Topic: I melted my Avalon today and need your help - page 2. (Read 4486 times)

Thanks for the all the input, everyone. It's sounding like the best option is to get replacement parts directly from Avalon. I'm not sure how feasible that is or how long it would take. I've also started this thread to see what interest there is in buying the modules directly: https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/wts-avalon-batch-3-modules-sold-269845 So far I've gotten some offers, but they would all put me at a loss.

Any other thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated.

Same here, with molex splitters.

After I burned a few I thought "I wonder what wire-gauge these are.  They looks like 18-ga".

Looking closely at them, there was nothing at all printed on the insulation.  Then I cut one open, and there was hardly any wire there at all.  It was maybe 28-ga, with extra insulation used to make it appear thick.

yeah... cheap chinese cables!
burned a molex2sata powercord once - smelled for weeks

You could get an aftermarket fan controller, and simply have the fans run at 100%. Or you could get new fans that come with molex connector adaptors.

That looks like a custom PDU design or a new PDU design.  As far as I'm aware few, if any, B1 or B2 avalons have a PDU with fan power in.  Most old PDUs (Like the card reader factory one) do not have the fan input on the PDU.

Based on wiki you may have a redesigned PDU / Control Unit.  If you do go the cardreader route you will need to, probably, get a new Controller, a new PDU, and the necessary cables.  Otherwise you won't be able to use fans and that's pretty critical.

I noticed in the other thread that others had suggested options (including cardreaderfactory) for you already, my mistake.

In any case, lesson learned for you. Could have been a lot worse. Wires are perfectly happy to transmit more current than they can handle... right up until the point where they melt through their insulation and start a fire. First time you start up a mining rig, and periodically thereafter, you ought to (IMO) be grabbing ahold of the wire harnesses and checking the heat level. Slightly warm is ok, any more than that and you should think about changing up your connections.

Someone linked this in the other thread, but apparently you can get the BTCPCB for just $12: http://www.cardreaderfactory.com/shop/power-distribution-unit.html. 

Other then that you'd just need some ATX and other power connectors, or you could even theoretically solder the wires directly to the board.

Maybe this is being optimistic - but the only devices on that board are capacitors.  It's possible you might even be able to scrape/melt off the melted plastic and re-use the board.  Worst case, you'd just need to replace the capacitors.  It just depends on how badly damaged the PCB itself is.

If not, you could get the connectors and capacitors and solder them yourself. It would be a pretty simple electronics project, I think.

Thanks all. I've got a support ticket going with Avalon. I'll keep you posted.

Sorry for you melt-down.   You can get most of your items from http://www.alliedelec.com/    The PDU, maybe you can ask for replacment?

Also, Zalfrin has a good idea.  Buy the bare PDU board. There only seems to be some Capacitors and connectors to populate.  Very basic soldering skill required to populate that board.  You may be able to reuse what you have and just purchase replacement for the melted connectors/capacitors.

the zipties, usb cable, and power cable could be easily sourced locally i imagine, perhaps an avalon support ticket could help you get the PDU?

Have you checked out the guy who was selling lancelots site? There are boards there that I would think would allow you to get up and running again, if you had the expertise to populate them. http://www.cardreaderfactory.com/shop/bitcoin/mining-devices/avalon-parts.html

Damn, looks less "melted" and more "charred" as in "had been on fire"

So this is your "wow, I'm glad I'm not as dumb as that guy" moment for today. Yesterday I was excited to finally receive my Batch 3 Avalon. Having had ATX/AT power supplies before, I incorrectly thought it was an either/or situation and didn't connect all the power wires from the PSU. I fired it up, mined some coins through the night, checked it in the morning, all was good... went to a meeting, came back and discovered a melted ATX wire which then melted the PDU.

You can see the whole story here:
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.2885086
https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/m.2886607

Here's where I need your help:

I have to decide on what to do now. Should I sell my 4 modules and be done with it? I'm fairly confident they are all working, but understandably the forth one may bring some doubts with it. If you are interested in buying them, please PM me. I spent 101 BTC on this rig, not including the PSU I purchased and I'd really hate to lose so much money.

Or, if you have spare parts or work with someone who does, here's what I need:
- One (1) Batch 3 PDU (what I have looks different than this picture: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Avalon#PDU ) (see posts linked to above for pictures)
- four (4) power cables.
- one (1) usb cable
- one (1) 10-wire cable connecting the PDU to the Control Unit
- 5 zip ties
If you can give me a quote for these components along with shipping costs and estimated delivery time to middle USA, please PM me.

There's also been some talk of having someone else host my modules. I'm interested in all possibilities to get these things running again as soon as possible.

So, those are my options as I see them. Do you see any others? What do you think I should do? Can you help?

[Edit: I'm selling the components in hopes of recovering my costs. Modules are in the process of being sold, other components will be auctioned.]