Building Rig & Avoiding Fire

[Eaks77]

Hello Everyone,

Before going into detail.. please note that i'm mining Scrypt Currencies but I believe this topic relates to all mining rigs, regardless of currecy.... hence why i'm posting it to bitcointalk.org

I used to mine for BTC almost a year ago when it was feasible to have a couple rigs running.  I live in a small apartment where there is no electricity bill (heck ya!).  My rigs were just set up in my living room.  I eventually stopped mining because it was too noisey, it got really hot during the summer and eventually it was no longer feasible. 

I'm now mining Scrypt Curreny through middlecoin.com.  I have two rigs pumping out 2.8 M/Hash.  I want to get up too 5 M/Hash which is feasible with all my hardware, but two things have always been on my mind ever since mining for BTC.  Heat and fire!  Right now, my two rigs are simply layed out under a WOODEN table (with those anti-static bags below the mobo).  The mobo's are raised slightly for air circulation.  All GPU's are plugged directly into the mobo, no risers are being used at this time.  The table/rigs are being fed cold, dry, canadian winter air... which is perfect.  All GPU's run well under 75 degree's, dependning on the outside air temp.

Recently I've come accross some threads regarding Rig fires https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=194513.0 .... which people have blamed the lack of powered risers and poor mobo's.  Regardless, it's something i'm concerned about. What i've been meaning to do is move my rigs into a large cabinet outside on my balcony.  I'm wondering if anyone has placed their rigs outside and protected it from the elements without incident... if so... how?  Initially I was thinking about buying a used wooden cabinet and then retrofitting it to take a couple mobo's.  It would be setup so that the GPU's would vent to the outside while a couple fans would pump cold air in.  Then I was thinking about buying a used server rack (network cabinet) and weather proofing it... I like this idea better because its not wood.  But i'm not sure how hard it is to set up PSU's, mobo's and GPU's into a server rack.

Anyways... i'm just curious if anyone has suggestions on how to make this work?  What route shall I go?  Maybe it's not a great idea? Weatherproofing?  Any insight....

Thanks

[1715262326]

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[1715262326]

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[1715262326]

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[dspiel]

condensation is bad for computers, avoid placing equipment outside. Perhaps consider doing watercooling which will avoid all the loud noise as well as provide an excellent cooling solution.

[LostDutchman]

Hello Everyone,

Before going into detail.. please note that i'm mining Scrypt Currencies but I believe this topic relates to all mining rigs, regardless of currecy.... hence why i'm posting it to bitcointalk.org

I used to mine for BTC almost a year ago when it was feasible to have a couple rigs running.  I live in a small apartment where there is no electricity bill (heck ya!).  My rigs were just set up in my living room.  I eventually stopped mining because it was too noisey, it got really hot during the summer and eventually it was no longer feasible. 

I'm now mining Scrypt Curreny through middlecoin.com.  I have two rigs pumping out 2.8 M/Hash.  I want to get up too 5 M/Hash which is feasible with all my hardware, but two things have always been on my mind ever since mining for BTC.  Heat and fire!  Right now, my two rigs are simply layed out under a WOODEN table (with those anti-static bags below the mobo).  The mobo's are raised slightly for air circulation.  All GPU's are plugged directly into the mobo, no risers are being used at this time.  The table/rigs are being fed cold, dry, canadian winter air... which is perfect.  All GPU's run well under 75 degree's, dependning on the outside air temp.

Recently I've come accross some threads regarding Rig fires https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=194513.0 .... which people have blamed the lack of powered risers and poor mobo's.  Regardless, it's something i'm concerned about. What i've been meaning to do is move my rigs into a large cabinet outside on my balcony.  I'm wondering if anyone has placed their rigs outside and protected it from the elements without incident... if so... how?  Initially I was thinking about buying a used wooden cabinet and then retrofitting it to take a couple mobo's.  It would be setup so that the GPU's would vent to the outside while a couple fans would pump cold air in.  Then I was thinking about buying a used server rack (network cabinet) and weather proofing it... I like this idea better because its not wood.  But i'm not sure how hard it is to set up PSU's, mobo's and GPU's into a server rack.

