Free electricity, just the equipment left.

[stompix]

at best one L3+ pointed to nice hash will earn close to 1 dollar worth of btc at nicehash.
it will burn 20kwatts a day which is 600 kwatts a month.
the gear is quiet but I can tell you 600 kwatts will likely be caught.

To straighten things up from the start, I'm not advising OP to mine like this, I'm not telling anyone to do so because they might end up in court and with a fine or even with a prison sentence depending on the local laws there. But, to debate the mining aspect there is a dilemma :

You have free electricity but you need to be stealthy, so having low consumption gear might get you the stealthy aspect of going under the normal fluctuation in consumption and avoiding the noise, but at the same time doing so you won't be earning that much. Taking full opportunity of the cheap energy and plugging two generations old cheap hardware you can get for scrap metal price might earn you more with less investment but you're going to be in trouble for the consumption per penny earned. Putting too much money into a brand new efficient miner is also trouble since even with free electricity you might never ROI till you get caught because of the high acquisition prices for efficient gear.

So as Phil said, a below ~1kw miner might be the most advantageous choice, but are you ready to risk facing all those consequences for one dollar a day?

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[Flexystar]

I live in a federal school environment, and as a result, we have free-constant electrical supply, which I was expecting to put to good use by mining bitcoin with.

Here's the question(s): Is there a website where I can buy used mining equipment at a low cost? And, if I intend to purchase all of the essential equipment using this technique, what is the estimated cost?


It would also be helpful if you could provide me with a list of the items I will require for mining. Thank you.

The Russian Criminal Code has Article 165. "Causing property damage by deceit or breach of trust."
Miners in Russia are judged by this article, and they do not steal electricity, but only mine in their homes and pay for electricity at a cheaper price.
And in your country there are no similar articles in the criminal code?
Electricity for schools in Russia is free, it is paid by the state, but if it is used for mining, then this is a crime. Think about the risks first, you can't hide the Asics, its works loudly.

I'm aware of that, but in this case the electricity is connected directly to my dad's house. I'm not trying to tap into the school's electricity illegally all I'm trying to do is to try to use the electricity for something meaningful, the only thing that the electricity power in my dad's house is our Air conditioner, pumping machine, Tv sets and some other electrical outlet.

I'm not sure if using an electricity that has been connected this way would still be considered as a crime?

Ahh, I dont know. I think you should recheck everything about the free electricity. There has to be system set up to check how much electricity is being consumed by the federal school. At the end of day it might not be you or you dad but it would be government who will be carrying that burden. Its logical they will have to maintain the technical burden at all times. If they see some irrelevant spikes in the usage then I am sure they will track down the house which is consuming more than enough electricity - unusual.

Coming back to the mining operations well @philipma1957 should be enough to answer everything for you.

[mindrust]

There is no such thing as free electricity. Even the electricity you get from the solar panels and wind turbines aren't free unless you steal them from someone else. (You pay up-front) So what you are describing here is theft. You are basically stealing from the government. Just because they let you use that electricity for free don't mean you can profit from it by selling it. You are actually risking your life here. Don't do it. The risk/reward ratio is not worth it. It is because the risk here is a jail sentence. If you are going to take a risk like that at least aim big and make it count.

[benalexis12]

I live in a federal school environment, and as a result, we have free-constant electrical supply, which I was expecting to put to good use by mining bitcoin with.

Here's the question(s): Is there a website where I can buy used mining equipment at a low cost? And, if I intend to purchase all of the essential equipment using this technique, what is the estimated cost?


It would also be helpful if you could provide me with a list of the items I will require for mining. Thank you.

In my opinion at this time you can't buy cheap mining equipment all expensive when you buy it. Then I also know that you can buy a Bitcoin mining rig is canaan. As for the others I have no idea how much and I haven't tried the nicehash that some people here on the forum say about what you want to know. The only thing I don't quite understand is how you get free electricity in the country you are in? How did that happen?

[Fiatless]

There is no such thing as free electricity. Even the electricity you get from the solar panels and wind turbines aren't free unless you steal them from someone else. (You pay up-front) So what you are describing here is theft. You are basically stealing from the government. Just because they let you use that electricity for free don't mean you can profit from it by selling it. You are actually risking your life here. Don't do it. The risk/reward ratio is not worth it. It is because the risk here is a jail sentence. If you are going to take a risk like that at least aim big and make it count.

