Topic: Best way to cool 400 miners in 90+ degree outside air temperature? (Read 355 times)

Thank you. And I agree, VFD would be a great way of doing this as well. Texas winters are hit and miss. The key is to set your systems to automatically adjust fan speeds to keep the cold isle above the dew point.

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Nice stuff. However I am concerned about the cooling for this person's needs. Container mining for ASICs is not too ideal in hot environments. There are horror stories of people using container setups in 90+ degree weather. For instance, the Bitmain Antboxes were a total flop for many people in different parts of the world. Basically everything over heated. From your pictures of the small container, I am nervous about there being enough exhaust in 90 to 100 degree heat for the 80 S9s it is designed for.

Also, I noticed that there is no insulation on the top ceiling. The containers we build in Houston, Texas have a small insulation on the ceiling to prevent condensation build up and a rain effect on hardware. This is a precautionary in the case that the automated dew point systems fail. Typically in some hot environments it is common to have a 20 degree drop in the morning, so we have our systems check for the dew point, and automatically adjust fan speeds to keep the container above that specified temp.

What are your tech specs on the 40ft container? Do you have automated variable speed controls to adjust for the variences found in warmer climates?

You can take a look at shipping container solutions.

Our 40ft model (not on the website at the moment) would fit around 400 ASICs.
https://powerminingshop.com

Great information. I would give consideration to putting 1 of the 5 fans on a VFD (variable frequency drive). In the long run this helps save energy by helping you when yourself "between fans". Instead of 1 running full out it will adjust from say 25 - 100% capacity reducing your power consumption. The other 4 fans can be set by the PLC to turn them on and off in sequence.

This may also be useful in the Winter months as the fan on VFD can still move the amount of air required and not more than necessary. (Can't say I'm familiar with Texas winters so I don't know how much more planning you would require.

Typically you should expect your cooling systems to consume approximately 20% of the total amount electricity consumed by the miners. Less of course during the winters. Properly cooling 400 miners is not simply an equation as there are many external factors that must be considered. Humidity levels, deviation of outside temperature during the day and night, and consideration for heavy rain environments. The most cost effective way of cooling 400 miners is to do a wall separation between the "cold", and "hot" isle. This wall should have cut-outs for each ASIC miner. You want to do this because air will take the least path of resistance, and much of your airflow will go around your miners on the rack.

So let's talk numbers. 400 Antminer s9s will require 48,000 CFM of exhaust for proper cooling in warm environments. You should do five 10,000 CFM fans. They key is to be able to turn off individual fans to lower your CFM when days are cooler. You NEVER want to assume pushing a lot of air is a good thing for the miners. Too much air can cause the fan guards to get too cool and build condensation. This will lead to corrosion on the heat sinks. Typically for this amount of miners, you should also include a fan that can re-inject the hot exhaust air back into the cold isle. You will want to do this in the winter and keep the "cold" isle around a constant 80 degrees F. There are automatic systems that can be designed to do all of this for you.

Your intake side will not require fans. Your exhaust fans will pull the majority of the airflow into the mine. You will want to use 5 or 6 48" weather hoods where the intake square cutouts are. You will then use metal pre-filters followed by "sock" disposable filters. You will want to change out your filters once every 4 months and clean your pre-filters once a year.

This ^^^  which equates to EXHAUST, EXHAUST, EXHAUST!
And most of us are smart enough to recognize degrees F vs degrees C no matter what the stupid lazy people would have you believe...

Your miners should run fine even up to 40-50c ambient temps as long as all of the excess heat is exhausted properly.

I'm sure there are some good dyi setups. 

Also stick to rigid media for less maintenance. Look domestic for everything you can, sticker price might be better on an import but if it falls under the retaliatory tariffs you might end up paying more.

Texas is typically dry so I imagine evaporative cooling will work.

I see 2 different methods here though. You can buy evaporative cooling units like this:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Evaporative-air-cooler-China-of-DL_60802463593.html?spm=a2700.7724838.2017115.22.d8ff2409CHcHtr&s=p

I also have seen people build cooler by running water through those evaporative grids and putting fans on one side.

Indirect evaporative cooling will have reduced humidity compared to direct. Depending on the amount of moisture though you may be fine as these run hot and some humidity is ok (to a point) as it will dissipate.

Evap is the way to do it. but if you have high humidity it will not work.

I've heard about evaporative cooling, I will look into it. This would be in Texas.

Evaporation cooling is what you need. If you got running water this can be done granted you will need to build an efficient setup to do so. Where are you trying to do this what state or country?

What are the options when it comes to cooling a decent size mining farm with a pretty hot outside air temperature?

What is the cheapest way to cool so many miners that uses the least electricity?

This would also include miner arrangement in a warehouse - how do you cool your miners?

I'm sure there is a lot of information on this, so any links to these kind of resources would be appreciated.