Block Erupter running 24/7 without cooling - fire risk?

woodsandhillsplc

newbie

Activity: 53

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Thanks for the replies everyone.

@Blackswan122 thanks for the experiment! So there is not a huge difference in money earned between the two prices. I think if I had it at home I would definitely go for a fan, but at work it is tricky.

I bought a little heatsink for a couple of quid. May make a small difference...

After reading everyone's replies I think we can be pretty sure there will be no fire - that is good to know

Blackswan122

newbie

Activity: 56

Merit: 0

Quote from: Blackswan122 on December 10, 2013, 05:12:28 AM

Quote from: pand70 on November 30, 2013, 06:00:42 PM

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on November 30, 2013, 04:14:03 PM

Should I by a USB fan for my single Erupter - or would this be overkill/not financially viable?

The usb fan will cost more than your usb miner will ever made in return Lips sealed

Well I took this project on! If you connect a RaspPi (wifi connection) and just one erupter it consumes 6.8w... with and artic fan connected it rises to 8w.... so with fan $1.09 a week profit! Without a fan $1.17!...I only went for a week as the difficulty will kill it depending on BTC price ($930 at time of posting) Power was calculated on german price of $0.35c (US is $0.15c) Hope this helped you? I had an energy monitor plugged in. RaspPi is the best method of running them. A laptop consumes much more! Plus they are great fun to play with...have a look at my other posts.

A fan looks great though! Brings your miner to life... It is also quite silent. Looks very good under the blue LEDs of my USB hub....

Blackswan122

newbie

Activity: 56

Merit: 0

Quote from: pand70 on November 30, 2013, 06:00:42 PM

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on November 30, 2013, 04:14:03 PM

Should I by a USB fan for my single Erupter - or would this be overkill/not financially viable?

The usb fan will cost more than your usb miner will ever made in return Lips sealed

Well I took this project on! If you connect a RaspPi (wifi connection) and just one erupter it consumes 6.8w... with and artic fan connected it rises to 8w.... so with fan $1.09 a week profit! Without a fan $1.17!...I only went for a week as the difficulty will kill it depending on BTC price ($930 at time of posting) Power was calculated on german price of $0.35c (US is $0.15c) Hope this helped you? I had an energy monitor plugged in. RaspPi is the best method of running them. A laptop consumes much more! Plus they are great fun to play with...have a look at my other posts.

mobile

sr. member

Activity: 400

Merit: 250

the sun is shining, but the ice is still slippery

I wish no harm or mal event on any man but please, if any of you manage to get your Block Erupter to catch fire. Make sure you get it on video and post the youtube link here. Your youtube ad revenue alone would probably make you enough fiat to purchase another one as Im sure it would go viral in the community.

Ecurb123

full member

Activity: 182

Merit: 100

so far I have never heard of block erupters catching fire.

CounterStrike

sr. member

Activity: 294

Merit: 250

Should be safe as they are only consuming 2.5 watt....

gamefixer

sr. member

Activity: 440

Merit: 250

I epoxy'ed small VGA coolers to some of the BE's I have.

doublejoint

newbie

Activity: 26

Merit: 0

I am running 7 BE's in a hub horizontally no extra cooling (just the stock heatsinks) for the past 4 months, no issues with hardware errors, and no fires

Thenen

full member

Activity: 226

Merit: 100

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on November 30, 2013, 04:14:03 PM

Hi Guys,

Quick question - I have a single USB Block Erupter running on my work PC 24/7 - without cooling.

I know I am probably just being paranoid (I am a health and safety obsessive sometimes), but I can't stop occasionally thinking - could this be a fire risk? Is this a bad idea? Just from how hot it seems to get.

So my question:

Is there a risk of fire (or any kind of damage/significant problem)?

Also, bonus question:

Should I buy a USB fan for my single Erupter - or would this be overkill/not financially viable?

Big thanks in advance if anyone has the time to answer.

Cheers

more importantly what is the temperature of your block erupter?

pand70

sr. member

Activity: 476

Merit: 250

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on December 03, 2013, 07:49:15 PM

@pand70 just out of interest what did you mean by the basic maths? Did you mean running a BE farm isn't a good idea compared to alternatives?

I mean that there is no point on throwing money to that usb miner because it's useless anyway.

polarhei

sr. member

Activity: 462

Merit: 250

Firing it up

There is no fire risk, I have been running this novel things for 24/7, without fan used, just horizontal connected. There is no errors, Just ensure there is enough space, the air will do good.

woodsandhillsplc

newbie

Activity: 53

Merit: 0

Guys thanks loads for your thoughts - have read through everything and really appreciate the input.

Have to admit am leaning towards the idea of either passive cooling or (thanks Zelek Uther) no extra cooling.