In my country, the community that hosts power plants are given free electricity. They are compensated for the risk of living in such a risky and polluted environment and they signed some agreement with the company before free lands were issued to build the plants. Also, some communities where oil and gas are drilled enjoy a free power supply. These oil and gas firms use gas turbines and the community is connected to the grid.  But I know that Federal government facilities such as schools and other agencies pay electricity bills. But because it is the government that pays the bills some people illegally use the free electricity to do their personal business which is not proper. This is energy theft and can attract a sentence of five years and not more than seven years imprisonment in my country. Some bitcoin enthusiasts in my region were suggesting that mining activities should be started in these areas but the problem is that the power is not constant and reliable. Relying on the government or free power sources in my country for mining activity will lead to loss.   

[goldkingcoiner]

I live in a federal school environment, and as a result, we have free-constant electrical supply, which I was expecting to put to good use by mining bitcoin with.

Here's the question(s): Is there a website where I can buy used mining equipment at a low cost? And, if I intend to purchase all of the essential equipment using this technique, what is the estimated cost?


It would also be helpful if you could provide me with a list of the items I will require for mining. Thank you.

I am not sure whether or not what you are planning will be tolerated or is even legal. Did you consult the federal school on this? Or perhaps the people who are the higher ups? I cannot imagine that they are ok with you using the electricity for cryptocurrency mining purposes. I am sure that somebody will notice hundreds or even thousands of dollars worth of electricity being used up for no apparent reason. You should probably do a bit more research on this and perhaps ask around, and even get written permission before you continue. Otherwise you might find yourself in hot water, in a legal sense, quite quickly.

[mvdheuvel1983]

I know you are not going to like what I am about ti say, but it's the truth, you live in a federal school environment, and you believe that no one is paying for the electricity that you believe to be free?

If you go out and buy an Asic miner because of this, remember that this move can lead to you evacuating from the premises, because you are doing nothing but stealing the electricity, there is no such thing as free electricity, someone, somewhere is paying the bills.

Once you begin this plan, there will come a time where they will notice, because the electricity bill will be higher, you don't know how much they are paying I believe, since you think the electricity is free, that's what will make you lose guard.

This is the right thinking. Morality should be put first. Using the electricity for mining without any explicit permission from the authorities is wrong and not acceptable. No mining community would encourage you. If you really wanted to go into mining, you look getting other alternative source of energy. Put yourself in the shoes of the facility management and do right thing.

[Fuso.hp]

The government of your country has thought of you and has provided free electricity in schools so that the students studying in the school can continue their educational activities well. But how do you want to use that free electricity to run your mining operations? You may be thinking that if you use this free electricity system you will have no problem but without your knowledge you are about to take the biggest risk of your life. Because if somehow the government of your country finds out about your activities, then the government of your country can take action against you under various laws, as a result of which you may suffer a lot of harassment later.

[panganib999]

I’m more concerned about the history of this free electricity you’re talking about. I bet it’s something that came out of a government-sanctioned infrastructure like a public school or prison, although the former is more plausible for obvious reasons, and in that regard I think you should ensure first that you won’t get into any trouble using that free electricity for mining.

Asics are loud and you can’t hide them easily cause they are bulky as hell, so when a search warrant’s held against you you can’t do anything about it, plus if you can’t afford paying for your own energy, I think it’s enough a reason not to go through with mining cause I’d assume this will not go on forever and at some point in the future you gotta have to live on your own by yourself, if you can’t sustainably manage your mining rig by then you’re going to have a problem.

[safar1980]

There is no such thing as free electricity. Even the electricity you get from the solar panels and wind turbines aren't free unless you steal them from someone else. (You pay up-front) So what you are describing here is theft. You are basically stealing from the government. Just because they let you use that electricity for free don't mean you can profit from it by selling it. You are actually risking your life here. Don't do it. The risk/reward ratio is not worth it. It is because the risk here is a jail sentence. If you are going to take a risk like that at least aim big and make it count.

