KnC Neptune Fire hazard warning | Bitcointalksearch.org

cohnhead

hero member

Activity: 840

Merit: 1000

Quote from: J4bberwock on September 08, 2015, 01:12:48 PM

Quote from: cohnhead on September 08, 2015, 12:21:26 PM

I have the same problem with pcie connector failing and melting .....does any one know where to get replacement connectors with pins...if I cant unsolder from board I am sure I can find someone local to to that...then solder in new one

If you are from EU, I should have a few hundreds connectors in stock.

If not, search for this one on the usual resellers:
http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0455580003_PCB_HEADERS.xml

And, depending, on the price, you can also try moddiy, SKU:CO148

http://www.moddiy.com/products/6%252dPin-Graphics-Card-PCIe-Male-Header-Connector-%252d-90%25-Angled-%252d-Black.html

They are quite hard to unsolder, you will need to heat the area around the connectors, and probably add some flux to take them off without damaging the boards. I'm not sure it can be done in a safe manner without a hot air rework station.

appreciate the link...im in nyc area. I have someone who can remove melted connector and put on new one....for about $100usd....so I wont even bother to try myself as I really don't have proper equipment.....he just needed me to get connectors. i'll let you know how it works out. again thanks

J4bberwock

hero member

Activity: 840

Merit: 1000

Quote from: cohnhead on September 08, 2015, 12:21:26 PM

I have the same problem with pcie connector failing and melting .....does any one know where to get replacement connectors with pins...if I cant unsolder from board I am sure I can find someone local to to that...then solder in new one

If you are from EU, I should have a few hundreds connectors in stock.

If not, search for this one on the usual resellers:
http://www.molex.com/molex/products/datasheet.jsp?part=active/0455580003_PCB_HEADERS.xml

And, depending, on the price, you can also try moddiy, SKU:CO148

http://www.moddiy.com/products/6%252dPin-Graphics-Card-PCIe-Male-Header-Connector-%252d-90%25-Angled-%252d-Black.html

They are quite hard to unsolder, you will need to heat the area around the connectors, and probably add some flux to take them off without damaging the boards. I'm not sure it can be done in a safe manner without a hot air rework station.

cohnhead

hero member

Activity: 840

Merit: 1000

Quote from: adaseb on March 08, 2015, 09:20:53 PM

I know this is an old thread but locally there is an individual getting rid of some Neptunes for cheap.

From what I can tell the source of the melting and fires is NOT related to pulling 300Watts from the 3 +12V wires but from the single terminal correct?

Because there are many GPUs which use >300+ Watts and many power supplies which have split PCIe such as pictured below.

So it means that specifications mean that each yellow +12V wire can carry about 100Watts.

But most GPUs have more than one PCIe connector. So if its drawing 300Watts, then 150Watts come out of each terminal since there are 2.

But with the Neptune, its using 300Watts but there is only 1 6pin pcie connector.

So is there anyway to upgrade the PCIe connector terminal to a higher quality? Since you can easily solder the current one out, or can you someone find room to solder in parallel another PCIe terminal ?

I have the same problem with pcie connector failing and melting .....does any one know where to get replacement connectors with pins...if I cant unsolder from board I am sure I can find someone local to to that...then solder in new one

mavericklm

hero member

Activity: 742

Merit: 500

~400watt from each cube
~2kw at the wall

14awg is necessary! curious if that ''Y converter'' that knc sent out with their miners uses 14 and 16awg Huh

14awg on the main cable and 16awg on the 2 branches

adaseb

legendary

Activity: 3808

Merit: 1723

Quote from: klondike_bar on March 08, 2015, 09:33:59 PM

I make custom 16awg PCIe leads and find that they dont get 'cautiously warm' until >280W and 'concerningly warm' until >330W. I imagine >350 you start risking failure.

the common issue is the connector though, not the wires - and its caused when only 4-5 of the 6 pins make a full, tight connection. a bit of a gap will build up a lot of resisance and or send a small spark gap

How much watts do they use? 350W at the wall or from the miner?

klondike_bar

legendary

Activity: 2128

Merit: 1005

ASIC Wannabe

I make custom 16awg PCIe leads and find that they dont get 'cautiously warm' until >280W and 'concerningly warm' until >330W. I imagine >350 you start risking failure.

the common issue is the connector though, not the wires - and its caused when only 4-5 of the 6 pins make a full, tight connection. a bit of a gap will build up a lot of resisance and or send a small spark gap

adaseb

legendary

Activity: 3808

Merit: 1723

I know this is an old thread but locally there is an individual getting rid of some Neptunes for cheap.

From what I can tell the source of the melting and fires is NOT related to pulling 300Watts from the 3 +12V wires but from the single terminal correct?

Because there are many GPUs which use >300+ Watts and many power supplies which have split PCIe such as pictured below.

So it means that specifications mean that each yellow +12V wire can carry about 100Watts.

But most GPUs have more than one PCIe connector. So if its drawing 300Watts, then 150Watts come out of each terminal since there are 2.

But with the Neptune, its using 300Watts but there is only 1 6pin pcie connector.

