Topic: ANTMINER S4 Discussion and Support Thread - page 31. (Read 301481 times)

I also run 4 S4s per 30A PDU.

Sorry for the delay.  For some reason we still have no notifications of new posts.

I recommend 8/2 on 40 amp.  10/2 is sufficient for 30 amp.  Yes, 30 amp is sufficient for 4 S4's and 40 amp is sufficient for 6 S4's.  I have four S4's running on one 30 amp PDU right now.

And Yes, you need two (2) IBM 2880W's for four (4) S4's.

Good luck with the additional main panel.  I'm also having an electrician come out this week.  However, no work actually getting done until I get back from doing some training classes in Warren, Ohio.  My wife will look after the mining rigs while I'm gone.  She has been cool about the whole thing.

I'm hoping Bitmain will come out with some upgrade kits for the S4.  Rumors have been going around about possible upgrade kits.  Only time will tell.

Have a good day, Sir.

David

Big plans, that's cool.  That's actually what I am planning right now, starting with a dedicated 200A next week and another 200A in a few months.  Then I'll see.  Electrician is coming next week but first I have to install some infrastructure (utility pole for the new electric line, underground wires, etc.) It is an exciting project, and with summer coming, wife, kids and friends starting to complain about the heat, I have no choice but moving my miners out of the 4 houses I'm using right now for all of them.   

Thanks!  What PDU are you using?  Running on 240V, you can connect up to 4 S4's on your 30A PDU (~6.5A/S4@240V), which is nice.  You then need 2 2880W PSU.  Am I correct?

If I go with 40A breaker, that will allow me to connect 6 S4 on a 40A PDU.  What wire gage will I need?  Is 10/2 enough?

This is a competition you know?  Am I to sit idly by and let myself be knocked out of the equation while others get big [Driving up the difficulty to where it's no longer worth getting into as a small player unless you have an insane amount of hash power or have free power]?  Do you realize you would need to have probably 3.5 to 4.5 times what you have right now a year from now to mine the same amount of coin you mine today?  It's my intent to gain as much hash power as possible over the next 2 years.  I'm shooting for 5,000 to 10,000 TH/s by the end of 2017.  I'm fine with paying the power bill at 3.4 cents per kWH.  [Keeping it under 5 Megawatts of power to avoid higher power costs.  Next generation rigs will do good at helping me stay under 5 Megawatts.]  I'm fine with paying taxes on what I mine.  I'm fine with more investment.

The difficulty is 49,446,390,688 (49.446 Billion) at present.  I expect a network difficulty no higher than 55 Billion by May 24th of 2015.  On May 24, 2014 the difficulty was 10,455,720,138.  That would be an increase of 4.45 times what we had a year prior.  IF the price of bitcoin continues at price levels between $235.00 and $295.00, I can see only 1.2 times to 1.5 times more than what we had a year prior by November of 2015 .  That would mean increasing our hash rate 20% to 50% year over year instead of the present 800% it is right now.  Eventually, I can see 10% to 20% increase needed year over year to mine the same amount of coin as the year prior.  It's really not as far off as some might think.

The last difficulty change was 49,446,390,688 on April 05, 2015.  On April 05, 2014 the difficulty was 6,119,726,089.  That means a year from April 05, 2014 your hash rate needed to be 8.07 times more than what it was in order to mine the same amount of coin.  I plan on getting out WAAAAAAAAY ahead of the difficulty before the blocks halve and also have electricity rates of 3.4 cents per kWH to make the block halving much easier to bare if the price of bitcoin is the same as what it is today ($ 238.00).

