Average Lifespan of ASIC Miners

Hey everyone, What do you think is the average lifespan of an ASIC miner running constantly in good conditions with free electricity?

Lol free electricity doesn’t really matter. Miners are meant to run all the time. It really depends on the model though. If you keep them clean and cool, those Canaan Avalons can last a long time. I’ve got a bunch of A841s from 2018 that are still going strong with zero maintenance.

Yeah, I agree. But Bitmain miners are a different story. I have an R4 from 2017 that’s still running, but I’ve got two others that just died in about 2 years. The early S9s were tough, but later ones had about a 15-20% failure rate.

You might not find a solid answer. ASIC mining is still pretty new and machines get outdated fast, so they change hands a lot. When buying used gear, you often have no clue how much it’s been used before.

Mikey’s got a point about resold miners. The free electricity thing only matters if you’re looking at older or less efficient hardware. So how old is the gear you’re considering?

I’ve seen a lot of miners last more than a year. The older Canaan ones generally have a good track record. Of course, there’s always a percentage that won’t last, and that can depend on a bunch of factors.

Yeah, I’m planning to reuse some old miners.

Thanks for the insights, everyone. So when a miner dies, does that usually mean one or more SHA256 chips are toast? Are chips the most fragile part? And does overclocking really shorten their lifespan?

Most failures are due to dead chips, but other components can fail too. If you think replacing a chip is a cheap fix, do some more research. Typically, fixing a chip could cost around $100 or so, and honestly, if you buy a used miner for $400, it's often cheaper to just buy a new one when something breaks.

I get it, changing chips isn’t easy, but I’ve done this kind of work before with good tools. By the way, if it’s not 12V, what’s the DC voltage from their built-in PSUs? Any miner references?

Voltage varies by model. For example, APW9 outputs 14.5V-21V DC, and they’re specific to certain miners, so you can’t mix them up. Or you might have issues with connecting to hash boards.

Just checked the connections between APW9 and S19. Looks tough but doable with short power cables.

Power connections are one thing. The PSU mechanics are another. Modern miners don’t use the standard 12V input like older models did. They control the voltage directly to the chips, which makes things more efficient.

To clarify, the controller checks the PSU model number. If you try using a different one, it might not recognize it. I’ve faced this with Whatsminer gear before.

Wow, so if your PSU dies, you really have to contact the manufacturer directly for a replacement? How do resellers handle this?

Exactly. Unless they’re certified distributors, they won’t help you. If they are, they might assist if the miner is relatively new. Older models? You might be out of luck.

That’s a big issue. I always make sure to buy extra PSUs when I get new gear. When we bought 17 S17s, we grabbed 2 spares.

I think there’s a bit of confusion. The board reads the PSU model, not a serial number. So you can technically use any PSU from the same model across different miners. The hard part is actually finding those PSUs.

I just ordered a $13,000 L7+ and it’s arriving soon. Already on the hunt for a spare PSU.