Immersion mining is rapidly gaining prominence across all sectors of the cryptocurrency mining industry, and at-home immersion mining is no exception.

In this livestream, Compass talks with a panel of immersion miners about the tools and designs they used for their at-home mining rigs. All five miners share their insights and experience working with immersed mining machines on this livestream. They explain how and why they build their current setup. They also offer advice to new miners interested in immersion.

This livestream is must-watch material for any at-home miners interested in immersion mining or miners currently operating immersed ASICs looking to get advice on different types of setups from other immersion miners.

Video Recording

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Audio Version

Show Notes

Introductions (timestamp)

  • Jon Yuan, Coin Heated: He worked IT for 26 years, he first started mining bitcoin before mining pools existed and reentered the market last year. He started with one s9.
  • Cachaulo, immersion miner: He started using bitcoin for online poker and started mining a few years ago. He is an engineer by trade. He has a cabin that he wants to heat from these ASICs, heating it with radiators and hot water vs just through the floor.
  • Jesse Peltan, HODL Ranch: He started mining in 2017. He worked in the energy sector prior to becoming interested in mining.
  • DJ, ASIC Heater: He graduated with civil engineering degree in 2011. He got into bitcoin in 2016 and started mining after the China ban in June.
  • Gian, immersion miner: Been in bitcoin since 2017, he started researching mining 3 months into that bull market. He started mining in 2020 after moving into a new home. He runs 2 S19js and 1 s9. When he’s not hashing he is working in the construction field.

Why immersion? (timestamp)

  • Jon: I’m running 4 tanks with 21 miners, heating a 17,000 gallon pool. He is working with AI pro energy to create a container for on site immersion miners looking for commercial products.
  • Jon: I’m working on a single and double miner stack to make immersion mining sound comparable to a household fan.
  • DJ: immersion mining is cleaner and reduces noise effectively.
  • Jesse: Heat recovery is more efficient with immersion mining.

Advice for new immersion miners (timestamp)

  • Make sure to check the materials compatibility with oil: seals, hoses, tubing, etc. anything used to seal a tank needs to be compatible with oil.
  • Learn about the ASIC models, learn how to take them apart, clean them, and troubleshoot the hash boards, learn how to flash firmware, etc.
  • Learning how to take care of your machines will save you time and money due to lack of convenient repair options.
  • Hire a licensed contractor for all electrical set ups.
  • Make sure you understand exactly what you need installed, let the electrician know what capacity you need.
  • Do not exceed 80% electrical capacity to avoid home fires and electrical issues.
  • How to experiment: Buy 1 s9, 1 tank, 1 pump, 1 radiator, mineral oil and experiment with immersion. Testing different fan settings, experiment with temperature, install brains, this cheaper than $500.
  • Keep fluid in the tank, do not pump it around, this prevents dielectric fluid leaks.
  • If your goal is for heat recovery, buy cheaper mining machines. You will need high uptime and high utilization with more expensive machines, 5-10 kilowatts of heating from new gen miners will be challenging.
  • Set your temp targets lower at 80 Celsius or below, this will give your machines better longevity.

Insights on the S19s (timestamp)

  • Jon (Coin Heated) doesn't see an issue with not removing the thermal paste on the s19s.
  • Braiins OS for s19s is in beta testing but is coming "soon".

Hosted by Will Foxley and Zack Voell