Topic: Nearly burned down my home due to mining farm (tips on how to stay safe ) - page 5. (Read 38323 times)

I'm also wondering what insurances would say if a house burned down for mining. I think if a fire
is caused by e. g. a Wifi router or a TV set in standby mode while you are away, this should be a covered
risk by standard fire insurance plans, right? If you start like aluminium smelting operations in your 1-room apt
and max out each and every fuse, then (I guess) this is considered grossly negligent and you don't get a penny..

So, what about small-scale (like something between 1 and 3 kw) mining? Did anyone inquire their insurance
company? Sure, better to prevent a fire in the first place, but I'm really wondering what insurance
companies would say..

Looks like its not the computer equipment or GPU that started the fire but instead a poorly designed ASIC cube.

At first I thought it was a PSU that melted but thats an ASIC cube probably made somewhere with no regulations for safety.

If you are referring to the pic the OP posted, that isn't a psu.  It's an Erupter Cube.

The usb port is for debugging and firmware updates. 

To the OP, sorry for your loss, but at least it wasn't much worse. I'm only running one cube but I've now placed a smoke detector very close to the cube, just in case.

You have to consider the condensation that would occur if you place a miner in a cold environment without proper ventilation.  You have a 2.2kw Terraminer IV in your bedroom?  Most bedroom are equipped with a 15 amp but I guess yours would have to more to power that miner; I'm guessing it can't be more than 20amps though, I would check on that.  20amps x 120volts= 2400watts.  Running a 2.2kw miner on a 2.4kw socket may be pushing it.  Continuous load recommended is 80% of max load.  I'm no expert, just pointing out something that you may want to research.

This is concerning, I have a Terraminer IV currently in my bedroom pulling around 2.2kW from the wall, sitting on top of a small stack of dead laptops with the batteries removed (so that it's not sitting on carpet). It's in the middle of the room but still in fairly close (~1 meter) proximity to potentially flammable items. The temperature where I am is still fairly high at around 30°C (86°F) and quite humid but I have both windows open and the ceiling fan on 24/7 circulating all the hot air out. Are there any more effective cooling measures other than placing more fans/an air-conditioning unit in front of the intake fans? I've been contemplating placing the miner inside some kind of top-loading freezer (electricity is very cheap where I live) but I'm not sure how effective that would actually be if at all.

WOW, Glad you and your home are OK....



To 2nd kthejung, this is a great thread to drive home some basic safety stuff for all of us....

Here is my list to get started, would love to see other contributions:

Prevention:
1. Monitor your machines.
2. Get a kill-a-watt meter to see what your drawing at all outlets/circuits: https://www.google.com/search?q=kill+a+watt
3. Add an external digital display thermometer to each piece of equipment that does not have one (image below)
3. Love your PSU's as much as your miner:
- Don't exceed the ratings on quality units (I like corsair), and on lower quality PSUs stay below 75% of rating
- cables from PSU to wall should remain cool to the touch or room temp
- cables from PSU to miner *may* be warm, but should never be hot
- miners are very susceptible to power spikes and dips, a good power conditioning UPS can eliminate spikes to your equipment.
- having an efficient and sufficient power supply system will reduce your ongoing power costs, prolong the life of your equipment, and keep your mining profitable longer.
4. Heat is a fire starter, monitor your rig temps everywhere you can and keep them within manufacturers spec
5. Heat is a fire starter, its going to start to warm up soon (hopefully) for much of the mining world, keep an eye on your temps as the ambient temp increases
6. Heat is a fire starter, if you overclock, provide the needed extra cooling
7. GFCI outlets are never a bad thing
8. Have a smoke detector you can monitor away from the mine (eg: https://store.nest.com/product/smoke-co-alarm/ expensive, but cool)

In the event of electrical fire:
NOTE: DO NOT PUT WATER ON AN ELECTRICAL FIRE IF THE POWER IS ON!!!!
1. Call the fire department if the fire has spread from your equipment to anywhere, seriously.
2. Don't fight a fire not worth fighting.
3. Shut off the main building power breaker if possible, if you can not access the building main breaker the breaker in the fuse box (DRY HANDS, not part of fire). This alone will stop most electrical fires in their initial stages.
4. Use a Fire Blanket, it will save what is left of your equipment and is the most effective way to put out the fire. You can find a 4x5 foot fire blanket for under $20
5. Use ONLY Class "C" or multipurpose "ABC" fire extinguishers (you have a couple nearby right?)
6. As a last resort, AFTER THE MAIN BREAKER HAS BEEN SHUT OFF, you can use water.

