When I first started mining crypto on the homestead, the focus was on power consumption, profitability, and figuring out the right gear for the job because I was wanting to run on solar power. I didn’t fully consider how much heat these machines would kick out once the weather started heating up because they were smaller ASICs and the building I am in is very open with high ceilings. Now that summer’s here and the temps are climbing into the 90s with heat index into the 100s F, I’m realizing that heat management is probably the number one issue I’ve got to deal with if I want to keep this operation sustainable year-round. I have been more focused on getting every watt out of my solar instead of thinking about the rising temperature and our AC unit having to work overtime...
The Goldshell Mini Doge and Mini Doge III ASIC miners are little monsters when it comes to heat output. Nothing like a bigger ASIC though, I think my far arse would by dying at this point and summer just got started! In the cooler months, they were basically doubling as space heaters, which was awesome. But now, they're working against me. The room they’re in heats up fast, and that heat spreads into the rest of the house because of how things were built around here, making my air conditioner work overtime. And when the AC is running full tilt all day just to keep things comfortable, the energy costs start stacking up way faster than the coins I’m mining.
Night Owl Mining Mode
The solution I’ve come to for now is just running the ASICs at night. Around sunset, once things start cooling off, I power them up and let them run until about 10 in the morning. That gives me a decent chunk of mining time, but keeps the heat from becoming a full-on problem during the hottest part of the day. It’s definitely a compromise, but it’s a livable one. My electric bill is hopefully going to get back in check too, because the last couple of months were pretty rough, and again, the heat is just getting started.
It’s also made me rethink what success in home mining looks like. It’s not just about running gear 24/7 anymore. It’s about finding a rhythm that works with the environment you’re in, especially when you're doing this out of your own living space. I happen to be in a big steel building that has been built out into part workshop, part house with no ceilings, so I am having to play with the balance. My project for today is also putting some window tint on the front windows that get a ton of son during the day, so hopefully that will help too.
Ventilation Is the Next Step
This heat problem has me looking seriously at ventilation upgrades. If I want to go back to full-time mining with the ASICs, I’m going to need to cut in some vent fans or even build a dedicated exhaust setup to pull hot air out of the room. Ideally, I’d vent that hot air straight outside. That way the miners can run longer without cooking the whole space. I might even consider moving them to an outside structure down the line, but for now, some smart airflow changes could make a big difference.
Another idea I’m kicking around is building a ducted enclosure that channels all the hot air directly out of a smaller hole like a dryer vent does. I have already found the designs I need to 3D print what I would need for the vent and for the Mini Doge, but the Mini Doge III is a different design, so I might have to improvise and remix the other to fit. There are a lot of DIY ways to approach this, and I’m just starting to dive into what makes the most sense for my setup. Whatever I go with, it has to be simple enough to manage but effective enough to take the edge off the heat during those peak hours.
ASICs Are Not Currently on the Solar
Right now, my ASICs are still plugged into the grid. I haven’t integrated them into the solar system yet, mostly because of the solar issues I am also learning how to deal with. The ASICs just pull too many amps for my system to keep up with in it's current form. I am about to install some new connections and some big 0 gauge wire that will open up the current bottle neck that I have right now. Eventually I am looking to build a second array to tie into the current battery setup that would be enough to handle the ASICs during the day without an issue, but would be looking to cut them off at night and just mine XMR during those hours.
That said, the long-term goal is to run as much of my operation as possible on solar. Daylight hours are perfect for mining, and it just makes sense to take advantage of the free energy pouring out of the sky. Batteries get expensive though, so I have to take into account what is going to be the better ones to run 24 hours and which to only run part time. For now though, I’m focused on keeping things cool and manageable while I figure out the best way to scale up for the long term.
Monero Mining Is Just Built Different
The saving grace of this whole summer mining situation has been my Monero setup. I’m mining XMR 24/7 using my Mac Mini M1 and M2 machines. These little computers barely put off any heat, although a little, but not near as bad as the ASICs, and they’re efficient as hell. I don’t have to worry about ventilation, power draw, or temperature spikes. They just sit there, quietly doing their job and earning a steady trickle of Monero without any drama. I keep a little USB fan on them to keep them cool, and I never have any issues with them overheating.
That reliability and efficiency is exactly why I’m planning to grow that part of the farm. I’m looking at possibly adding a higher-end CPU rig just for mining Monero and running a full node, but for now I am sticking to the Mac Minis until I hit my first goal, then I will look into a bigger PC with a Ryzen 9 to really boost the hashrate, but again, more heat and more power needs. But what I have now fits perfectly with my goal of building a setup that doesn’t require tons of infrastructure or babysitting. I can run these machines day and night without worrying about cooking myself out of the room or blowing out the breaker panel.
Balancing My Passion with Practicality
All this has been a big reminder that mining isn’t just a plug-and-play operation. It takes planning, adjusting, and honestly, a fair amount of trial and error. Especially when you’re trying to do it at home in a way that doesn’t mess with your quality of life. I love the process of mining and stacking coins, but I also need to keep my sanity, and my AC unit intact and operating, haha.
This whole experience is just part of the evolution of the setup. I’m learning what works and what doesn’t, and making changes along the way. What started as just “run these machines and earn coins” is becoming something way more nuanced. Now it’s about balance. Balancing heat, power, time, cost, and comfort. And figuring out how to scale things up without making my home life miserable. I knew all of this going in from my experiences in 2017-2019 mining in my old apartment, but when I moved into my van for 4 years, there was none of that happening, haha, although I always tried to find ways with things like my little USB miners, but I ended up selling everything after some time... FOR 10X WHAT I PAID FOR EVERYTHING!!! So I didn't do bad, haha.
Until next time...
Be cool, be real, and always abide with you my dudes!
