Nearly burned down my home due to mining farm (tips on how to stay safe )

[Groc]

some of the first KNC miners had burn/smoke problems.  

its probably a good idea to keep the miners away from combustibles in case they do catch fire.  I've seen the USB miners on ceramic plates

[cloverme]

So, I have noticed that both the ASICMINER Cubes and the KNC Jupiter asic miners pull a lot (>30) of amps over the PCI-E connectors.  The wiring gauge for that amount of amps is 10 gauge wire as a minimum, but the cables are often short so the gauge should probably be even higher. I've been noticing lately that the power supply manufacturers are using small gauge "flat wire" connectors from the power supply to the PCI-E conenctors. I have noticed that the PCI-E cables for these kinds of miners can be warm. The danger here is that the insulation melts, the connectors short and then either catches fire or causes the PS to catch on fire. 

[jparsley]

A miner consuming over 2kw is always a fire risk. Try one those cute mini miners next time

[okaynow]

ah man this really sucks. Good thing you lived to tell the tale though..
Anyone else got in danger?

[renodaret]

much wow

[kthejung]

Let's talk about preventative measures.  I have 6 Antminers of my own in my apartment and I am always checking their temperature.  I think the general consensus seems to be to keep the miners 50 degree celsius or below.  Also, use the formula Watts= Amps x Voltage and stay below 80% of max load.  I have a fan blowing into the room and a exhaust duct blowing out of the dryer duct.  I currently have a 4" inline fan from Home Depot powering the duct but it sucks so I ordered a more powerful one on Amazon.  I may even hire an electrician to check the setup.  Glad you are okay dude.

                   

The ventilation as-is is not enough.  Right now the outside weather is cool and I have the mining room door wide open with a fan blowing in.  I'll see how things go when the more powerful inline duct fan comes in.  


edit:  I just unplugged my Antminers and will remain so until further research into safety.  Thanks for sharing your story.

[windpath]

WOW, Glad you and your home are OK....

Let's talk about preventative measures.

To 2nd kthejung, this is a great thread to drive home some basic safety stuff for all of us....

Here is my list to get started, would love to see other contributions:

Prevention:
1. Monitor your machines.
2. Get a kill-a-watt meter to see what your drawing at all outlets/circuits: https://www.google.com/search?q=kill+a+watt
3. Add an external digital display thermometer to each piece of equipment that does not have one (image below)
3. Love your PSU's as much as your miner:
- Don't exceed the ratings on quality units (I like corsair), and on lower quality PSUs stay below 75% of rating
- cables from PSU to wall should remain cool to the touch or room temp
- cables from PSU to miner *may* be warm, but should never be hot
- miners are very susceptible to power spikes and dips, a good power conditioning UPS can eliminate spikes to your equipment.
- having an efficient and sufficient power supply system will reduce your ongoing power costs, prolong the life of your equipment, and keep your mining profitable longer.
4. Heat is a fire starter, monitor your rig temps everywhere you can and keep them within manufacturers spec
5. Heat is a fire starter, its going to start to warm up soon (hopefully) for much of the mining world, keep an eye on your temps as the ambient temp increases
6. Heat is a fire starter, if you overclock, provide the needed extra cooling
7. GFCI outlets are never a bad thing
8. Have a smoke detector you can monitor away from the mine (eg: https://store.nest.com/product/smoke-co-alarm/ expensive, but cool)

In the event of electrical fire:
NOTE: DO NOT PUT WATER ON AN ELECTRICAL FIRE IF THE POWER IS ON!!!!
1. Call the fire department if the fire has spread from your equipment to anywhere, seriously.
2. Don't fight a fire not worth fighting.
3. Shut off the main building power breaker if possible, if you can not access the building main breaker the breaker in the fuse box (DRY HANDS, not part of fire). This alone will stop most electrical fires in their initial stages.
4. Use a Fire Blanket, it will save what is left of your equipment and is the most effective way to put out the fire. You can find a 4x5 foot fire blanket for under $20
5. Use ONLY Class "C" or multipurpose "ABC" fire extinguishers (you have a couple nearby right?)
6. As a last resort, AFTER THE MAIN BREAKER HAS BEEN SHUT OFF, you can use water.

Yes, this costs a little money, yes it is worth it.

IMO properly providing and monitoring clean power with overrated cable is the best way to prevent fires.

I run overclocked AntMiners at 200GH/s (400 MHz) with a 2nd 120mm high volume fan added as an exhaust off of Corsair RM 550W power supplies, the PSU and all power cables remain cool, miners run steadily at 38C (100F) in a room kept around 20C (68F) during winter and around 22C (72F) during summer.

