My 2020 BTC Mining Experience

Hey everyone!

So I wanted to share with you all my BTC mining experience through 2020 and hopefully shed some light and answer some questions for those thinking about getting into it.

In Nov 2019 I got really interested in the idea of using mining to accumulate BTC and leverage my investment property (I have a two unit building. I live on the second floor and rent out the first floor). After lots of research and DD I was convinced to give it a try. In late December ending up purchasing a Bitmain S17 miner off eBay for $1,900 with the goal of having it operational by the start of 2020. I had (2) 220v outlets installed in my basement near my work bench for $330 and I was ready to roll.

Let me say that the initial setup and start up period was quite difficult. It was tough to find good resources to assist so it was mostly a trial by fire experience. It also doesn’t help that Bitmain is a Chinese company.

I also learned very quickly that these miners are extremely noisy and emit a high frequency sound due to the fan speed. This became a big issue right away because the sound was noticeably loud not only in my tenants apartment but I could also hear it upstairs in mine! The complaints started almost immediately. I thought I was screwed.

I attempted to install insulation and some sound panels in the ceiling of the basement but that barely made a dent to the noise levels. After several more attempts at sound proofing, I ended up making a sound proof box below my work bench out of sound panels ordered off amazon. I kept the front open with a door and the back vented. This helped the sound levels tremendously. I also ended up purchasing (2) larger computer fans which I placed at the front and back of the box for increased air movement. Keep in mind that the hotter the miner, the faster the fan speed on the machine.

From an operating standpoint, I purchased a WiFi extender with an Ethernet port for the miner which has worked pretty well. Although I did have frequent disconnections especially at the beginning. This was rough because when the miner disconnects the fan speed will increase to 5000rpm and is very noisy. It also takes a minimum of 5 minutes to reconnect to the agent and settle the miner down. That doesn’t seem like a lot of time until you and your tenant are forced to listen to a high frequency pitch for minutes on end.

I went with BTC.com for my miner pool. I am currently running the agent software on my laptop upstairs in my apartment. A designated desktop computer would definitely be ideal here, but currently I don’t have it setup as such. Again a lot of troubleshooting up front on getting the miner to sync to the pool but the pool seems OK now.

I am currently running the miner on low power and am producing roughly 43TH/s daily. This equates to a payout of about .005 BTC every 7-8 days. My plan is to set the miner on either standard or turbo mode in the summer once the house AC units are running and the noise is less of a factor.

My electric costs going into the year were .071kw/hr. I think they may have increased slightly though more recently.

So through end of April (4 months) with extensive trial and error and extended downtimes in the beginning, I have been able to generate approximately .076 BTC (about $600 for those counting at home). Obviously you need to deduct electricity costs to get your true profit. Here is a recap of my total costs to date

Miner: $1,900 Electric upgrades: $330 WiFi extender, comp fans and Ethernet cords: $125 Sound Panels: $130 Total all in: $2,485

For me I’m less concerned about the current profitability and more focused on where I see BTC going in the future and being able to consistently accumulate outside of regular purchases through an exchange. For instance, I see that same .076 being worth $7,600 in the next two years. That’s a $100,000 price target btw.

It’s also been important for me to maximize the up time of the miner and squeeze as much out of it as I can before the halving next month. For now I am planning to continue mining after the halving unless BTC price falls below $5,000 then I may go offline until price can recover.

All and all, if you are interested in getting into mining be prepared to spend lots of time learning and testing workable methods once you get started. Also be prepared to deal with the noise levels and friends thinking your crazy. BTC mining is much more extensive than plugging in an ASIC and forgetting about it. For most people, purchasing BTC through an exchange is more than sufficient to accumulate BTC. Certainly less of a headache! I will say though that through all the trial and error this year, I am happy with the position I’m in now and think I am at a point where I can manage the miner well and keep it going consistently.

Submitted April 28, 2020 at 09:48AM by UncoloredShoes https://bit.ly/2W2yhSp