40' shipping container as a mining shed?

P

pclausen

Gawd
Joined
Jan 30, 2008
Messages
697
So I've been thinking about what to do with all my rigs come springtime, let alone summer. They are coming out of the house. My initial thought was to stick them all in my shop building, but I would have to cut up walls for intakes and exhaust fans. If mining was a 'forever' thing, sure, but I think it will come to an end sometime over the next, oh, 10 years or so.

So why not get a used 40' shipping container? I can get one delivered for around $2,000. It is weather proof and very secure. I'd want a white one or at least a light colored one, or I'd have to paint it.

Got a perfect spot for it next to my pole barn:

40ft_01.jpg


The barn is 36' deep, so it would stick out 4'.

I would get a dedicated 400A service to it. It would only be located about 100' from the power pole:

40ft_02.JPG


I would cut out 3 openings for exhaust fans and about 6 openings for inlets. Something like this:

40ft_03.JPG


I was looking at these exhaust fans:

https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200422375_200422375

Detailed specs here:

https://www.jdmfg.com/wall-master-exhaust-fan

I figured during the winter, I'd only need to run the center fan. In the summer time, 30,000 CFM would replace the air in the container 10 times a minutes, which I would think should provide plenty of air flow to keep the rigs cool, even when the air coming in is 100 degrees F. Crazy idea?
 
sgrinavi said:
You can do that without any A/C?
Click to expand...

I'm thinking that by getting a white one, or paint whatever I get white, with enough airflow, I don't need A/C.

Check out this video. FF to about 2 minutes:



Hot humid Florida in the middle of summer. Airflow is key.
 
sgrinavi said:
You can do that without any A/C?
Click to expand...

Sure, why not? They'll run a bit hotter with the higher ambient and need a bit more fan speed, but even if you consider a 35C (95F) ambient, that's still a 30C delta from a 65C operating temp.
 
first can i have your house/land please?!?!?!? :D that would be the dream, have an acreage out in the country with some animals for my kids to raise and a huge mining rig bringing in the money so we wouldn't have to work ;)

how cold does it get where you are? sounds like that would work great for heat during the summer months, but during the winter if it got cold enough wouldn't you have condensation issues because of the extreme difference in temps of the cards and outside air?
 
IronMan_74 said:
but during the winter if it got cold enough wouldn't you have condensation issues because of the extreme difference in temps of the cards and outside air?
Click to expand...

You only have condensation when things get colder than the dew point (which is always at or below ambient). Mining gear is always going to be hotter than ambient, so it's a non-issue.
 
pclausen said:
I'm thinking that by getting a white one, or paint whatever I get white, with enough airflow, I don't need A/C.

Check out this video. FF to about 2 minutes:



Hot humid Florida in the middle of summer. Airflow is key.
Click to expand...



That is sweet
 
Parja That's what I figured. I just need to ensure the container doesn't get hotter than ambient and I think by painting it white and having very high air flow, I can accommodate that. I think I should also make the inlets small enough that a person can't fit through it. 14" x 14" should do the trick I would think and then maybe do 10 of those instead of 6 24" x 24" openings.

Ironman It can get down in the 10's or lower on very cold days, and upper 90's during the summer, so a huge temp swing. But from what Parja is stating, that should not be an issue. And yes, I hope to get to a point where mining will provide a decent secondary income. :D
 
Can you actually bring power into a shipping container without running afoul of building code?
 
I would think that as long as I have proper grounding in place (i.e. 2 8' rods at least 6' apart), I don't see why not. I plan to call the county soon to double check. I could do a 200A drop from the shop/barn off my existing 400A service, but I think it would make sense to keep this new structure on a separate meter.
 
pclausen said:
Parja That's what I figured. I just need to ensure the container doesn't get hotter than ambient and I think by painting it white and having very high air flow, I can accommodate that. I think I should also make the inlets small enough that a person can't fit through it. 14" x 14" should do the trick I would think and then maybe do 10 of those instead of 6 24" x 24" openings.
Click to expand...

Could you use louvers in the openings? Might help keep the rain & the vermin out.
 
pclausen said:
Ironman It can get down in the 10's or lower on very cold days, and upper 90's during the summer, so a huge temp swing. But from what Parja is stating, that should not be an issue. And yes, I hope to get to a point where mining will provide a decent secondary income. :D
Click to expand...

i'm in iowa so huge temp swings are "normal" for us too (-10 to over 100). i'll have to do some more research on the cold temps, i'm still trying to wrap my head around it..... even if the cards aren't affected by condensation issues they will still heat up the air inside the container so where the cold air comes in there could be condensation/ice build up?

i only have 1 rig with 5 cards right now and i'm already thinking about what i will need to do for summer as i hope to have at least 1 more rig by then. any outdoor solution has to have all angles covered, regardless of size, since its not like you can just move it inside easily if something isn't working out......
 
sgrinavi said:
Could you use louvers in the openings? Might help keep the rain & the vermin out.
Click to expand...

