Airflow and temperature: the intake-exhaust loop
Air-cooled miners need a clean path: cool in, hot out, never the twain. Recirculation — exhaust finding its way back to the intake — is the silent killer that a distant thermostat cannot see.
Trace the loop
Manufacturers specify a flow direction (usually front-to-back) and intake temperature limits. Your job is to keep that promise: identify where air enters, where it exits, and block the shortcuts where hot air loops back. Measure at the intake — the number the manual means — not across the room.
- Recirculation check: feel for warm air returning to the intake; smoke-test (carefully) or a tissue strip reveals flow paths.
- Clearances: per manual — pushing units against walls starves fans even in a cold room.
- Every restriction costs CFM: dust filters, noise silencers, and pretty enclosures all trade airflow for their benefit. Some trades are worth it; blind ones are not.
- Stacking: exhaust of the bottom unit feeding the intake of the top one creates a cascade — separate the streams or add distance.
Temperatures and what they tell you
Log intake temperature AND device temps (per hashboard where the API offers it). The pattern matters more than any single number: intake rising through the day = room heat soak; one board 10°C hotter than its siblings = airflow blockage or a failing board; everything creeping up over weeks = dust.
See it live on pow.family
Fleet-test notes on project pages include placement and ambient conditions — the context behind every measured hashrate we publish.