Topic: Residential Hobbyist Miners: power concerns? (Read 3870 times)

Make do with what you can whilst you grow, just be safe about it. 

Move to a data center, commercial or industrial office space, small store when you can afford it though, no sense pushing the issue more than you need to. You can rent or talk to an owner about rental if there is no one using an expensive purchase.  Usually agents don't mind doing temporary rentals instead of letting a building not being profitable but not all do.  Some small but modern office buildings bill by the square footage too and are ideal to work with since you pay for what you need.

Let's face it, with mining, room isn't necessarily an issue.  When room size becomes an issue then I don't think that re-investment money's an issue either =D

Dear Lord!!!

I can never for the life of me go over 50, even 50's a record, usually 46-48 lol

10-2 should be about a buck a foot.  In my case I was able to put the outlets about 3 feet from the breaker panel.  The PDUs have "long" (12 foot? 15 foot?) power cables.

The wire alone for a 50 foot run that can support 30 amp is over 60$

Before I shut most of it down, I had them all in a single room, w/ an industrial fan blowing air in from the window (& the rest of that section sealed off that wasn't being used by fan), & then it would exhaust out of the top of the window.  Bottom was opened as high as needed for the fan, top was open about 2 inches.

They used four different circuits.  One was in the room itself, one was from a second bedroom that also had my "main" computer in it (so I only used about 700 watts on that one), the third and fourth were from the master bedroom.  Ranged from around 1200-1400 watts draw (besides the one room), depending on the temperature outside.

When I got enough stuff to need to use the 2nd circuit, I was using a 15 foot, 16 gauge extension cord that ended up having the plug melted out, lol.  After that I bought three 30ft 12 gauge extension cords.... think they were like $60 each.  Also need to make sure your surge protector uses at least 14 gauge cord (w/ the assumption that the power supply cord is 10ft or less).

here in country i dont have any problem with the electricity cost so i can plug anything as the main breaker is not going down

and the amount is? I am curious how much mining rigs can put in the house

The limit for the entire house is based on the service (connection to the utility) that you have.  In the US this can vary a lot.  Generally older homes and smaller homes it is lower and for newer homes especially larger newer homes it is higher.  It can range anywhere from 75A to 200A.  Today most newly constructed homes are setup with 100A to 150A.  This is often not that easy to find.  You may be able to find it on the outside meter.  If your circuit breaker panel has a master breaker then the rating on the master breaker may let you know the service.  I say may because often these can be mismatched.  I have seen 200A breakers on a 150A service connection (that is a code violation btw and dangerous) and I have also seen cheaper builders which install a 100A panel when the utility dropped a 150A service connection because a 100A panel is $12 cheaper than a 150A one (this is not a code violation but it is horribly cheap).  If your panel has no master breaker (usually at the top center of panel) and it isn't indicated on the meter you can call your utility.

Obviously this is the max current for the entire house.  Your usable current for mining will be that minus whatever your house uses on peak load.  You can simulate it by turning on the AC, lights, and other appliances.  Then check how fast the utility meter "spins" to determine the total house load (current).  You could also use a multimeter to check the current across the main lugs on the breaker panel.  The later should not be done unless you know what you are doing and have the proper equipment.  Electricity can kill without warning.

yes of course there is

there should be an upper limit for maximum usage, right?

i think its depend on how many electric appliances are running in your house

how much is the maximum elec current in household?

the mining set up whom im currently hosting is on my other room its 3 s1 plugged on 3 different psu i need to put a breaker circuit about 60 amp so its safe i guess there is no ther electricity over there only the aircon and the some mini exhaust fan

Not willing to risk safety or have to change something later to sell the place.  I'll secure all connections sufficiently.  Thanks for your your info!

Ah I didn't catch that it was a straight plug, I just assumed it was a locking connector.  You could always cut the L6-30 plug off the end of the PDU and replace it with a non locking 6-30.  Personally with that kind of amperage I don't like the idea of a non-locking connector.  If something pulls the cable out under load, you got enough current for an arc.  Still it isn't a violation of the code to use straight plug connectors,  locking connectors are only required for high voltage.  The straight connectors are also down current compatible (i.e. 30A plug will fit 50A outlet). 

If you are willing to bend code compliance there are other options but I am not sure if they would be any cheaper.

Thanks for your input, confirms my understanding of this.

Definitely a 6-50.  I had it done that way since the outlet was cheaper and then I didn't have to change the ends on the compressor or welder.  Compressor is 25amp startup, Welder is 30 and only one outlet so no running them together.

I don't know why the electrician put in 40A.  Maybe he was trying to keep it safe for what I planned on running?

Probably will do a used AP7911, total draw about 15Amps (across both channels, of course).

Thanks for the info on plug ends, I'm looking at some EV charging adapters since I can't plug an L6 into the 6-50. 

I'm in a catch-22, I can't lose the 6-50 because the L6-30 receptacle and plug ends are $60, the nicely molded EV adapter is $25. LOL

May need to drop a 110 in there or find some new power adapters for the couple small devices.

You sure it is NEMA 6-50?  That outlet is pretty much obsolete.


The NEC requires the breaker be sized to the outlet and circuit (so it should be a 50A breaker on a 50A circuit).

There would be no issue with doing that but you don't need an adapter.  The outlets are designed to be backwards compatible.  You can plug a 20, 30, or 50A plug into a 50A outlet.  They are just keyed to prevent the reverse (can't plug in a 30A plug into a 20A outlet).  Lastly usable power on PDU is going to be 24A not 30A as continual loads should be derated 20%.  Most PDU will have a 24A internal fuse/breaker.



I would run the little stuff on 240V as well (just check power supply label to ensure it is universal 120V to 240V).

I feel it very unsafe to put a kilowatt-class electricity consumer at home. the elec current is too large. main-stream mining machines are not suitable for mining in house...

Good topic, thanks OP.

I'm infrequently running a compressor and welder on 240v NEMA 6-50 in the garage, so I'm thinking of garaging my miners.

Can anyone comment on any problems or risks with this crazy scheme?

240v 40A at the panel -> 50Amp Nema 6-50 -> Adapter Cable -> NEMA L6-30 -> PDU (15Ax2)

Could/should I run a 110v stepdown transformer for the little stuff?

But you are still profitable right? I mean if you mine on scrypt you might loss instead due to the power charges...