So is there anyway to upgrade the PCIe connector terminal to a higher quality? Since you can easily solder the current one out, or can you someone find room to solder in parallel another PCIe terminal ?

volosator

sr. member

Activity: 272

Merit: 250

Here is another miner with similar issue.
You actually got lucky, mine is now baked into the socket on the board.
2 more smoked since OP

What power supply did you have?

aspeer

member

Activity: 102

Merit: 10

Same issue here, they blame the PSU company for poor quality yet they're pushing well above the power spec with a single pci-e auxiliary power port.
I've had 3 Modules catch on fire so far and 2 PSU's burn up all the while KNC acts like nothing is wrong and won't pay me for the burned PSU's or down time due to their failed engineering. BTW they use Standard Terminals....

Here's the spec:

Connector	No. Pins	Std Terminals	HCS Terminals	Plus HCS Terminals
Six Pin	2	192	264	288
Eight Pin	3	288	396	432

Only two +12 V pins are used in the six-pin connector, even though most power supplies include three.
Standard terminals are rated eight amps.
HCS terminals are rated 11 amps.
Plus HCS terminals are rated 12 amps.
All ratings assume Mini-Fit Jr. connectors using 18-gauge wire under standard temperature conditions.

https://imgur.com/a/1mDek#0

mikerbiker6

sr. member

Activity: 392

Merit: 250

Quote from: ?? on ??

BS, knc doesn't know me, since this is not my real name. I can say what I want on this forum.

Put up a 1.0 bounty for someone to find your real name and address and they'll do it. Thats forgetting that KNC would simply instruct a lawyer to force Theymos to hand over IP info, or a hosting company, or an ISP. The internet is NOT anonymous and you're going to get a horrible wake up call if you choose your actions based on that belief.

Ok I am overaggerating.
Although I know what you mean, I am convinced that I can go much further in what I say than in real life.
Most people don't have to resources to track me down or find it too much of a hassle for one statement.

mikerbiker6

sr. member

Activity: 392

Merit: 250

Wow, they really are cheap

The Avenger

hero member

Activity: 798

Merit: 1000

Quote from: dogie on August 15, 2014, 01:01:17 AM

Quote from: volosator on August 14, 2014, 10:51:08 PM

Sure. There is no direct proof of their fault.
They cut corners. They save a ton of money by putting their customers at risk.

That statement right there is contradictory and will get you sued by an aggressive company. You better hope they're not on here.

Sounds like someone on the knc payroll is annoyed.

KNC do cut corners. They didn't bother putting 6 connectors (only 4) on most of the so-called "modular" Jupiter controller board to save a few cents. Which meant their customers were forced to attach their own if they wanted to expand their "modular" miner to include a few more boards, voiding their warranty. These cost about 2 cents each, so it's nothing other than being cheap bastards them only putting on 4.

Plenty of people have spoken about it would be better to have 2 PCI connectors per Neptune board, so volosator is not wrong. People have voided their knc warranty again to attach a second one, which should have been done by kfc if they really wanted to build a good, safe product.

There are plenty of other example of them cutting corners and being cheap bastards in the knc thread.

Collider

hero member

Activity: 714

Merit: 500

KnC does however use a significantly higher load on 6-pin PCIE connectors than what they are rated for.
This makes them responsible for any damage occuring from this.

It is really cheap to circumvent these kinds of problems, another 6-pin PCIE or even an 8-pin PCIE would go a long way with regards to safety (and might even improve efficiency by lowering cable losses).

As KnC has previously stated they are not likely to produce another retail product, and my guess is they didn´t care about these issues as their custom DCs (which they are really designing the units for) will
a) underclock the modules to reach even higher efficiency
b) have significantly lower ambient temperatures
c) custom 14AWG wiring.

dogie

legendary

Activity: 1666

Merit: 1185

dogiecoin.com

Quote from: volosator on August 14, 2014, 10:51:08 PM

Sure. There is no direct proof of their fault.
They cut corners. They save a ton of money by putting their customers at risk.

That statement right there is contradictory and will get you sued by an aggressive company. You better hope they're not on here.

Vortex20000

hero member

Activity: 504

Merit: 500

sucker got hacked and screwed --Toad

I have a Neptune running fine.

If anything they need better cooling systems to make it not that fricking loud.

kingscrown

hero member

Activity: 672

Merit: 500

http://fuk.io - check it out!

so whats best PSU fpr KnC neptunes?

volosator

sr. member

Activity: 272

Merit: 250

Sure. There is no direct proof of their fault.
They cut corners. They save a ton of money by putting their customers at risk.

dogie

legendary

Activity: 1666

Merit: 1185

dogiecoin.com

Quote from: volosator on August 14, 2014, 10:35:30 PM

Quote from: dogie on August 14, 2014, 10:32:20 PM

Pictures. It seems a coincidence you have a significantly higher failure rate than everyone else, and are also using home made cables and connectors which set on fire.

I run everything else on the same cables and same power supplies - it was never a problem before KnC Neptune.

That doesn't automatically make it their fault.

volosator

sr. member

Activity: 272

Merit: 250

Quote from: dogie on August 14, 2014, 10:32:20 PM

Pictures. It seems a coincidence you have a significantly higher failure rate than everyone else, and are also using home made cables and connectors which set on fire.

I run everything else on the same cables and same power supplies - it was never a problem before KnC Neptune.

dogie

legendary

Activity: 1666

Merit: 1185

dogiecoin.com

Pictures. It seems a coincidence you have a significantly higher failure rate than everyone else, and are also using home made cables and connectors which set on fire.

Topic: KnC Neptune Fire hazard warning (Read 5339 times)