In my country, the community that hosts power plants are given free electricity. They are compensated for the risk of living in such a risky and polluted environment and they signed some agreement with the company before free lands were issued to build the plants. Also, some communities where oil and gas are drilled enjoy a free power supply. These oil and gas firms use gas turbines and the community is connected to the grid.  But I know that Federal government facilities such as schools and other agencies pay electricity bills. But because it is the government that pays the bills some people illegally use the free electricity to do their personal business which is not proper. This is energy theft and can attract a sentence of five years and not more than seven years imprisonment in my country. Some bitcoin enthusiasts in my region were suggesting that mining activities should be started in these areas but the problem is that the power is not constant and reliable. Relying on the government or free power sources in my country for mining activity will lead to loss.    

Everywhere there are limits, and as long as mining does not consume more than it should, then mining will probably work.
And if other people find out that it is possible to mine in this place without paying for electricity, then they will want to do it too, and this will cause power engineers to look for increased consumption of electricity.

[koinkab]

if your doing it to earn some cash , its a tough gig , people out there have petra hashes of
kit running for years without catching a block , thats the first REALITY !

Personally i set up some solar to be in THE BTC lottery , and its been a fantastic learning experience
the stuff i have learned the past 4 months has made it worth it.

by sound of it you aint going to be running multiple petra hashes needed to make income
so its just the lottery factor , and the enjoyment of learning

if you buy a second hand s9 its pretty much plug n play , and if you install a software like
"braiins" you dont need to run it on full power , this is all my suggestion to experiment and learn

and like everyone else has said , if there is any "danger" at all legally from using the free electricity
its likely not worth it , its IMHO certainly not worth it in expectation of financial returns unless
you feel you are a REALLY lucky person :-)

but if you really can use the free lectricity legally , you need to move your headspace to
plugging it in is putting you in the "BTC lottery" , with virtually zero chance of catching a block

[stompix]

if your doing it to earn some cash , its a tough gig , people out there have petra hashes of
kit running for years without catching a block , thats the first REALITY !

Nobody mentioned solo mining, so please stop with the damn lottery thing, you might find an interesting word to throw it around but it's not it's place here.
OP said it was going to mine, and that's it, leaving aside the legal implications with free energy he will get a profit no matter what, he can easily just join a mining pool with 4-5 miners and that's it unless you have a broken usb miner from 6 years ago that will never be making the minimum withdraw nobody is forcing you to solo mine! Plenty of pools that will accept an S9 and I'm more curious about those that don't (well, except for foundry)

if you're considering buying used machines, www spamfinder com

Stop with your spam and with all your alts!

[wrangler123]

Isn't it better to buy some photovoltaic kit from China for a little money than to risk legal consequences, especially in Russia? Although, since you live in Russia, rather with the sun will probably be a problem.

[mikeywith]

There is no such thing as free electricity.

That's a subject of debate, first one need to define what "free" actually means, air is free, and if someone finds a way to extract money from it, it doesn't make it illegal, in some countries electricity is heavily subsidized, cheap to an extent you can call "free" but since energy isn't created out of thin air -- the citizens of those countries pay for it one way or the other either via tax or simply by having the government sell the country resources in exchange for subsidizing electricity.

Imagine you had to pay 10% of your salary and could use all the electricity you want (capped by whatever fuse/breaker the electric company installed), if it's capable of doing 10kw and you are using only 2kw to cool/warm your house, then the remaining 8kw is technically "free" if you use it, if you don't, it just sits there, the term "free" might not fit best in this example, but there is no better and simpler term to use.

[safar1980]

There is no such thing as free electricity.

That's a subject of debate, first one need to define what "free" actually means, air is free, and if someone finds a way to extract money from it, it doesn't make it illegal, in some countries electricity is heavily subsidized, cheap to an extent you can call "free" but since energy isn't created out of thin air -- the citizens of those countries pay for it one way or the other either via tax or simply by having the government sell the country resources in exchange for subsidizing electricity.

Imagine you had to pay 10% of your salary and could use all the electricity you want (capped by whatever fuse/breaker the electric company installed), if it's capable of doing 10kw and you are using only 2kw to cool/warm your house, then the remaining 8kw is technically "free" if you use it, if you don't, it just sits there, the term "free" might not fit best in this example, but there is no better and simpler term to use.

Even if the state gives a subsidy for consumption of 10 kilowatts per hour to the owner of the house, and the owner of the house consumes only 20% of the maximum limit, this does not allow the owner of the house to use the remaining limits for his business. If this becomes known, the miner will pay fines.

[koinkab]

if your doing it to earn some cash , its a tough gig , people out there have petra hashes of
kit running for years without catching a block , thats the first REALITY !

