Topic: Requirements for a small custom farm (Read 2284 times)

I also keep a backup PDU around.   One day for some reason a PDU I was using started acting up... and I did not have a extra then.  It scared me enough thinking of downtime from a PDU I bought a decent deal on ebay.

I had to run a decently long network cable to get to my mining area so also have a few big ethernet cable's.  As they are so expensive locally vs buying online.  So kinda have a stockpile of random part's/pieces that local prices are crazy on.   It is amazing going to local bestbuy or similar store and comparing prices to some of the online stores.

 Chelan and Douglass counties in Central Washington for small miners, add Grant County if you can get to the 200KW+ consumption range to get on it's low-end "industrial" rate ("general" business and residential rates are closer to 4.5 in Grant, but the RENT rates and availability is a lot better than in Chelan or Douglass).


 It's not all that cool in the summer, but it's DRY which makes evap cooling practical.

he can backup the router, it is all I back up.  it is cheaper. run just the router and the switch

While I agree with 80% of what is said, I think any focus on backup is largely wasted money. There is very little risk to a miner from an unplanned shutdown. Yes, mining time is lost when the lights go out, but that's it. If you have unstable power with frequent outages, then you have a different problem, that backup is unlikely to solve.

Mining is does not need a Data Center environment. Extensive backup and redundancy in power isn't free, and is unlikely to pay for itself.

I am basing this on the general reliability of of the USA electrical grid. Your environment may be different.

Everything depends on cooling, power costs, backup, and area available. Your area should be neat, as to make cooling as effective as possible. You'll want cheap electricity in a cooler place, so you won't use as much power on cooling, but still need especially cheap electricity. Cool and cheap is a huge factor, which is why many farms are located in Washington state in the US. You'll want extended backup to keep things going in case of power going out; it takes time to shut miners down safely. There's many more factors like cost of miners and what model, but assuming it's an S9 farm with 5-cent electricity or less, in an ideal enviroment, it should work.

And one thing important is that it is a good power source.  You don't want to deal with brownout's or variation in voltage.   There are some places that are cheap on electricity but power just is not reliable.   You want cheap and reliable it is a must as large scale any kind of backup of power is pricey.

There are also some that political would keep me out personally.  I  have read of some countries with very very cheap electricity but putting a big investment there would be something most would question. I don't a example of countries like this, as some take it very personal when it comes to countries.

9 cent power  no

5 cent power maybe

3 cent power yes

Can a mining farm still break even with S7s nowadays? Electricity cost and increased mining difficulty has made it a very daunting task to accomplish.

I think what leads to it is a lot want to get rich quick.  Nothing wrong with that motivation... just mining is not the way in most cases it happens.    There are a few cases of "free electricity" where yes they do earn quite quickly with old gear.  BUT those are pretty few at this point and most have a certain amount of electricity that is max they can do with "free electricity".

The fact is most places you will have a decent initial investment to  mine if you want to do it at a decent scale.   This is why hosting companies are so popular.   I do agree we see these thread's far to often though and at least weekly.  

I wish I was not kinda a buzz kill on it.  But everyone would have warehouses if it was easy/cheap.   I personally made a mining area on my family's farm, as it's owned by family I was able to get proper wiring, modify for cooling, etc.   

There are lot's of warehouses that mention free electricity but they mean a small amount no where near the 50 you were wanting to do.   Even ones you pay for electricity most just are not set up for this amount of electricity.  That is why I mentioned finding one who even can handle it first as just that will be hard.

Then add modification for cooling and electricity... it becomes very very hard.  If your budget is big you could buy and do it but leasing is going to be hard I think and get what you want for decent price.

After a few days seeking in the city, yes, it's a tough job like you said

Thank you very much for the information.

If going to go into fan's though I would mention ones I have owned and tested. On the gable fan mentioned above - http://www.homedepot.com/p/QuietCool-Professional-3013-CFM-Power-Gable-Mount-Attic-Fan-AFG-PRO-3-0/206047381 .  I do own it and use it.  The standard gable fan in my mining are just did not cut it, but the professional one above is higher priced but well worth it if you need more CFM's.


Box fan's are fine I use them with my ether setup's I dabble with.  But they just do not move a ton of CFM compared to other options.  I personally have had good luck with Utilitech fan's.  They just move a TON more air then a box fan, but yes you pay more for them.  But if you are really looking at 50 miners this is a pretty small cost.