Bitcoin difficulty on Apr. 05 2014 was 6,119,726,089 [BTC-e $467.78].  On Apr 05 2015 it was 49,446,390,688 [BTC-e $257.01].  That means the difficulty rose 8.07 times more than what it was a year prior. [Your hash rate would have to be 8.07 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Mar 24 2014 was 5,006,860,589 [BTC-e $588.71].  On Mar 22 2015 it was 46,717,549,645 [BTC-e $266.36].  That means the difficulty rose 9.3 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 9.3 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Feb 17 2014 was 3,129,573,175 [BTC-e $612.00].  On Feb 22 2015 it was 46,684,376,317 [BTC-e $230.23].  That means the difficulty rose 14.9 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 14.9 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Jan 24 2014 was 2,193,847,870 [BTC-e $774.98].  On Jan 27 2015 it was 41,272,873,895 [BTC-e $252.58].  That means the difficulty rose 18 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 18 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Jan 02 2014 was 1,418,481,395 [BTC-e $782.00].  On Dec 30 2014 it was 40,640,955,017 [BTC-e $308.86].  That means the difficulty rose 29 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 29 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Nov 29 2013   was 707,408,283 [BTC-e $1,019.60].  On Dec 02 2014 it was 40,007,470,271 [BTC-e $377.50].  That means the difficulty rose 56.5 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 56.5 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Oct 26 2013 was 390,928,788 [BTC-e $171.37].  On Oct 23 2014 it was 35,985,640,265 [BTC-e $354.17].  That means the difficulty rose 92 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 92 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Sep 25 2013 was 148,819,200 [BTC-e $122.55].  On Sep 25 2014 it was 34,661,425,924 [BTC-e $401.91].  That means the difficulty rose 232.9 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 232.9 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Aug 24 2013 was 65,750,060 [BTC-e $106.34].  On Aug 31 2014 it was 27,428,630,902 [BTC-e $475.90].  That means the difficulty rose 417.1 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 417.1 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Jul 22 2013 was 31,256,961 [BTC-e $84.50].  On Jul 25 2014 it was 18,736,441,558 [BTC-e $594.47].  That means the difficulty rose 599.4 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 599.4 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

Bitcoin difficulty on Jun 29 2013 was 21,335,329 [BitStamp $88.83].  On Jun 29 2014 it was 16,818,461,371 [BitStamp $599.86].  That means the difficulty rose 788.3 times more than what it was a year prior.  [Your hash rate would have to be 788.3 times more than what it was this time last year to mine the same amount of coin.]

The numbers above reveal at one time we had as much as a 788.3 times increase in difficulty over a year's time.  That number has reduced to 8.07 times more than what we had the year prior.  The amount it increases year over year is being reduced every difficulty change quite significantly.  I think now is the best time to get into mining than this time last year.  I just started myself on September 22nd last year.  By September this year, the difficulty might be around 64,000,000,000.  That would be less than 2 times what it was September of 2014.  

Like I've told others, I think I got in at the right time.  I started out with 7 TH/s September 22, 2014.  I ought to have 210 TH/s by September this year.  That would be 30 times what I started out with September a year ago.  However, the difficulty will have only come a little shy of two times year over year.  I'm hoping to have 20 times that number in September of 2016 at 4,200 TH/s.  And again, the difficulty might be 2 or 3 times what it was the year over year for September 2016 but I will have done a 20 times increase.  I'll stop for a while somewhere in between 5,000 and 10,000 TH/s to recoup all of my investment and then some.  Then start again...

If you look at the numbers below [curtesy of https://bitcoinwisdom.com/bitcoin/difficulty] you can see what I see.  For example:  On
On May 24, 2014 the difficulty was 10,455,720,138.  Do you honestly think it will be close to 10 times that at 100.4 Billion this coming May 24th of 2015?  I seriously doubt it.
On Jun 29, 2014 the difficulty was 16,818,461,371.  Do you honestly think it will be close to 10 times that at 160.8 Billion on June 29, 2015?  I seriously doubt it.
On Aug 31, 2014 the difficulty was 27,428,630,902.  Does one really believe it will be close to 10 times this at 270.4 Billion on August 31, 2015?  I seriously doubt it.


