Topic: Question for experienced "semi-large" scale bitcoin miners - page 6. (Read 10322 times)

Thanks for your input! Regarding heat ventilation I agree that A/C is out of the question for something like this, exhausting heat is the only way to go. I can turn a very nice profit with up to $0.10 kWh but if I go with a warehouse I'll get commercial rates which will likely be cheaper, thus allowing for even more profits.

Is there any reason to believe power for ~20 Antminers would be impossible to have installed in a space like that? Do you believe the building wouldn't be capable of handling it? Remember it's not just that small warehouse/garage, it's a larger building with many more attached. As far as how much that would cost if it were even possible, I've never gotten any quotes but I'm under the impression that sending them to a hosting facility would be much more costly, in multiple ways (rent, if a machine broke down, etc.).

Including renting the warehouse but not including power installation (would probably eat the first few weeks of profit at most), I would stand to make somewhere around ~$2200 per month after plugging the numbers into a mining calculator. That's a good amount of money to me that would be made on the side compared to something like buying a rental property which would make 1/4 that much money per month. I'm just searching for something to invest in, and I love bitcoin and believe in it, so I figured mining would be the best thing for me to invest in right now, not even including how much more money you can make doing this than anything else I've researched. $2200 a month in real estate or the stock market with only $10k-$30k would take years and years to achieve.

I know you want experienced semi-large miners to reply, and I am not one of them, but here's my 2 satoshis anyway.

Regarding heat ventilation: Exhaust fans are the only way to go. A/C is not an option anywhere really, primarily due to the extra power consumption resulting in a higher operating cost which will likely yield your operation unprofitable in the long run. Short run, with BTC on the up and up, maybe economic... but as you say you know the economics so you know you need $0.03-$0.07 / kw-h to have a chance long term. So while I don't know the full layout of that warehouse, you are going to need to size your exhaust fans properly. I would size them to be able to handle the max CFM / miner. You are in Tampa with a hot climate, you will definitely want to make sure your exchange CFM exceeds your total miner CFM. Location of fans play a role as well but I can't comment without more info.

In regards to power, that picture you posted doesn't have near enough room for 10 megawatt... But anyway, first you need to choose a proper location (low cost power is primary consideration, leasing agreement secondary) then find out the maximum service you can install (considering capital and labor costs), then spec out the total # of miners you can run, then spec out the fans / ventilation system.

Edit - I remembered you said you only have $10-30k, that could only get you about 20-25 Antminers without any electrical costs etc. Realistically, with such a low amount of money you are better off buying the Antminer / Avalon miners and sending them to a reputable hosting facility. You don't have enough money to justify leasing a commercial or industrial lot.

I have a sizable amount of money that I'm considering investing in bitcoin mining ($40k-60k). I've mined bitcoin in the past, I've been in the community a long time, and I've run all of the numbers to know it will be profitable, so I know for the most part what I'm getting myself into, and I finally have the money to invest in something I whole wholeheartedly believe in. I just have an HVAC question for those of you who have done it before or are currently doing it and know anything about heating/cooling.

1) For a mining operation this size a small ~1000 sq ft warehouse would need to be rented out, how have you dealt with temperatures and heat? A small warehouse like this (https://tampa.craigslist.org/hil/off/6072781671.html) in Florida would absolutely cook my miners, especially in the summer. I've seen Youtube videos of guys in similar situations do different things, but it seems like industrial fans lined up with the door rolled down on top of them pulling air out of the room would be best. Some sort of solution like this (http://images.wisegeek.com/garage-exhaust-fans.jpg) seems extremely ideal where you can just exhaust all of that hot air out of the door. As far as humidity which we get a lot of in Florida, I'm thinking something like dehumidifier and an evaporative cooler combination would work well (http://www.homedepot.com/p/MaxxAir-145-Pint-Bucketless-Portable-Dehumidifier-DH-075-ORG/207155737) and (http://www.homedepot.com/p/PORTACOOL-16-in-Vertical-Tank-3900-CFM-3-Speed-Portable-Evaporative-Cooler-for-900-sq-ft-PAC163SV1A1/206757987). The dehumidifier would keep the humidity somewhat stable and low enough for the evap cooler to be effective, which would then cool the air in the back of the room down so I could then blow that air over the miners, creating a sort of wind tunnel, finally with the fans at the front exhausting the warm air that was passed over the miners. I really like the idea of it and how effective this combination could be, but I have NO IDEA how I would run the numbers without dropping all the money on them and the miners. Theoretically, would something like this work? I know without the dehumidifier it would be too humid for the evap cooler to run, and with the evap cooler it would probably be too hot in there.


update: Dehumidifier/Evap cooler likely won't be optimal, I will most likely go with a warehouse that has two large roll up doors means for trucks. One door will be intake, the other will be exhaust, and the miners will sit in the middle for optimal airflow.