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The Dangers of Crypto Mining
When beginners delve into the world of crypto mining, they often overlook some potential dangers that this hobby may pose. Most notably, faulty wiring can pose a serious risk to both the crypto miner’s equipment and their personal safety. This article aims to shine a light on such issues. We discuss one miner’s experience with dangerous conditions, explore the importance of quality equipment, and provide advice on staying safe while crypto mining.
A Miners Experience: The Damage
Our story begins with a miner who almost experienced disaster first-hand. After a period of relative success using a 1200 watt HP power supply with Bit Mini Doge miners, he noticed an alarming sign of danger; his cables were melting, browning and becoming noticeably damaged. Astonishingly, he emphasized, even in the state of severe damage, the device was still functional. However, the signs were clearly indicating a potential catastrophic event.
The Meltdown Cause
Upon further investigation, the culprit behind the meltdown was discovered. Despite the miner using 18-gauge cables, the wiring inside was not up to standard. Allegedly, the measurements stated for the gauge of the cable, which referred to the thickness of the copper inside, also accounted for the protective outer sleeve, meaning there was less copper conducting the power than there should have been.
Misleading Claims
The cables originated from Amazon. And while Amazon is a trusted marketplace for a plethora of products, this incident highlights the importance of due diligence when purchasing electrical equipment. Alarmingly, many cheaper options and easily accessible products may not be what they seem. Misleading cables, claiming to be a higher standard than they are, add a significant and dangerous unknown into the crypto mining equation.
The Professionals Perspective on Quality Cabling
To delve deeper into the topic of safe mining practices and particularly, proper wiring, we enlisted the help of a professional in the area – Veteran Miner. With a background in electrical engineering and a thorough understanding of cabling and electrical currents, he provided vital insights.
Why Does Gauge Matter?
The crux of the issue lies within the gauge of a wire. The gauge specification refers to the thickness and the number of strands within the wire. For example, a true 18-gauge wire must be a specific thickness and contain a specific number of strands. The issue arises when the stated gauge isn’t accurate, and the wire isn’t up to carrying the current that it is subjected to in a mining rig.
The Risks of Inaccurate Gauges
A miscalculated gauge can lead to heat dissipation, causing the wires to slowly start melting and browning over time. This results from the wires being incapable of bearing the wattage going through them. In worst-case scenarios, this can even ignite a fire, posing a considerable risk to miners. Even if it doesn’t ignite a fire, the browning and melting will likely lead to system failure over time; an undesirable result regardless.
What To Look For In Quality Cables
Purchasing quality cables is crucial for any miner. It’s advised to buy from reputable companies in the same field, who understand the strain that mining can put on cables. Many choose cheaper options to save money, but this is a dangerous game to play. By opting for quality, more expensive cables, you’re ensuring your rig’s efficiency and preventing accidents from occurring.
Veteran Miner gives advice to look for true 16-gauge cables, capable of handling more current and reducing the risk of overheating and melting. The length of the cable also matters. The longer it is, the more resistance it carries. Therefore, miners should aim for lengths just sufficient for their needs.
A point to note is that all cables aren’t likely to burn. However, all it takes is one to ignite a fire and cause significant damage; not a chance worth taking.
The Way Forward
In conclusion, it’s important to note that crypto mining is an exciting and often lucrative hobby. However, it isn’t without risks. It’s crucial for miners to keep their equipment’s health in check regularly, ensuring that their power supplies are of good quality and that their cables are adequate for their power needs.
We need to treat crypto mining like any other electrical operation, giving it the respect and caution it requires. This means doing our due diligence on the equipment we purchase, and where we purchase it from, to ensure a safe and successful mining experience. After all, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Let’s keep mining – the right way.
the problem here is you are putting way too much current down the cable, far more than it was designed for. you are going from a 6 pin to 8 pin connector, while it is fine to go from an 8 pin to a 6 pin, the other way around is very bad. you need a 2x 6pin to a single 8pin cable to support the wattage. the way you have it configured you have a 75W rated cable and you are pulling up to 150W through it. it is going to generate some heat as the cable and the connector are not rated to carry that amount of current. 150W rated cables have a much thicker wire then the 75W rated cables, this is why they are getting very hot. if you have a single 6pin to an 8 pin, the direction the cable is designed for is 8 pin for the power and 6 pin for the thing being powered. if you have 2x 6pin and 1x 8pin, you can use it either way 8pin power or 8 pin to the thing being powered.