I have one 24 inch Utilitech that can do 7860 CFM's so a lot more power compared to most box fan's.  It really does move a good amount air. - http://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Pro-24-in-2-Speed-High-Velocity-Fan/4755305


And I do  have one 36 inch Utilitech that is just a beast and can do a massive 12000 CFM basically pushing a TON of air. http://www.lowes.com/pd/Utilitech-Pro-36-in-2-Speed-High-Velocity-Fan/4755307


When buying fan's  though be careful of lower priced options in some cases.   Some flat out lie on CFM's you will think you are saving a buck but the quality just is not there.  Also when you get into big fan's if they use a cheap motor it can lead to a smaller lifetime.   But above are all ones I own personally and had great luck with.  Also you will notice they are powered by turning a dial vs electric button's this means if power is lost once it starts up fan's automatically start up again.  Some electric controlled fan's do not start up after power outage.


One not as impressive but I still like it for little jobs is the Lasko 2265QM 20-Inch Max Performance High Velocity Floor/Wall mount fan.  It has enough CFM for small job's also you can mount on a wall if you ever needed to - https://www.amazon.com/Lasko-2265QM-20-Inch-Performance-Velocity/dp/B0073CQ9XA?ie=UTF8&


I still think your going to have a hard time finding a warehouse rental with all you need for cheap.  But those  fan's above are all ones I own and have tested if you do end up needing fan's.

Here's the thing, while it is possible to do it won't be worth it for only 50 S7's. The odds of you finding a cheap warehouse that is already equipped with power run the way you want it is low. You are also forgetting about cooling, racking and some various other things you will need to get your farm up and running.

You really have two options if you want to profit with your own warehouse for the farm.

1) Find a cheap warehouse with power already run, if you need to run the power you will need to pay a decent amount to get it installed, most warehouses will come with around 200+kW. Install enough cooling and exhaust to deal with a full warehouse, subtract out the power used by the cooling system. Then find someone else who wants machines and join up to fill the space and split the costs.

2) Just find a host, when you consider the amount of money you will need to get your farm started and only having so few units the cheapest option would be to have someone else keep track of them in a place that has already had all the expenses paid for. Most hosts will give you an all in price, usually under 10c and that includes everything: cooling, internet, labor and power.

https://bitcointalksearch.org/topic/hw-hosting-directory-reputation-622998

that is a cheap lasko box fan as the push fan




http://www.laskoproducts.com/wp-content/uploads/B20570WeatherShieldBoxFanwithThermostat.pdf


if you have any link of any kind that shows how much air they push  please provide it.

I put 1000cfm to be conservative as I can not find a cfm spec anyplace at all.

the 1600 cfm gable fan was 120 usd vs 30 usd for the lasko and the cfm was clearly marked.

and the box fan is not high velocity  so  with lots of restriction it loses force.



I went back to home depot and found this one from lasko.




it read 2500 cfm max:

PRODUCT OVERVIEW Model # 3733 Internet # 100405665 Store SKU # 399582
The LASKO 20 in. 3-Speed Box Fan combines the cooling power of 3 fan speeds with the wide-area air flow of 2,500 CFM air circulation and a 20 in. fan diameter, all in a compact, lightweight, energy-efficient design. The 6 ft. cord and slip-resistant feet allow flexible placement without fan slippage and the built-in carry handle makes it easy to transport the fan between rooms. The plastic material provides reliable strength and durability.
3 speeds make it easy to select a customized airflow level
Circulates up to 2,500 CFM for ample cooling power
Plastic housing provides durability and strength for extended use
Energy-efficient design helps conserve power
6 ft. cord allows flexible placement away from an outlet
Slip-resistant feet help prevent fan sliding for improved safety during use
Compact, lightweight design for convenience
Built-in carry handle makes it easy to transport the fan between rooms
Standalone design
ETL safety listed


I bolded the wide area flow that means lower velocity and lack of penetration ability as noted by QuintLeo

So the point is  the two fans I am using will cool 6500 watts of gear or 5-6 s-7's

so 50 s-7s or s-9's means more fan power.

maybe 5 gable fans like this:


http://www.homedepot.com/p/QuietCool-Professional-3013-CFM-Power-Gable-Mount-Attic-Fan-AFG-PRO-3-0/206047381


these 5 =   15000 cfm  on the pull side


and maybe 10 of these on the push side.





http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lasko-20-in-3-Speed-Box-Fan-3733/100405665


set the gear on racks like these

http://www.homedepot.com/p/HDX-5-Shelf-36-in-W-x-16-in-L-x-72-in-H-Storage-Unit-21656PS-YOW/100656305

with the box fans pushing at them.  and the gable fans pulling air out of the building

I think you missed the bolded part as he is trying to find a warehouse rental.  He is not actually mining at his home/owned location and is looking for a location.  So big difference there right away.  He can't really call in  electrician or power supplier as he does not know location he is wanting to rent at somewhere not picked yet.