Anyways... i'm just curious if anyone has suggestions on how to make this work?  What route shall I go?  Maybe it's not a great idea? Weatherproofing?  Any insight....

Thanks

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm...................

Worried about fire and using such a flammable material as WOOD to house your rigs?

No; do not do that!

A server rack would be fine but you'll have to leave it as open as possible.  You may even need to install a small window unit air condtioner if your rigs start to heat up the place.

Always and let me repeat that, ALWAYS use powered risers!

Period.

End of story.

Finis.

Keep a slow airflow going across your rigs; too much airflow and the rigs won't cool, too little and they will overheat. 

Don't put anything outside as weather does terrible things to computer equipment but if it's cold there are ways to bring in outside air for cooling purposes.

Keep your rigs away from anything flammable and keep a CO2 fireextinguisher handy.  Dry chemical extinguishers will ruin the entire rig if you hve to use one but CO2 will just put out the fire while cooling off the remains at the same time.

This advice based on my own personal experience.

My $.02.

[pontiacg5]

You aren't going to be able to place your machines outside very easily, or cost effectively I should say.

You can weatherproof a small area like a cabinet, but then where is all that heat going to go? If you find a way to vent the heat, how do you keep morning dew from condensing and shorting your expensive parts? Can you ever be sure beyond a reasonable doubt that your setup can stand up to any weather? Rain falling horizontally? Sleet or hail for a few hours?

I think you just need to mount your equipment in better hardware inside, then find a way to vent the heat outside when it is beneficial. I really like all the heat my miners make right now, when it's 30 outside! The most important part ever is to not stress any one electrical connection too much. Not using powered risers is a common way, as well as using a mess of molex to pci-e mini-fit connector adapters. Make sure the wiring in your wall can handle what you ask of it (do you have 20 or 15A breakers?) and make dang good and sure you use the proper gauge cable between the wall outlet and power supplies. Don't overload one breaker, and if you need to use another make sure the extension cord is a large enough gauge considering the extra length.

The noise? I learn to live with it for now. Sound of money being printed!

I really like the extruded aluminum cases, but I make my own. They are expensive, but when you consider what weatherproofing a rig costs is it really that bad? I wouldn't keep a rig in anything flammable, like a milk crate. (ever tried to put plastic out once it's burning?)

I'll also second the "too much airflow" thing. After a certain point you just make turbulence, and turbulence makes noise. Not a huge difference, but it is there. My rigs cooled by a box fan do better at the #2 setting than #1 or #3 for example.

[Gator-hex]

Waterblocks pumping water to a radiator. Stick the rad outside if you really want to!

Check out how quietly 4x7970 can mine... http://youtu.be/n-A_NlkGvbM?t=1m52s

As for avoiding fires a $10 smoke alarm is an essential piece of kit!

[Eaks77]

Hey Everyone,

LostDutchman - HAHA yup, fully aware of my current wood situation.  I need to get away from it.  As of right now, i'm fairly confident that my two rigs are safe.  But it's when you think that, you get caught.. hence why i'm trying to find different solutions.

Everyone has made some great points!  I will not build anything outside.  I'm interested in the water cooling, but isn't it expensive?  Is it cost effective?

Thanks!

[LostDutchman]

Hey Everyone,

LostDutchman - HAHA yup, fully aware of my current wood situation.  I need to get away from it.  As of right now, i'm fairly confident that my two rigs are safe.  But it's when you think that, you get caught.. hence why i'm trying to find different solutions.

Everyone has made some great points!  I will not build anything outside.  I'm interested in the water cooling, but isn't it expensive?  Is it cost effective?

Thanks!

Again, based on my own experience, wateror liquid cooling is a large pain in the ass.  We actually developed a system loosely based on liquid cooling but found it to be expensive, complicated and although it worked, was best suited to certain automotive applications, so although we had gone so far as to apply for a patent pending status, we have essentially dropped it.

Air cooling is the best we have found using a manifolding system to delliver cooled air from an aira conditioner to each rig.

My $.02.

[Eaks77]

Yea, i'm extremely hesitant to do watercooling simply on price alone, but it might be something i'll look into for the summer.

powered PCI-E riser question:  Is there any difference in powered PCI-e risers?  Whether its a 16x-16x or 1x-16x?  On ebay they range from $5 to $100+.  Just wondering if some get more power than others, or are they all the same?