@pand70 just out of interest what did you mean by the basic maths? Did you mean running a BE farm isn't a good idea compared to alternatives?

Thanks again everyone, really appreciate your thoughts.

pand70

sr. member

Activity: 476

Merit: 250

Quote from: Zelek Uther on December 02, 2013, 08:42:28 PM

If you had a large farm of BEs, then improved cooling would be a good idea. But just running one BE at work... don't bother.

If you had a large farm of BEs then opening some books to learn basic maths would be a good idea. Tongue

vpitcher07

sr. member

Activity: 342

Merit: 250

Quote from: pand70 on November 30, 2013, 06:00:42 PM

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on November 30, 2013, 04:14:03 PM

Should I by a USB fan for my single Erupter - or would this be overkill/not financially viable?

The usb fan will cost more than your usb miner will ever made in return Lips sealed

Unless you paid a stupid amount of money for your erupter, today's btc prices may argue otherwise.

mobile

sr. member

Activity: 400

Merit: 250

the sun is shining, but the ice is still slippery

Quote from: Zelek Uther on December 02, 2013, 08:42:28 PM

Everyone has been giving good advice regarding cooling to protect your equipment and prolong operating life. I don't disagree with that.

However, I would like to offer an alternative opinion based on the the relatively low-cost nature of the equipment:
Run it with no additional cooling.

Every ASICMINER Block Erupter USB has a basic heat sink. It can be improved upon, but it is adequate for the job.

I have 9 BEs that I have been running 24x7 since July 2013 (some of them longer, as I started with just one and built up). I had an ARCTIC Breeze Mobile USB-Powered 92mm Portable Fan blowing on them, but for the last couple of months I've stopped the fan and left the BEs with no cooling. They've been working fine, the hash rate is near the theoretical maximum for the units. I know they are uncomfortably hot to touch, but don't worry, they are designed to operate at that temperature.

If you had a large farm of BEs, then improved cooling would be a good idea. But just running one BE at work... don't bother.

Looking at it from this perspective makes sense.

Qbeczeq

member

Activity: 84

Merit: 10

As mentioned before, maybe not there will be no fire, but you can fry it a little bit Wink

Also devices on high temperatures works worse.

ArpFlush

hero member

Activity: 623

Merit: 501

I've got a setup (laptop + 2 Erupters) and had it up and running for at least a week without the roof getting on fire Tongue

Zelek Uther

hero member

Activity: 700

Merit: 504

Run a Bitcoin node.

Everyone has been giving good advice regarding cooling to protect your equipment and prolong operating life. I don't disagree with that.

However, I would like to offer an alternative opinion based on the the relatively low-cost nature of the equipment:
Run it with no additional cooling.

Every ASICMINER Block Erupter USB has a basic heat sink. It can be improved upon, but it is adequate for the job.

I have 9 BEs that I have been running 24x7 since July 2013 (some of them longer, as I started with just one and built up). I had an ARCTIC Breeze Mobile USB-Powered 92mm Portable Fan blowing on them, but for the last couple of months I've stopped the fan and left the BEs with no cooling. They've been working fine, the hash rate is near the theoretical maximum for the units. I know they are uncomfortably hot to touch, but don't worry, they are designed to operate at that temperature.

If you had a large farm of BEs, then improved cooling would be a good idea. But just running one BE at work... don't bother.

mobile

sr. member

Activity: 400

Merit: 250

the sun is shining, but the ice is still slippery

Quote from: os2sam on December 01, 2013, 01:45:20 PM

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on December 01, 2013, 12:08:06 PM

Have seen the tiny Block Erupter heat sinks sold on eBay - surely they are too small to be effective...

I use the heatsinks that come in pack of 20 from Amazon.com. I think they are .25" square. But I do have fans blowing on them too. Every little bit helps.

This every little bit adds up both in the number of shares per hour and also the longevity of your hardware. Not mentioning anything new under the sun but I will mention that I noticed a significant decrease in hardware errors simply by having a small fan circulate air over my mini farm. My small set up sits in my unheated garage, so the ambient air temperate has averaged at 37° degrees Fahrenheit (3° Celsius). Both my mining console & my my pool stats show that my erupters are hashing at 338-340MHs. I believe this is a result of the cold enviroment they are in all the time. All in all heat is a killer so in the end your potentially extending your hardware operation life.

os2sam

legendary

Activity: 3583

Merit: 1094

Think for yourself

Quote from: woodsandhillsplc on December 01, 2013, 12:08:06 PM

Have seen the tiny Block Erupter heat sinks sold on eBay - surely they are too small to be effective...

I use the heatsinks that come in pack of 20 from Amazon.com. I think they are .25" square. But I do have fans blowing on them too. Every little bit helps.

Topic: Block Erupter running 24/7 without cooling - fire risk? (Read 3727 times)