I have a feeling he is thinking the location is going to be much cheaper then it actually is.  I think he will find out most warehouses do not have NEAR the power needed for 50 S7's and cooling.   And if he does find one that rent's and happens to have enough power the warehouse really needs to allow modifications.  As I have a feeling for  electrical and cooling modifications will need  to be made. Finding  all  of this cheap I don't think will be easy.

Depending on where you live, you might loose, especially with the upcoming block reward halving.
Bitmain is releasing the AntMiner S9 in batches. You may want to wait.

If you can't wait and do want to go with S7, make sure your power outlets and your neighborhood's supply can handle it. Worst case is that you may blow your neighborhood's transformer.
Check with your local power supplier and/or electrician if your wiring can handle it.

Most box fans are rated for a lot more than 1000 cfm - even the cheap Lasko ones like Walmart sells.

 Down side - don't try to push a lot of air with them if you have any restrictiveness in your airflow path, their airflow goes down a TON in that sort of situation.

first off s-7s will lose money if your power  cost is not really cheap  under 5 cent a kwatt
 second off

50 x 1300 watts = 65kwatts  
65kwatts = 260,000  btu of heat  that is a lot of heat.


_______________________________________________________________________________ ___




to give you an idea of cooling my fans below use 300 watts to cool off 6.5 kwatts   of power used about 26,000 btu

 a whole house ac is 30000 btu or more and uses 2500 watts  so ac cooling is  $$$



here is my current 5 unit setup about 1/10 of what you want

so my setup can do 6 pieces   you may need 3 bigger fans to pull and 3 bigger fans to push.

and you can do six pieces in a stack   2 wide 3 high

you need 8 stacks  about 30 feet wide  4 feet tall

my setup is not practical for that much miners  I would only do up to 12 miners that way.

50 miners I would setup differently.  but I have never run more the 15 miners like the s-7 or s-5 or s-9.







https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1512186.100


look at this photo  it is 5 units  4 s-9's a 1 s-7  about   6.5watts

the exit to outside fan moves 1600 cfm  the box fan pushes 1000cfm

It doesn't take all that much SPACE to run 50 S7s.

 What you need to worry about are POWER AVAILABILITY and ABILITY TO VENTILATE THE SPACE.


 (cool the space isn't a good option, except PERHAPS if you're in a very dry area where evaporative cooling is a viable option).

Thanks for your input. At least the challenging aspects are more realistic on my paper now.

I think this is hard to say as we don't know if you are allowed to modify location. If you are allowed to modify location we don't know what your looking at on type of cooling.  I would guess high RPM fan's and good exhust fan's. Or is it a location evaporation cooling is possible (for me personally my climate does not work with evaporation cooling).  So there is a lot of unknown's as we don't know what equipment is being used for cooling. But with 50 miners there will be a lot of heat.   I think you are going to have a hard time finding warehouse that allows modification and has the electricity needed and rents.  This is why hosting companies are so popular.

Have you started to look at warehouses that have  the electricity needed for 50 S7's?  I just don't think you will find a ton of them for cheap.  But start with that and then find the one that allows modification out of them. I think it will be not so easy to find locations that have these two things unless your purchasing it but I could be wrong.  Rentals I just don't see many being in this area, and if they are I would guess a very long term lease.

Thanks for your advice. However, space is also a requirement here but I have no clue how much space should I reasonably be looking for to handle the heat from 50 S7's? I understand the electrical part is another issue to be figured out. I will see how much information I can get from local electricity suppliers.

That is a good amount of electricity with 50 S7's so I would start by looking if they can even handle that amount  of electricity. I would imagine a good amount can't handle it and those who can I am guessing you will have to do some wiring.

So I would look for being able to modify location as I have a feeling you will need to do wiring, and cooling.  And not all are going to let you modify the location.   And really best start  is finding one with the amount of electricity as you need as I really think that will really lower amount of possible locations.

Hi folks,

I would like to know how many square feet should I be looking at if I decide to host 50x AntMiner S7? To narrow my search for a proper location, should I start with warehouse rentals? Please share your experience and insights as I am trying to work on a small business plan.

Thanks.