Yes, this costs a little money, yes it is worth it.

IMO properly providing and monitoring clean power with overrated cable is the best way to prevent fires.

I run overclocked AntMiners at 200GH/s (400 MHz) with a 2nd 120mm high volume fan added as an exhaust off of Corsair RM 550W power supplies, the PSU and all power cables remain cool, miners run steadily at 38C (100F) in a room kept around 20C (68F) during winter and around 22C (72F) during summer.

Here is a shot of a external digital display thermometer monitoring 2 AntMiner S1s:

Let's talk about preventative measures.  I have 6 Antminers of my own in my apartment and I am always checking their temperature.  I think the general consensus seems to be to keep the miners 50 degree celsius or below.  Also, use the formula Watts= Amps x Voltage and stay below 80% of max load.  I have a fan blowing into the room and a exhaust duct blowing out of the dryer duct.  I currently have a 4" inline fan from Home Depot powering the duct but it sucks so I ordered a more powerful one on Amazon.  I may even hire an electrician to check the setup.  Glad you are okay dude.

                   

The ventilation as-is is not enough.  Right now the outside weather is cool and I have the mining room door wide open with a fan blowing in.  I'll see how things go when the more powerful inline duct fan comes in.  


edit:  I just unplugged my Antminers and will remain so until further research into safety.  Thanks for sharing your story.

much wow

ah man this really sucks. Good thing you lived to tell the tale though..
Anyone else got in danger?

A miner consuming over 2kw is always a fire risk. Try one those cute mini miners next time

So, I have noticed that both the ASICMINER Cubes and the KNC Jupiter asic miners pull a lot (>30) of amps over the PCI-E connectors.  The wiring gauge for that amount of amps is 10 gauge wire as a minimum, but the cables are often short so the gauge should probably be even higher. I've been noticing lately that the power supply manufacturers are using small gauge "flat wire" connectors from the power supply to the PCI-E conenctors. I have noticed that the PCI-E cables for these kinds of miners can be warm. The danger here is that the insulation melts, the connectors short and then either catches fire or causes the PS to catch on fire. 

some of the first KNC miners had burn/smoke problems.  

its probably a good idea to keep the miners away from combustibles in case they do catch fire.  I've seen the USB miners on ceramic plates

Ive had PSU cables melt, and boards and cards blow out and a fury of smoke.

Its definitely an issue. You need to have smoke detectors, preferably the kind that email/text you if you are away from home.

Also, a fire extinguisher. Those things can save your miners, your house, or people lives.

I have a question somewhat related to this topic for tips on how to stay prepared for the worst case scenario.  Does anyone have recommendations for miners or me (who mine at their house) to insure their equipment for a worst case scenario (theft, fire, flood, etc)?

I called my insurance company regarding what is covered and was told that my current policy only covers $5k total for electrical goods in the house.  Even before mining I was in excess of that amount due to TVs, laptops, desktops, tablets, etc.  I asked for information regarding how to insure my ‘custom computers’ and was told that I needed a ‘personal article rider’ for each computer.  For everyone who may be curious, I have State Farm insurance and was quoted a price of $2.2 for every $100 for the ‘personal article rider’.  At this time I do not have the policy as I have been trying to figure out of there is a better alternative and am looking for whatever advice can be given.

Yeah, that would actually be a great idea.  I'd be really interested in reading/following a thread like that.

Those wires looks really thin.

Honestly, this looks more like a wiring problem than a cube problem.

Ah ok

Asicminer, The same company who makes the small 333mh/s USBs and the 10-12gh/ blade systems

Yeah, I got that. But who makes the "asic cube"? Is it product from BFL, Avalon, KnC, etc ?

This person has been scamming this board for a long time coming up with different stories every time you know what give you away asking for help that is a dead ringer for a scammer. The thing is this when someone wants a dollar they tell them why they need a dollar when a person could use a dollar they hope someone would give them a dollar without asking.