Here is a shot of a external digital display thermometer monitoring 2 AntMiner S1s:

[lxssthxnzxrx]

This is concerning, I have a Terraminer IV currently in my bedroom pulling around 2.2kW from the wall, sitting on top of a small stack of dead laptops with the batteries removed (so that it's not sitting on carpet). It's in the middle of the room but still in fairly close (~1 meter) proximity to potentially flammable items. The temperature where I am is still fairly high at around 30°C (86°F) and quite humid but I have both windows open and the ceiling fan on 24/7 circulating all the hot air out. Are there any more effective cooling measures other than placing more fans/an air-conditioning unit in front of the intake fans? I've been contemplating placing the miner inside some kind of top-loading freezer (electricity is very cheap where I live) but I'm not sure how effective that would actually be if at all.

[kthejung]

This is concerning, I have a Terraminer IV currently in my bedroom pulling around 2.2kW from the wall, sitting on top of a small stack of dead laptops with the batteries removed (so that it's not sitting on carpet). It's in the middle of the room but still in fairly close (~1 meter) proximity to potentially flammable items. The temperature where I am is still fairly high at around 30°C (86°F) and quite humid but I have both windows open and the ceiling fan on 24/7 circulating all the hot air out. Are there any more effective cooling measures other than placing more fans/an air-conditioning unit in front of the intake fans? I've been contemplating placing the miner inside some kind of top-loading freezer (electricity is very cheap where I live) but I'm not sure how effective that would actually be if at all.

You have to consider the condensation that would occur if you place a miner in a cold environment without proper ventilation.  You have a 2.2kw Terraminer IV in your bedroom?  Most bedroom are equipped with a 15 amp but I guess yours would have to more to power that miner; I'm guessing it can't be more than 20amps though, I would check on that.  20amps x 120volts= 2400watts.  Running a 2.2kw miner on a 2.4kw socket may be pushing it.  Continuous load recommended is 80% of max load.  I'm no expert, just pointing out something that you may want to research.

[IamCANADIAN013]

Kinda offtopic here, but why is there a usb port on that psu? For monitoring purposes?

If you are referring to the pic the OP posted, that isn't a psu.  It's an Erupter Cube.

The usb port is for debugging and firmware updates. 

To the OP, sorry for your loss, but at least it wasn't much worse. I'm only running one cube but I've now placed a smoke detector very close to the cube, just in case.

[adaseb]

Looks like its not the computer equipment or GPU that started the fire but instead a poorly designed ASIC cube.

At first I thought it was a PSU that melted but thats an ASIC cube probably made somewhere with no regulations for safety.

[david123]

I'm also wondering what insurances would say if a house burned down for mining. I think if a fire
is caused by e. g. a Wifi router or a TV set in standby mode while you are away, this should be a covered
risk by standard fire insurance plans, right? If you start like aluminium smelting operations in your 1-room apt
and max out each and every fuse, then (I guess) this is considered grossly negligent and you don't get a penny..

So, what about small-scale (like something between 1 and 3 kw) mining? Did anyone inquire their insurance
company? Sure, better to prevent a fire in the first place, but I'm really wondering what insurance
companies would say..

[IamCANADIAN013]

I'm also wondering what insurances would say if a house burned down for mining. I think if a fire
is caused by e. g. a Wifi router or a TV set in standby mode while you are away, this should be a covered
risk by standard fire insurance plans, right? If you start like aluminium smelting operations in your 1-room apt
and max out each and every fuse, then (I guess) this is considered grossly negligent and you don't get a penny..

So, what about small-scale (like something between 1 and 3 kw) mining? Did anyone inquire their insurance
company? Sure, better to prevent a fire in the first place, but I'm really wondering what insurance
companies would say..

I would think they would deny coverage.  It's not like we are using the PSU's as they were designed to be used.  Here in Canada everything has to be CSA approved.  Not sure about anywhere else, but I would think all Countries have similar laws.  I highly doubt any of the equipment meets the safety standards required.

[tonyliba]

i have 3 miners in working and above the 2000w there is a chance (offcourse very little) that the rigs will catch fire, try to keep the distant from each other if you have any room, put a metal plate under each rig just in case one rig does cath fire you save the other rigs from going down with it... and especially saving ur home.

[jeppe]

WOW, Glad you and your home are OK....

Let's talk about preventative measures.

To 2nd kthejung, this is a great thread to drive home some basic safety stuff for all of us....

