What is this around the ethernet port?

[tim-bc]

Take a look at this picture of an S9. It looks like there is some type of corrosion occurring around the ethernet port. Any thoughts on what might have caused that?

https://i.imgur.com/S1MdC99.jpg

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[NotFuzzyWarm]

Around the LAN port? How about the ENTIRE miner is corroding!
Either it is/was in a very humid area or there are corrosive vapors around. Find out which it is and get the miners out of there before the PCIe power connectors and PCB traces start corroding as well...

[Steamtyme]

Are these from the sea air facility? If i remember you were about 10 km in from the coast.

It could just be that it is catching up with the rest of the miner the same way your fans and grills took a beating before. You'll notice it starts at the corners seams and worked parts of metal. Also any scratches or minor imperfections will be a spot for the corrosion to start.

[tim-bc]

Yeah, the entire facility there is less than 10km inland. Humidity is always relatively high too. I guess the miners are basically just sitting there, basically condemned to hash until all of the hashboards give out from the poor environment.

Do you think there's anything that could be done to improve the humid, salty climate? The miners are essentially taking in air directly from the outdoors. I've heard mentions of metal pre-filters as well as paper filters on the intake side of things.

I'm guessing it might be too little too late now though. At least the hashboards last a good while compared to the fans and stuff.

[DireWolfM14]

Yeah, the entire facility there is less than 10km inland. Humidity is always relatively high too. I guess the miners are basically just sitting there, basically condemned to hash until all of the hashboards give out from the poor environment.

Do you think there's anything that could be done to improve the humid, salty climate? The miners are essentially taking in air directly from the outdoors. I've heard mentions of metal pre-filters as well as paper filters on the intake side of things.

I'm guessing it might be too little too late now though. At least the hashboards last a good while compared to the fans and stuff.

I live near the coast, and I get stuff like that on my electronics that are out in the shed and garage.  The only way to address it is to completely seal off the room from the outside environment, and Heat/Filter/Dry/Condition the air coming into the facility.  Or, just live with it.  I've had computers out in the garage for over a decade that start to look like that, but they keep working. 

[HagssFIN]

Damn, that's a harsh environment for a mining farm.

[mikeywith]

it's pretty clear that the whole miner is corroding , it's only worse around the Ethernet port because the network cable connectors corrode real fast when exposed to humidity, then the corrosion spreads from port  slowly to the surroundings, i am pretty certain the further you go from the eth port they less corrosion you will see even if you were mining in water itself.

strange enough the port stills functions, but pretty soon the light won't blink anymore, i went through this a dozen times in my networking career.

what you wanna do now is cut that RJ, put a new one , make sure you tighten it as much as you could , clean the eth port and the surrounding. here is a cheap and almost perfect way to do this, you going to need the following.

1- Lemon
2- vinegar
3- salt
4- baking soda
5- warm water
6- a small brush ( preferably metal)

now here goes the process.
1-use the brush to remove as much corrosion as you can, apply some force.
2- apply some lemon juice on the effected area ( just a bit to cover the surface), let it sit there for 5/10 mins
3- use the brush again to clean that areas which you have applied the lemon on
4- take a cup full of vinegar, put as much as salt as the cup can handle, but not too much where it can't actually be dissolved
5- using the mixture , and the brush, rub the corrosion areas hard for a minute or two, let that mixture sit for another 5/10 mins, then dry it using a a towel or an ear pick for small areas.

at this point , the miner should look much better and lots of the corrosion would have been gone, if you want better result , do the following

1- take a cup of warm water, put a few spoons of baking soda, mix it till it turns into something like toothpaste.
2- scrub the miner using the paste you made, let it sit for 5/10 mins, clean and dry it ( make sure it's fully dry before turning it on)

you can also buy some corrison cleaning products, i personally tried many of them and i find the natural process much more effective and way cheaper ! .

now since prevention is better than cure, make sure you always use electrical tape to cover that space difference between the port and the RJ , use a few layers, it will surely delay the corrosion happening for a good period of time.

[Steamtyme]

Yeah, the entire facility there is less than 10km inland. Humidity is always relatively high too. I guess the miners are basically just sitting there, basically condemned to hash until all of the hashboards give out from the poor environment.
Do you think there's anything that could be done to improve the humid, salty climate? The miners are essentially taking in air directly from the outdoors. I've heard mentions of metal pre-filters as well as paper filters on the intake side of things.
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It really depends on what is near and around for you to work with. I must say I'm amazed at how long the miners held up to date. The outer corrosion is annoying but really a non issue for your circumstances, mine them until they are unprofitable or dead. In the future though you can take steps to prevent this from happening. We have to paint and repaint metal surfaces in almost every plant I've worked at, to create a barrier and prevent corrosion to piping and equipment.

When you receive Miners you could use a higher temperature paint and apply it to the outer shell, hell you could cover it in electrical tape if you had an abundance. It's really about sealing the metal away from the air. This will do nothing for the interior of the miner. For the fan grill you can again paint it, just be sure to check and make sure it isn't chipping or flaking. I wonder if there is a plastic changeout available for the fan grill?

There is only so many ways to remove moisture from air.

Did you ever look further into using desiccant in the air intake ducting? Depending on the intake you can set up a cycling system that pulls moisture at the intake, once saturated is swapped for a fresh batch, the saturated desiccant can then be regenerated by placing it in the hot aisle. This is a manual, labor intensive variation on say a Desiccant wheel, which would cost more but would be more reliable.

Another option is only available if you say have access to a natural source of water close by or can contain a large amount and collect rain water. In the intake ducts you would want to make a "U" to cause a change in direction of airflow. In this ducting you would place a coil which you would pump the water through continuously. The drop in air temperature will knock out some of the moisture, which will throw it against the ducting to a drain at the bottom of the "U"

Either way you have some money and planning to go through to come up with whatever suits your needs.

[Artemis3]

Looks like humidity (or sea corrosion) to me, the grill fan is also clearly telling you so.

So, check your humidity. You want to lower it and there are many ways: Dehumidifiers, air conditioners, even redirecting a bit of the heat back works, check online. For saltiness i think you would need filters in your location air intakes (if the warehouse is close to the ocean, etc).

No i don't think the port is bad, because it has been protected by the lan cable itself by being plugged in all the time (and they use gold plated corrosion resistant connectors, so if it works it works, don't fret).

Sure you should clean it, but try to address the main cause of the corrosion.