Nobody mentioned solo mining, so please stop with the damn lottery thing, you might find an interesting word to throw it around but it's not it's place here.
OP said it was going to mine, and that's it, leaving aside the legal implications with free energy he will get a profit no matter what, he can easily just join a mining pool with 4-5 miners and that's it unless you have a broken usb miner from 6 years ago that will never be making the minimum withdraw nobody is forcing you to solo mine! Plenty of pools that will accept an S9 and I'm more curious about those that don't (well, except for foundry)

Your right i made assumption that the OP would be solo mining
Personally i pool mined for a while and came to realization that the equipment i use and the level of free
solar i can achieve i would skip the $500-$1000 a year i could make and go for solo

Im still learning and should likely shutup and leave ALL  the messaging to legeenndddaaarrryyyy folks like yourself

[mikeywith]

Even if the state gives a subsidy for consumption of 10 kilowatts per hour to the owner of the house, and the owner of the house consumes only 20% of the maximum limit, this does not allow the owner of the house to use the remaining limits for his business. If this becomes known, the miner will pay fines.

I suppose this is just pure speculation on your side, isn't it? because every country's law is different, and what your country defines as a business isn't universal, where I live as long as I don't go past my main breaker capacity (which was set by the provide as an estimate of max home use) I can use that electricity to do whatever I want as long as it's not an illegal activity like growing weed or making drugs and the likes of it.

Now if my miners make a lot of noise and the neighbors complain, that would be a different subject.

[safar1980]

Even if the state gives a subsidy for consumption of 10 kilowatts per hour to the owner of the house, and the owner of the house consumes only 20% of the maximum limit, this does not allow the owner of the house to use the remaining limits for his business. If this becomes known, the miner will pay fines.

I suppose this is just pure speculation on your side, isn't it? because every country's law is different, and what your country defines as a business isn't universal, where I live as long as I don't go past my main breaker capacity (which was set by the provide as an estimate of max home use) I can use that electricity to do whatever I want as long as it's not an illegal activity like growing weed or making drugs and the likes of it.

Now if my miners make a lot of noise and the neighbors complain, that would be a different subject.

In Russia, it was also not forbidden to mine in houses and use the maximum 15-50 kilowatts per hour that are allowed by the project. This is Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region with very cheap electricity. All increased loads break transformers and cause accidents.
And as soon as you and your neighbors use it, you will understand why other people sometimes hate miners.

[mikeywith]

In Russia, it was also not forbidden to mine in houses and use the maximum 15-50 kilowatts per hour that are allowed by the project.

So you are talking about a specific case in a specific country, that makes sense, my previous post was pretty general, the law is different from one country to another.

This is Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region with very cheap electricity. All increased loads break transformers and cause accidents.
And as soon as you and your neighbors use it, you will understand why other people sometimes hate miners.

That's correct, in many cities, the electric infrastructure isn't capable of doing 100% load 24/7, a 1MW transformer that feeds 200 houses with the assumption that the average house needs 2-3kw on average and maybe 5kw at peak, will have a hard time functioning when everyone starts pushing their 5kw as the average load, load rotation is no longer there, so now it isn't 100 houses doing 1kw and 100 houses doing 3kw, it's all of them doing 5kw which was not accounted for by the electric company.

[safar1980]

In Russia, it was also not forbidden to mine in houses and use the maximum 15-50 kilowatts per hour that are allowed by the project.

So you are talking about a specific case in a specific country, that makes sense, my previous post was pretty general, the law is different from one country to another.

This is Irkutsk and the Irkutsk region with very cheap electricity. All increased loads break transformers and cause accidents.
And as soon as you and your neighbors use it, you will understand why other people sometimes hate miners.

That's correct, in many cities, the electric infrastructure isn't capable of doing 100% load 24/7, a 1MW transformer that feeds 200 houses with the assumption that the average house needs 2-3kw on average and maybe 5kw at peak, will have a hard time functioning when everyone starts pushing their 5kw as the average load, load rotation is no longer there, so now it isn't 100 houses doing 1kw and 100 houses doing 3kw, it's all of them doing 5kw which was not accounted for by the electric company.

I wanted to say that this is a problem for all countries, because household power lines and transformers are not designed for mining. When problems arise, the workers of the power company will quickly find violations, otherwise they will have to modernize the power systems at their own expense.