Apr 05 2015   49,446,390,688   5.84%   353,951,052 GH/s
Mar 22 2015   46,717,549,645   -1.50%   334,417,246 GH/s
Mar 08 2015   47,427,554,951   1.59%   339,499,662 GH/s
Feb 22 2015   46,684,376,317   5.01%   334,179,783 GH/s
Feb 09 2015   44,455,415,962   7.71%   318,224,263 GH/s
Jan 27 2015   41,272,873,895   -6.14%   295,442,739 GH/s
Jan 12 2015   43,971,662,056   8.20%   314,761,417 GH/s
Dec 30 2014   40,640,955,017   3.00%   290,919,288 GH/s
Dec 17 2014   39,457,671,307   -1.37%   282,449,013 GH/s
Dec 02 2014   40,007,470,271   -0.73%   286,384,627 GH/s
Nov 18 2014   40,300,030,328   1.76%   288,478,854 GH/s
Nov 05 2014   39,603,666,252   10.05%   283,494,086 GH/s
Oct 23 2014   35,985,640,265   2.81%   257,595,247 GH/s
Oct 09 2014   35,002,482,026   0.98%   250,557,526 GH/s
Sep 25 2014   34,661,425,924   16.20%   248,116,151 GH/s
Sep 13 2014   29,829,733,124   8.75%   213,529,547 GH/s
Aug 31 2014   27,428,630,902   15.03%   196,341,788 GH/s
Aug 19 2014   23,844,670,039   20.86%   170,686,797 GH/s
Aug 08 2014   19,729,645,941   5.30%   141,230,307 GH/s
Jul 25 2014   18,736,441,558   8.08%   134,120,673 GH/s
Jul 12 2014   17,336,316,979   3.08%   124,098,191 GH/s
Jun 29 2014   16,818,461,371   24.93%   120,391,236 GH/s
Jun 18 2014   13,462,580,115   14.51%   96,368,902 GH/s
Jun 05 2014   11,756,551,917   12.44%   84,156,677 GH/s
May 24 2014   10,455,720,138   18.10%   74,844,960 GH/s
May 12 2014   8,853,416,309   10.66%   63,375,223 GH/s
Apr 29 2014   8,000,872,136   14.64%   57,272,474 GH/s
Apr 17 2014   6,978,842,650   14.04%   49,956,502 GH/s
Apr 05 2014   6,119,726,089   22.23%   43,806,706 GH/s

Yes, there is plenty of talk of the 3rd generation chips (rigs) coming out by the Summer of this year (2015).  The power efficiency and hash rate of these 3rd generation rigs remains to be seen.  Will 3rd generation rigs encourage miners who stopped mining to start back up again because of their power costs being above 15 cents per kWH?  More than likely.  Especially, if the price of bitcoin remains at the $235.00 to $335.00 level.  

If bitcoin price is higher than $335.00 by the end of November, 2015, we could definitely see more miners wanting to come back into the fray.  The only issue is will they be able to buy these 3rd generation rigs from those who will manufacture them?  The demand for power efficient 3rd generation rigs could be quite high.  The 3rd and 4th quarter of 2015 will be a very interesting time of year indeed for the miners.

Think Big...

yes, if you think big, this is our master problem. more power gets more tax, more bill, more investment

Thank you Cyper_BLC.

Mine can't handle anymore either until I get my power upgraded.  I found my limit when I added six (6) S5's to what you see in the picture.  The main breaker tripped after I turned on the 5th S5 with the AC going, 2 eyes on the stove top going, the oven going and the dryer going.  So, I'm not running the stove top and oven at the same time as the dryer or at the same time as the dish washer at the moment.  I turned off some S3's to have all S5's going.

I'm looking forward to upgrading the power.  I'm doubling the amps.  That means my income tax return will be gone once I get back - lol.  It's kind of expensive to upgrade power.  I'm not sure if I'm bumping up to 400 amps or 500 amps.  I suppose it depends on what my present "feeder" (service) cable can handle.  If it can handle 600 amps, I'll go ahead and upgrade to 600 amps.  It may be good for only 400 or 500 though.  It should be done by the end of May or first part of June.  There's a chance I might wait on spending that money upgrading power here to spend it on power at my next location.  I haven't decided yet.  Still doing the math.