I plan to have filters in all the air inlets to prevent prevent any type of dust/dirt build up on the GPU fans and heat sinks. My concern is that with 30,000 CFM of airflow, they are likely to get dirty very quickly, even if there are like 10 or more of them. I was going to use regular pleated air filters like what is in your house HVAC, but I think they would trap way too much material, to the point of me having to change filters weekly. I'll need to do some more research on what type of filter is appropriate for high airflow situations.
 
I have seen these for sale locally to me, and wondered the same thing. Although, I don't think my neighbors would care much for it.

P.S. I enjoyed your interview with Vosk!
 
IronMan_74 said:
i'm in iowa so huge temp swings are "normal" for us too (-10 to over 100). i'll have to do some more research on the cold temps, i'm still trying to wrap my head around it..... even if the cards aren't affected by condensation issues they will still heat up the air inside the container so where the cold air comes in there could be condensation/ice build up?
Click to expand...

Quick condensation primer...
Air can hold a certain amount of moisture. Assuming a constant pressure, as the temperature increases, that moisture capacity increases.
The percentage of how much moisture is in the air to the air's moisture capacity is called relative humidity.
The temperature the air would have to drop to in order for condensation to occur is called the dew point.
For air with a given amount of moisture in it, the dew point will always be the same.

So, let's say you're pulling in ambient air with a temperature of 20F with a dew point of 10F. Being blown through the "mining trailer", let's say it gets warmed to 60F. Since the air is now warmer, it has a considerably higher moisture capacity, and thus a much lower relative humidity. So it could easily absorb more moisture, but since it's just circulating through the mining trailer, there's no more moisture for it to absorb. So the dew point stays at 10F. That air then gets vented back to the outside and cools back to 20F, but since it never absorbed any more moisture, it still won't condense.

Long story short, as long as you're just dealing with ambient air and not cooling it to below ambient, you'll never have issues with condensation.
 
Parja said:
Quick condensation primer...
Air can hold a certain amount of moisture. Assuming a constant pressure, as the temperature increases, that moisture capacity increases.
The percentage of how much moisture is in the air to the air's moisture capacity is called relative humidity.
The temperature the air would have to drop to in order for condensation to occur is called the dew point.
For air with a given amount of moisture in it, the dew point will always be the same.

So, let's say you're pulling in ambient air with a temperature of 20F with a dew point of 10F. Being blown through the "mining trailer", let's say it gets warmed to 60F. Since the air is now warmer, it has a considerably higher moisture capacity, and thus a much lower relative humidity. So it could easily absorb more moisture, but since it's just circulating through the mining trailer, there's no more moisture for it to absorb. So the dew point stays at 10F. That air then gets vented back to the outside and cools back to 20F, but since it never absorbed any more moisture, it still won't condense.

Long story short, as long as you're just dealing with ambient air and not cooling it to below ambient, you'll never have issues with condensation.
Click to expand...

thank you for that, makes perfect sense!
 
boss6021 said:
I have seen these for sale locally to me, and wondered the same thing. Although, I don't think my neighbors would care much for it.

P.S. I enjoyed your interview with Vosk!
Click to expand...
any decent town or situation with close neighbors simply won't let you have containers like these. I've already tried where I live.
 
pclausen said:
Ironman It can get down in the 10's or lower on very cold days, and upper 90's during the summer, so a huge temp swing. But from what Parja is stating, that should not be an issue. And yes, I hope to get to a point where mining will provide a decent secondary income. :D
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you get for snow where you live, but could snow drift blocking the intake become an issue?
 
I've got a few hundred of these containers. You'll need to spray foam the ceiling about 1/2" thick otherwise condensation will kill your rigs. In the spring/fall it will literally rain inside the container with that much heat in it. Just find someone that does home insulation or buy a kit and do it yourself.

You can run power into them no problem. Just find a competent electrician that knows the building code.
 
Parja said:
Quick condensation primer...
Air can hold a certain amount of moisture. Assuming a constant pressure, as the temperature increases, that moisture capacity increases.
The percentage of how much moisture is in the air to the air's moisture capacity is called relative humidity.
The temperature the air would have to drop to in order for condensation to occur is called the dew point.
For air with a given amount of moisture in it, the dew point will always be the same.

