's sad to see this equipment just sitting here.

I suggest you contact fidehl

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?action=profile;u=114950

He has tons of Avalon parts batch #1, #2, #3 and he will have the 2nd generation avalon chips soon too.  Maybe if he is nice he can help you out quite easily. 

[Bicknellski]

So any news on the melted Avalon?

[lukestokes]

So any news on the melted Avalon?

I think I'm going to go ahead and sell the components so others can get mining again quickly. I have two pending orders, one for 3 modules and one for a single module. There's also interest in buying the control unit and chassis. I'll probably auction that off in hopes of getting close to my original investment back.

It's been a stressful few days, but I'm thankful for the community, and the many who reached out to me. I've had numerous phone calls, skype, irc, google chat, email, and PM conversations.

Some things I learned:
- Batch 2 control units are not be compatible with batch 3 modules.
- People who deal regularly with solder, circuit boards, and the like think creating a board is trivially easy and rerouting fan wires to custom connections is doable. I commend you all, but I'm just not there.
- THINK before you turn on something new. I was so excited to get mining, I didn't think. Looking back, it's obvious the unit needed a distribution of power. I'm just surprised and deeply saddened it turned on at all. I hope future PDU boards have better power isolation.

When the sales are finalized, I'll give more updates. I'll probably blog about it as well as a handy reminder whenever I need another dose of humility.

[dwdoc]

I tried powering one of my 7790 GPU's with a sata cable and bricked my $2000 mining rig a few weeks ago.  Except for usb block erupters I think I'll pay for hosting from now on...

[Bicknellski]

There is a lot of good that goes on in the community and it is nice to hear that you have found so many willing to help. I wish you the best and ya do a nice blog about it as it will be good for others to read and gain insight. From your loss there could be a few less tragedies I suppose. Glad your house didn't catch fire either and no one was hurt those are some horrific burns to the unit.

[Olly_K]

Lol 1250W people are really stupid, you can not use powerful PSU for lower unit/PC it'll burn your stuff  people never learn less is more (not in USA)

lolwut ?

[lukestokes]

There is a lot of good that goes on in the community and it is nice to hear that you have found so many willing to help. I wish you the best and ya do a nice blog about it as it will be good for others to read and gain insight. From your loss there could be a few less tragedies I suppose. Glad your house didn't catch fire either and no one was hurt those are some horrific burns to the unit.

I was thinking the same thing. My entire house could have burned down because the PDU doesn't isolate where it gets power from and, as I've stated many times, I was an idiot and didn't think it through. I checked it via the web interface that morning around 6:00am and it was still cranking away when I left a few minutes later. When I got back around 9:30am, it wasn't mining anymore. Things can _always_ be worse. I realized I've been pretty wrapped up in this thing since I first contemplated buying one so many months ago.

I tried powering one of my 7790 GPU's with a sata cable and bricked my $2000 mining rig a few weeks ago.  Except for usb block erupters I think I'll pay for hosting from now on...

Ouch. So very sorry that happened to you. I hope our experiences will help others avoid similar problems.

[fasmax]

As long as the FPGA controller board isn't damaged seems like you should be able to get  most of your machine mining.
What in what state are you located?

[Ytterbium]

There is a lot of good that goes on in the community and it is nice to hear that you have found so many willing to help. I wish you the best and ya do a nice blog about it as it will be good for others to read and gain insight. From your loss there could be a few less tragedies I suppose. Glad your house didn't catch fire either and no one was hurt those are some horrific burns to the unit.

Yet, you're deleting all the comments in your HashFast Oil cooling thread telling you it's a bad idea to replace WATER COOLING with OIL COOLING.

Maybe you should listen to this guy's problem before cooking $50k worth of hardware.

[Unacceptable]

As long as the FPGA controller board isn't damaged seems like you should be able to get  most of your machine mining.
What in what state are you located?

I'm interested too,I live in Florida & would drive aways to help    Just buy my gas & I'll get it running 

[GodfatherBond]

Sorry to hear what happened... Hopefully you will get it up and runnig again or investment back by selling parts.

I have to admit that I was quite close to do the same thing... I was very eager to get it running immediatelly out of the box - first plugged only ATX-cable. 10 years ago I have build over thousand PC:s and something ringed warning bells with 1250W and just ATX-cable or maybe it was empty socets at PDU.

Usually I do not read manuals, this time I made exception and read Avalon Wiki, but there was nothing about required PDU wiring... Would be good idea to add for future reference.