Here is my list to get started, would love to see other contributions:

Prevention:
1. Monitor your machines.
2. Get a kill-a-watt meter to see what your drawing at all outlets/circuits: https://www.google.com/search?q=kill+a+watt
3. Add an external digital display thermometer to each piece of equipment that does not have one (image below)
3. Love your PSU's as much as your miner:
- Don't exceed the ratings on quality units (I like corsair), and on lower quality PSUs stay below 75% of rating
- cables from PSU to wall should remain cool to the touch or room temp
- cables from PSU to miner *may* be warm, but should never be hot
- miners are very susceptible to power spikes and dips, a good power conditioning UPS can eliminate spikes to your equipment.
- having an efficient and sufficient power supply system will reduce your ongoing power costs, prolong the life of your equipment, and keep your mining profitable longer.
4. Heat is a fire starter, monitor your rig temps everywhere you can and keep them within manufacturers spec
5. Heat is a fire starter, its going to start to warm up soon (hopefully) for much of the mining world, keep an eye on your temps as the ambient temp increases
6. Heat is a fire starter, if you overclock, provide the needed extra cooling
7. GFCI outlets are never a bad thing
8. Have a smoke detector you can monitor away from the mine (eg: https://store.nest.com/product/smoke-co-alarm/ expensive, but cool)

In the event of electrical fire:
NOTE: DO NOT PUT WATER ON AN ELECTRICAL FIRE IF THE POWER IS ON!!!!
1. Call the fire department if the fire has spread from your equipment to anywhere, seriously.
2. Don't fight a fire not worth fighting.
3. Shut off the main building power breaker if possible, if you can not access the building main breaker the breaker in the fuse box (DRY HANDS, not part of fire). This alone will stop most electrical fires in their initial stages.
4. Use a Fire Blanket, it will save what is left of your equipment and is the most effective way to put out the fire. You can find a 4x5 foot fire blanket for under $20
5. Use ONLY Class "C" or multipurpose "ABC" fire extinguishers (you have a couple nearby right?)
6. As a last resort, AFTER THE MAIN BREAKER HAS BEEN SHUT OFF, you can use water.

Yes, this costs a little money, yes it is worth it.

IMO properly providing and monitoring clean power with overrated cable is the best way to prevent fires.

I run overclocked AntMiners at 200GH/s (400 MHz) with a 2nd 120mm high volume fan added as an exhaust off of Corsair RM 550W power supplies, the PSU and all power cables remain cool, miners run steadily at 38C (100F) in a room kept around 20C (68F) during winter and around 22C (72F) during summer.

Here is a shot of a external digital display thermometer monitoring 2 AntMiner S1s:

Wow thanks for these details!!!
I really like the way this threat has turned out to be a place to share experiences on preventing fire.
Thanks to everyone,
JT


Edidt:
One more thing where did you get those thermometers ?? Ebay??

[Gate559]

Let's talk about preventative measures.  I have 6 Antminers of my own in my apartment and I am always checking their temperature.  I think the general consensus seems to be to keep the miners 50 degree celsius or below.  Also, use the formula Watts= Amps x Voltage and stay below 80% of max load.  I have a fan blowing into the room and a exhaust duct blowing out of the dryer duct.  I currently have a 4" inline fan from Home Depot powering the duct but it sucks so I ordered a more powerful one on Amazon.  I may even hire an electrician to check the setup.  Glad you are okay dude.

https://i.imgur.com/aM0x2FL.jpg            https://i.imgur.com/pBsP9Uw.jpg        https://i.imgur.com/GgLt5eR.jpg

The ventilation as-is is not enough.  Right now the outside weather is cool and I have the mining room door wide open with a fan blowing in.  I'll see how things go when the more powerful inline duct fan comes in.  


edit:  I just unplugged my Antminers and will remain so until further research into safety.  Thanks for sharing your story.

You might be overreacting. Put them on metal plates or floor tiles just to be safer.

[ionux]

Let's talk about preventative measures.  I have 6 Antminers of my own in my apartment and I am always checking their temperature.  I think the general consensus seems to be to keep the miners 50 degree celsius or below.  Also, use the formula Watts= Amps x Voltage and stay below 80% of max load.  I have a fan blowing into the room and a exhaust duct blowing out of the dryer duct.  I currently have a 4" inline fan from Home Depot powering the duct but it sucks so I ordered a more powerful one on Amazon.  I may even hire an electrician to check the setup.  Glad you are okay dude.

                   

The ventilation as-is is not enough.  Right now the outside weather is cool and I have the mining room door wide open with a fan blowing in.  I'll see how things go when the more powerful inline duct fan comes in.  


edit:  I just unplugged my Antminers and will remain so until further research into safety.  Thanks for sharing your story.