So, let's say you're pulling in ambient air with a temperature of 20F with a dew point of 10F. Being blown through the "mining trailer", let's say it gets warmed to 60F. Since the air is now warmer, it has a considerably higher moisture capacity, and thus a much lower relative humidity. So it could easily absorb more moisture, but since it's just circulating through the mining trailer, there's no more moisture for it to absorb. So the dew point stays at 10F. That air then gets vented back to the outside and cools back to 20F, but since it never absorbed any more moisture, it still won't condense.

Long story short, as long as you're just dealing with ambient air and not cooling it to below ambient, you'll never have issues with condensation.
Click to expand...

The problem is, with the sun shining on the container, the metal heats up faster than the air inside it and causes condensation like crazy. Easily fixed by spraying the ceiling with spray foam insulation about 1/2" thick. The water won't wont condensate on the foam and as a bonus, on sunny days, it will help keep some of the heat out of the unit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Parja
like this
Looks like you have a great property for this, I'd definitely do it. Look at solar and wind too! I've thought of buying a cheap property in an unorganized township to do just that. Bonus is whenever the government opens up the feed in tarrif program again you could make money off that too.
 
Time2Kill thanks for the advice to spray-foam the ceiling! I'll definitely do that. While I'm not an electrician, I have done quite a bit of 400A work on my own installation, and passed inspection at each step along the way. So cool deal, I'll confirm with the county that there aren't any other "gotchas" that I'm not yet aware off, and more than likely get the ball rolling.
 
Last edited:
Red Squirrel said:
Look at solar and wind too! I've thought of buying a cheap property in an unorganized township to do just that. Bonus is whenever the government opens up the feed in tarrif program again you could make money off that too.
Click to expand...

I'm up and running with 128 solar panels already. They generate about 5,500 kWh per month on average. At least that is what I predict based on running 80 panels (roof array and front ground mount in the below pic) last summer.

128panels.JPG
 
Nice! That looks like an awesome setup and nice property. I wish I had a bigger property. I am toying with the idea of buying one though... but it's kinda a huge purchase to make, but would be open to lot of fun (and expensive) projects.
 
WRT airflow inside (and yes, mind all the condensation issues you're likely to have), I'd be thinking of taking the red "wall" all the way to the ceiling as you want to force all the airflow through the rigs. Then you can put both the intake and exhaust up high as essentially one half of the container is acting as an intake manifold and the other half as the exhaust manifold as you have pretty large volume to settle the airflow before it goes through the computer systems. You may get better pumping performance by pressurizing rather than evacuating, too.
 
As is said before:

They will heat up in the summer, significantly, even painted white. You will need to insulate - both for heat in summer and condensation in the winter. Shouldn't cost too much though.

Power is no problem, people run power to these things all the time. Use EMT or something inside to keep the rodents out of the wiring.

Your biggest problems: HVAC (heat & condensation), dirt/dust in the air flow, and rodents/vermin/birds. Sounds like you have some plans for all of that.

It probably won't save a lot of money in the long run over, say, a pre-fab metal building on a slab. But you can haul it off afterwards once your done with it.

I don't know what electric code will say about data center style stacking of your rigs. Generic low voltage "Electrical Equipment" needs 3' of front access/clearance (along with local disconnects), and most AHJ's won't let you overlap clearance areas (ie if your running racks down the walls, each rack needs 3' in front of it, so a 6' aisle down the center, which doesn't leave a lot of room for your racks). If your strictly dealing with 12VDC PSUs though, they may relax that somewhat.

Fire marshal will likely be a part of the permitting as well, if your going that route. It's relatively low amps, so one clear doorway, an external master disconnect, and a fire extinguisher should be enough - but be aware they will probably get a say on it.

You may hit some zoning issues as well, depending on how strict your permitting office is.
 
Appreciate the feedback. I'm wondering if I would be better of just using the main shop building this summer, and then go from there. The shop is already insulated and I could relatively easily clear the 4th bay for mining racks. Each bay is 12' wide by 30' deep and the exterior walls are 12' plus the roof, so about 18' tall in the middle.

shop-all-bays_1_21_18.JPG


Above the 4th bay, I could install one of those 36" 10,000 CFW exhaust fans like so:

shop-4th-bay-05.JPG


I could then open and lock that 4th bay door at about 10" from the floor and rig together some mesh frame for the door to rest on to provide the needed air intake.

It it didn't work out, my shop would have a nice exhaust fan that would come in real handy to cool down the shop on hot days or when I fill it with smoke running engines in there and what not. :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top