[pontiacg5]

Yea, i'm extremely hesitant to do watercooling simply on price alone, but it might be something i'll look into for the summer.

powered PCI-E riser question:  Is there any difference in powered PCI-e risers?  Whether its a 16x-16x or 1x-16x?  On ebay they range from $5 to $100+.  Just wondering if some get more power than others, or are they all the same?

They should all be the same. The only exception might be the USB 3.0 riser cables that I love (a lot better than the flat ribbon cables) I believe those risers need 5V in addition to 12V, where a normal riser only needs 12V. Another reason I like the USB3 ones, airflow...

You don't need to waste money on x16-x16 risers, but I would get x1-x16 risers so the card can lock into the riser. Trying to maneuver and route a 4" wide x16-x16 link riser cable is difficult and entirely pointless for mining.

[chup]

Heat and fire!  Right now, my two rigs are simply layed out under a WOODEN table (with those anti-static bags below the mobo).  The mobo's are raised slightly for air circulation.  All GPU's are plugged directly into the mobo, no risers are being used at this time.  The table/rigs are being fed cold, dry, canadian winter air... which is perfect.  All GPU's run well under 75 degree's, dependning on the outside air temp.

Whatever You do in future, please get rid of anti-static bags under powered boards...

[ssateneth]

"Worried about fire and using such a flammable material as WOOD to house your rigs?"

I stopped reading right there. Many computer cases are plastic and combust at lower temperatures than wood. I assumed everything else said was equally wrong.

[LostDutchman]

"Worried about fire and using such a flammable material as WOOD to house your rigs?"

I stopped reading right there. Many computer cases are plastic and combust at lower temperatures than wood. I assumed everything else said was equally wrong.

Well, you don't use cases of any kind for mining rigs.

Open air "space frame" rigs are the Jizzle, Schizzle!

Try keeping 7 cards cool in any kind of a cse!

LOL!

An exercise in futility!

And wrongo, Boyo!

Most dry wood will ignite at the famous Farhenhite 451 but ABS, from which most cases are now constructed require  high temp to flame up.

My $.02.

[Eaks77]

Why remove anti-static bags?

[chup]

Why remove anti-static bags?

AFAIK they are not insulator...

[LostDutchman]

Why remove anti-static bags?

AFAIK they are not insulator...

Flashed on metal coatings and all that.

My $.02.

[pontiacg5]

Put one in the microwave, you'll see why 

[cowandtea]

Make sure your rig temperature is lower then 70c and keep flammable object 10 meters away and your done..

[Eaks77]

I'm about to purchase four of those PCIe USB3.0 Riser/extenders.  Two options.. one comes with 30cm of usb cable while the other comes with 100cm's.  I know as soon as you get distance involved, heat can occur.  But if these things are powered and simply data is sent along the USB.... can I get the 100cm one with no issues?

Thanks

[Rakessh]

I'm about to purchase four of those PCIe USB3.0 Riser/extenders.  Two options.. one comes with 30cm of usb cable while the other comes with 100cm's.  I know as soon as you get distance involved, heat can occur.  But if these things are powered and simply data is sent along the USB.... can I get the 100cm one with no issues?

Thanks

The extra power (powered riser) is connected to the PCB connecting to your graphics card, so the card isn't powered from the mobo though the usb cable, it's used only for signalling.
Signal degredation over the distance may be a problem though, but I wouldn't expect them to be seeling a 100cm variant for a PCI-e riser if that was a problem.
Get one of each and test? can always get a shorter usb 3.0 cable from a local store if it doesn't work properly with the 100cm cable.

[pontiacg5]

I have the 1M long version and notice no problems. I even have the USB cables bundled together and coiled on themselves a few times, trying to antagonize something. Seems to be fine, I imagine USB 3.0 is pretty well shielded. Plus isn't pci-e 1x ~400mb/s, or about the same as usb 3.0?

That e-bay seller is turning out to be a slimeball though. He seems to keep increasing the price, but still hasn't shipped the cables I ordered days ago at a lower price. A real bummer, only place to get them