Antminers weren't the cuprit here for the OP, Block Erupter Cubes were.  The Bitmain gear is better designed, has better quality control and are better built.  I've never seen or heard of an S1 catching fire - but that's not to say they wouldn't if you have them overclocked and running on a crappy PSU.  However, having said all that, I don't believe you will have a problem with your setup.  As long as you are keeping an eye on your equipment and have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case, you should be just fine running Antminer S1's 24/7.

[david123]

As long as you are keeping an eye on your equipment and have a fire extinguisher nearby just in case, you should be just fine running Antminer S1's 24/7.

Ya, but that's a bit of a problem. When I'm at work (for example) the best fire extinguisher will be useless There's no way around, you have to make the decision if you take the
risk and leave them alone without being able to intervene at all..

[phillipsjk]

I would think they would deny coverage.  It's not like we are using the PSU's as they were designed to be used.  Here in Canada everything has to be CSA approved.  Not sure about anywhere else, but I would think all Countries have similar laws.  I highly doubt any of the equipment meets the safety standards required.

CSA only approves mass-produced devices. If it is no longer being produced, it is no longer CSA approved.

For that reason UL approval is also accepted.

That still means one-off jerry-rigs may not be covered if they cause a fire

[jermwerty]

IMO properly providing and monitoring clean power with overrated cable is the best way to prevent fires.

I run overclocked AntMiners at 200GH/s (400 MHz) with a 2nd 120mm high volume fan added as an exhaust off of Corsair RM 550W power supplies, the PSU and all power cables remain cool, miners run steadily at 38C (100F) in a room kept around 20C (68F) during winter and around 22C (72F) during summer.

Here is a shot of a external digital display thermometer monitoring 2 AntMiner S1s:

windpath -
Where did you get those temp displays?  How much they run?  Those are sweet!

One thought though - is that the modular 550W Corsair supply that has both PCI-E 6-pins off one cable?  If so I would find a different way to wire it!  (see my 8-pin mobo trick mentioned below)
My policy on ANTS is to have dedicated wires to each module.  I ended up going with Corsair RM650 supplies ($40 refurbs off eBay) as I found the RM550 was only giving me 11.55V and I get 11.8V on all the 650s.
-----------------------------------------------


Good prevention list (even though I didn't quote it) --  Between a buddy and myself we have purchased 5TH of ANTMiner S1s and have a few other ideas to add:

1)  Buy a Voltmeter.  Check the voltage each PSU puts out every now and then.  The first sign of a failing PSU is generally a voltage drop.  Have a supply drop from 11.8V to 11.2?  Take it out of service!  I think 11.6 or 11.7V is the lowest "tested at the ant" voltage I feel comfortable with.  My buddy runs a few with 11.5V just fine.

2)  Buy a Killawatt meter.  Check the draw from the wall.  I had an old SilverStone 1KW supply I had mined for two years on with GPUs (very abused) before I re-purposed it for an ANTMiner.  After two months I noticed the output air was warmer then I remembered.  Because I had tested it before and knew it did @ 420W the wall I was shocked to see it now drawing 450W!  The PSU was dead a week later...

3)  DO THE CIRCUIT MATH!  I wired in some extra 20A breakers and run 4-ANTS per line, but split off to two surge protectors/strips.  So I know I am drawing ~1680W from the outlet (rated 2400W max), but only ~840W through each power strip.  You don't want power strips getting warm and drawing over 1KW constantly on a standard 15A strip is just asking for trouble.  Also a nice trick I learned if you aren't sure what circuits wire where - if you plug in a Killawatt meter and turn on a large load (ie vaccuum, toaster, etc) on the same circuit you will notice a voltage drop.  I.E. I knew I was in trouble when I had 3 ANTS on a circuit and watched the volts drop from 118V to 115V when the wife plugged in a toaster on a rarely used outlet in the kitchen!

4)  PSU Rails on multi-rail PSUs.  How are they wired?  Had another buddy fry a 1KW supply because he didn't realize it had 4 rails - two for all PCI-E conections, one for all molex/SATA, and one for motherboard.  So it really was only a 500W supply on the PCI-E connections!  A voltmeter and the voltage drop concept again can help "map" a PSU's rails even if the manufacturer doesn't list the config.  Note you can also use a motherboard 8-pin as PCI-E 6-pin if you reverse the polarity and use the mobo rail/cable that is wasted on some supplies BUT test everything with the voltmeter for and KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING (ie at your own risk, YMMV, etc)!

4)  Write everything down!  Collect all the data mentioned above, then save it in a spreadsheet or a notebook.  Then when you check on things in a couple weeks or a month you'll notice what changed and start seeing trends...

Other good tips:
Always have an extra PSU or two handy.  N+1