That's crazy bro!. You made me inspect my rig. I found a hot spot that was melted behind my ATX PSU (peropheril)
Wires have resistance that creates heat the more amps you push through a wire the hotter the wire and that is what happens the wattage is the heat
Very informative. Thank you.
Dude alot of the times the wire itself is not copper or not even a decent blend of conductive metals. Alot of amazon car audio and solar wire use cheap copper c. Aluminum blend which is worse for conducting current, the wire heats up and more resistance it would surprise me if the wire you have are copper aluminum. If you ever see the letters C.C.A on the wire anywhere its cheap wire and the the gauge needs to be +2 to keep the wire cool while operating at said voltage and amperage, one more thing that makes a huge difference in temperature in wire connections is how well the wire is crimped or soldier’d on … a loose crimp will heat up quickly
I had that problem all the time, destroyed bunch of equipment, because wires just burn.
I was looking into starting mining with the doge /lite coin miner that you showed here .
What is their profit from each ? and do they mine both coin same time ? What kind of power use do they cost you per year? Thank you for any info in advance
The smaller gauge wire is not rated for the amperage that the gpu demands. There for heats up more than a thicker gauge.
The simple answer is not using HP server power supply in connection with the break out bords. Evga/ Thermalake or similar platinum rated ATX power units only. The savings of the HP Server power supply are not worth the risk. At least that is my opinion on how i plan to prevent such electric smoldering / fires
Look man, I only nearly burned the place down once. IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE!
I've always been an extremely safety conscious miner so I've never built a normal mining rig. Instead, I have two or three GPUs directly connected into an expensive overclocking motherboard designed for high power delivery. To mitigate some of the efficiency loss and longer ROI, I also use the computer to simultaneously farm Chia on 14 TB hard drives, which is a low wattage endeavor and doesn't overly tax the system and should produce small but consistent profits for many years. Note that if I have 3 GPUs connected, I try to ensure that they are all low-to-medium wattage (for example, 2070 Super, 2060 6gb, 1660 Super). I have an RTX 3090 on my gaming computer and that runs solo.
Where do we find those red cables?
or whats the highest Awg pcie cable i can use
Why are you using a shitty power supply? It's your own fault.
I hard wired what I could from power supply to miner I had burnt wires at the plugs
Not sure what one of those ASICs pull.
But the engineering standard for a PCIe cable is 288w per a cable. I have a feeling that those pull more than that, which is causing your problem.
Either that or some of the parts in your chain are not up to spec.
Protips:
1.) Don't be cheap on your gear. You are already spending extra for cards. Make them last. Spend a little extra to keep your gear running. It will pay back in the long run.
2.) Insurance and coverage is worth it. Up front cost a little more, but if something does happen, you will be better off.
I happen too
Great Video Hobbyist Miner – Appreciate you showing 1st hand your experience of using cheaper / mislabeled wires from unknown sources. I'm sticking with Parallel Miner for my cable.
Thinner wires get much hotter due to the lack of surface area
The most common reason for melting pins is the contact resistance between the actual wire and the pin. The problem rarely is with the Female to Male pin-to pin connection. Having low-quality (non-fully-copper) wires multiplies the problem! In 98% of cases wires and pins are only crimped. This makes the contact resistance higher compared to any soldered wire/pin. Crimping and then soldering does slow the work, but makes the contact much much better. If you are making your own 6-pin/8-pin connectors and cables, my advise would be – after crimping, it is best to solder each pin/wire connection.
The main trouble is that the current CHEAP wires are NOT COPPER. They do contain a certain amount of copper, but in order to make them cheap, they make the wires with other much cheaper metals, including iron. Copper has low resistance, other metals have much higher resistance. What you get is a lot of heat, a lot of power loss in the cable, LESS than 12V to the GPU/miner = UNSTABLE WORK, and potentially – a FIRE.
Instead of using breakout boards, just use a PSU with pin connectors or the PSU the Goldshell offers? You clearly aren't using the proper PSU. I own four Mini Doge units and never have had a problem because I use the suggested PSUs . . . it's not rocket science.
Had that happen to me on a single 6700 mining rig. Just 1 card only on a 850 watt power supply.
Cool video, will you be going to the SCPRIME show at the convention center EOM. Vegas here, you should do a meet up so people can swap, trade & sells parts cards etc.
One is a Norwood 1 and the other is a Norwood 3V