As someone properly stated earlier, DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME unless you are 110% certain of what you are doing.  It's not worth the risk of burning your house down because of an electrical fire.  If you aren't sure, pay a professional to do it.

M

wouw this is amazing 
i have got 10 Th (5 S4's) and i cant put more miners in my company, because our buildings electricity board cant handle more
good work

Thumbs up!!!

Definitely the best way to go.  Not necessarily for the cleaner/more efficient power for the rig.  But for gaining twice the usage of available amps in your home.

120 volt circuit x 20 amps = 2,400 watts of available power.
240 volt circuit x 20 amps = 4,800 watts of available power.

I'm using 240 volt x 30 amps circuits with PDU's = 7,200 watts of available power.  If someone thinks they don't have the room in their breaker panel, use tandem breakers to make room like I did...

For those of you wondering how to get 240 volt circuits in your home and you do not have room in your main panel; here is a consideration [My Main Panel is not like this anymore.  It looks like the one below]:




My Main actually looks like this now:



To power this [Don't mind the black paint on the wall and don't mind the orange wire.  It's an additional 10/2 to provide another 30 amp circuit going in the moment some S5's arrive]:

30A 2 pole breaker, 10-2 wire, L6-30 R, 240V 30A PDU, C19-C20 cables for connecting PSUs to PDU. Best way to do it.

I am also about to give a try to those 2880W PSU for my faulty S4 PSU's.  I still have to figure things out about what plugs/connectors/wires I need.  Working with 240V is not something usual for me.

Hey, I thought there was no new messages in most of the thread I'm watching... Which doesn't make sense.  So I guess there's something wrong with the forums right now.

I have five (5) S4's.  My PSU's have worked fine.  I did not over clock mine until after warranty period was over.  They have been over clocked just a hair ever since until now.  It is starting to get warmer outside.  So, I have put them back to default settings.  The only issue I have had is with four fans in total going out.  Bitmain was great about getting replacements to me quickly.  I have extra Delta's I bought from Amazon at 5,500 RPM's and almost 240 CFM.  I had one fan go out after the warranty period and put the Delta in.  That thing is a beast.  It really moves a lot of air.

I have fourteen (14) IBM 2880W PSU's with breakout boards sitting around the house waiting to be used on something.  Maybe I will get lucky and not have to worry about a stock PSU going out on my S4's. If it occurs, I will be ready.

PS - Is anyone else having issues with not being notified of a post in a forum you are "watching" and have told it to "notify" you?

so.... im just gonna go ahead and overclock mine. Batch 3, and have had no chips drop out yet. Testing my luck?

Sounds like we have very similar conditions. Mine are basically dust fee, and ran between 0c-10c for most of the winter with occasional temps of 20-25c when I was working in the garage.

The three I have at the moment were all purchased at same time.  So I could have got lucky on the batch of PSU's.   But 110 Volt entire life of all the miners. They do stay clean though.  Getting ready for summer mining was what caused me to open them up and clean.  Only 1 out of the 3 had a mild bit of dust, other 2 looked great.   

They were mostly ran in pretty cold weather with mining in winter, not sure if ambient conditions could play a role.

Weird, I ran all of mine on 240v and they still died. Running on 240 vs 120 is easier on a PSU, unless these PSUs somehow prefer 120v.

Either you're really lucky so far, or I'm really unlucky.

Mine are batch 2 I believe and no issues so far.   *Crosses fingers*.   It should not make a difference but I have only ran 110 on them.

I have blown dust out of the machines twice I think since getting them.  No issues so far with mine.

Mine was batch 2, and failed shortly after the 90 day warranty.

Buyer beware, Bitmain uses low quality PSUs for their miners.

M