Immersion cooling of asics with your own hands

Immersion cooling

One of the effective ways to protect against overheating of mining equipment is the use of a dielectric solution. The technique requires additional investments. If you lack engineering knowledge, it is more convenient to buy a ready-made bath. However, the price of equipment exceeds 100 thousand rubles without taking into account the solution. In the article we will tell you how to save money and assemble immersion cooling of asics in liquid with your own hands. Regardless of the type of system (single-phase or two-phase), the immersion method reduces electricity consumption by 15%. The saving is about 325 kW per month (calculation for Antminer S17).

What you will need

Two-phase systems are not recommended for self-assembly due to engineering complexity. Modeling of a pressure compensated hermetic device will be required. In addition, the price of immersion fluid of this type is high – from 10 thousand rubles/kg. Several tens of kilograms are needed to cool asics.

You can independently assemble a bath with single-phase liquid. To do this, use an external cooler (coolant cooling) and a circulation pump. Both elements require connection to the power supply from the network. This should be taken into account when deciding on the modernization of the system.

The operation of one cooler will consume about 0.65 kWh or 470 kW/month. The cost for the pump will be 100 W/h or 120 kW/month. The results of calculations for farms with different numbers of miners are shown in the table.

Number of ASICs
Energy consumption of the farm for built-in ventilation, kW/month.
Number of external coolers
Energy consumption of the liquid system, kW/month.
Resource saving
Coolers
Pump
1 pc.
325
1 pc.
470
72
-217 kW
2 pcs.
650
108 kW
3 pcs.
975
2 pcs.
940
-42 kW
4 pcs.
1300
288 kW
5 pcs.
1625
613 kW
6 pcs.
1950
938 kW

From the results it follows that for one and three asics the method is unprofitable even without taking into account the payback of cooling equipment. When completing two devices, it is realistic to get an insignificant benefit. One it is lost when calculating profitability. On electricity it is possible to save 108 kW per month (or 480 rubles at the energy tariff of 4.5 rubles). At the same time, the cost of the equipment, assembled independently, will pay off about 9 years, and for ready-made baths – 26 years.

Immersion cooling of asics with your own hands
Immersion bath for ASIC

For farms with a set of four or more units, the immersion method is rational. It also carries many advantages:

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  • Overheating protection.
  • Safe ASIC overclocking and increased hash rate.
  • Increased lifetime of the technique.
  • Reduction in noise.
  • Saving electricity and energy costs.
  • Possibility to combine with a heating system. This will allow even more efficient use of resources.

If assembled independently, a liquid cooling system for four ASICs will pay for itself in 3.5 years, for six pieces – in 13 months. At the same time, it is possible to optimize almost every component, which will lead to a shorter timeframe. For example, users buy some components on the secondary market for this purpose.

Choosing a ready-made model saves time. However, the high cost discourages miners. At the same time, you can assemble an immersion bath for asics with your own hands. It includes the following elements:

  • Tank (bath).
  • Dielectric liquid.
  • Pump.
  • Electrical system.
  • Strapping for draining the solution for external cooling.
  • Radiators.
  • External coolers.
  • Temperature sensor.

Approximate cost of components

The better the preparation before buying, the more effective the investment. It is necessary to study the nuances. The first thing is to choose a container for placing the equipment. For example, you can buy a ready-made box with all the necessary holes for drainage, and then save on your own choice of accessories and liquid. Prices for baths at manufacturers are about 19-30 thousand rubles.

You can take a container suitable for the material and refine it with your own hands. Important points when choosing:

  • The container holds a large volume of dielectric liquid. For 6 asics you need about 100 liters. Therefore, users often choose high-density materials – hard plastic, glass or stainless steel.
  • Heating can occur up to 75°C. Data on the heat resistance of plastic is often not specified, so enthusiasts often choose glass or stainless steel. However, it is difficult to make holes in these.

The easiest way is to use containers made of polypropylene. More reliable are steel tubs (such as food processing sinks). Another non-standard idea – glass aquariums from the pet store.

TypePrice, rub.
Ready galvanic bath for 6 miners
24 th.
Container made of polypropylene
4.5 thousand
Glass aquarium 120 liters
7,25 thousand.
Stainless steel sink for food industry
12 thousand.

The farther away the external fan is from the tub, the longer the pipes. It is better to shorten them to use less dielectric. On average, the cost of piping is about 1500 rubles.

