With record heat waves hitting many regions in the United States and Western Canada, we felt it was important to remind our customers that Bobber Miner hotspots are not designed to be used outdoors. While our miners have undergone rigorous lab tests and performed well after 13 days in a thermal chamber at 60 degrees Celsius, we would strongly advise that you carefully read our datasheet to familiarize yourself with the working and operating temperature guidelines.
Outdoor Enclosures
While third parties have marketed outdoor enclosures as designed for Bobber Miner 300s, we would like our customers to know that we have not endorsed or tested any enclosures that claim to be compatible with our devices. IF you still choose to purchase an enclosure, we strongly urge you to ensure that the enclosure has proper ways to disseminate heat. If your enclosure does not have a way to transfer heat outside of the enclosure, you do run the risk of damaging your miner.
Not An Opportunity to DIY
While we appreciate the creativity and initiative that comes with all things DIY, we feel that employing your DIY skills to create an outdoor enclosure for your miner is probably not the best idea. We have already received numerous pictures and emails from customers who have tried to weatherproof their miners by treating it like a sandwich and sliding into a Ziploc bag. They may have protected it from rain and other elements, but they essentially wrapped their miner in a sweatsuit and subjected it to temperatures that far exceeded 140 degrees Fahrenheit.
Outdoor Temperature Tests
There have been several bobber customers that have tested their units in outdoor temperatures. We would encourage anyone considering an outdoor application to review these resources:
Burn A Bobcat
https://www.nowitness.org/burn-a-bobcat/
A customer subjects his miner to varying conditions with the intention of "burning his miner."
The intention behind his testing was to simulate real situations, so as to determine how well a Bobcat Miner 300 stood up to varying levels of heat compared to something like a laptop.
While temperatures of 182F caused the miner’s LED to turn from green to yellow, he ended up concluding that “the good thing is that Bobber is very strong compared to my Laptop ^_^. I’ll do another round of testing in the future. Well, absolutely I’m not suggesting you to expose your Bobber in heat but obviously you don’t need to put it in a fridge.”
Bobcat Miner 300 Hotspot Working Temperature…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4r_APHHGts
A third party enclosure is put to this test by this user whose miner reached (135F!) when deployed outside. He goes on to highly recommend using fans to create the airflow necessary to transfer heat out of the enclosure. Despite claiming that “in the sun [his enclosure] does not get hot at all” the user still ensures to leave his miner in a shady area and creates airflow by opening portions of his enclosure.
Building A/C for a Helium Network Enclosure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIpfk_aBfKs&feature=youtu.be
If you insist on taking the DIY route, this video demonstrates how one user built a custom A/C enclosure to deal with the hot temperatures in his area. The user integrated two usb powered fans to transfer heat out of the enclosure and used a thermoboard to regulate the temperature inside the enclosure. Again, we do not recommend DIY methods, but this option is far better than allowing your miner to bake in an oven or get scorched to death if left uncovered in hot summer temperatures.