Immersion cooling of asics with your own hands
Two-phase cooling for miners

It is also necessary to install a circulation pump for heating (from 4000 rubles). He will direct the flow for the purpose of cooling to the radiators (2 pcs. 2000 rubles). It is important to select a device with a performance reserve. This is due to the density of some coolants.

The selection of the fan is the most important. Here you need to observe the balance of noise, number of revolutions, power consumption and price.

The cost of the simplest, but “loud” model will be about 6500 rubles. With the minimum characteristics, 2 devices will be needed. Or they can be replaced by one powerful one for 10-14 thousand rubles. More efficient and quieter options cost on average about 18 thousand rubles. Additional costs will also be required:

  • Distribution board – 750 RUB.
  • Separate circuit breakers for each asic, pump and fans – 1800 RUB.
  • Temperature sensor – 1000 RUB.
  • Switch for 8 ports – 800 RUB.
  • Ethernet cables – 500 RUB.

The total, excluding dielectric will amount to 31.85 thousand rubles. The editorial staff previously published a detailed material on choosing the type of immersion fluid. For the current calculation we used a budget solution – single-phase dielectric Coolant. The price of 100 liters – 22 thousand rubles. The final cost of a self-assembled bathtub will amount to 53.85 thousand rubles.

Assembly of immersion cooling for asics with your own hands

Between the bath and the place of installation, it is necessary to lay thermal insulation material. This is necessary to avoid excessive heating of the floor. In the absence of holes for the supply of pipes in the solution tank, it will be necessary to make them.

It is best to install the fan outside, and the bath – indoors. In this way, the mortar will cool down faster. As an alternative, you can additionally cut the strapping into the home heating system. The electrical scheme should be organized taking into account the independent disconnection of each device – including the pump and external air ventilation.

Installation of a temperature sensor is optional. Control overheating asics can be carried out programmatically with the help of a miner-client. However, installing an automatic temperature controller will make the design safer. It will ensure that the general power supply is switched off when the set value is exceeded – for example, 65°C.

Attention should be paid to the choice of immersion liquid: composition, safety for inhalation and flash point. Before using the finished bath, the equipment will need to be prepared. List of important parts:

  • Dismantle the ASIC’s built-in air ventilation.
  • It is not recommended to install the miners at the bottom of the container with liquid: one side will not be cooled to the necessary extent. For each asic needs to make “legs”. For this purpose, bolts from fans are used.
  • Do not lower power supplies into the dielectric.

How to use the bath

Immersion liquids recommended for mining are safe in contact with the skin. They do not evaporate and are odorless. Unlike conventional farms, immersion baths are very quiet. The sound comes only from the circulation pump and is comparable in volume to kitchen refrigerators.

When placing the units in the tank, there is no need to build up space between them. Rational use of space makes the tub very compact. For example, a vessel measuring 75 x 65 x 55 cm is sufficient for six ASICs.

These factors make it possible to install immersion systems in residential areas.

Results

Ready-made solutions with a complete set for six ASIC-devices cost from 135 thousand rubles, excluding dielectric costs. The benefit of self-assembly is obvious. However, it requires time for studying technical nuances and selecting components.

Immersion cooling of asics with their own hands provides great opportunities for safe overclocking of equipment. This method increases the profitability of mining. In combination with the optimal firmware, it was recorded that Antminer S17 with the manufacturer’s characteristics of 52 Th/s reached a stable indicator of 70 Th/s. The increase amounted to 34%.

Frequent user questions

📢 What is the difference between the liquid method and the use of water blocks?

With immersion cooling, the equipment is completely immersed in a special solution – for example, mineral oil. With water blocks, the dielectric is piped only to the most heated parts of the device and dissipates heat from localized areas.

🔔 Is overheating possible in the cooling bath?

Yes. Overheating occurs when heat transfer is impaired. The cause may lie in the operation of the pump or cooler, or dielectric leakage is likely.

🔥 Can immersion cooling be used for graphics card farms?

Yes. You will need to remove the built-in fans from the graphics adapters and remove the thermal paste before starting.

✨ How often do I need to top up the heat transfer fluid solution?

The main property of single-phase fluids is their low volatility. In other words, they do not evaporate. Therefore, topping up is only necessary in the event of a coolant leak and therefore not required regularly.

📌 What is “dry water”?

It is the colloquial name for immersion dielectric fluids.

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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.

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