Been running this thing for like 2 months now. Thought I'd share some random thoughts since people keep asking about it.
The Numbers Are Brutal
Made about $4 in Bitcoin. Spent probably $15 in electricity. Math is not mathing but whatever.
Wife keeps asking why I'm paying money to heat the office. Hard to explain that I'm "participating in the network" when she sees the electric bill.
Actually found a share yesterday that took like 6 hours. Variance is wild on these small miners. Sometimes you hit 10 shares in an hour, sometimes nothing for half a day.
Pool Hopping
Started on Ocean, moved to Braiins for a bit, now back to Ocean. Honestly can't tell much difference in payouts. We're talking about fractions of fractions here.
Tried CK Pool too but their minimum payout is annoying for something earning pennies. Took forever to reach the threshold.
Some guy on Twitter is solo mining with his Bitaxe. Absolute madman. Respect though. If he hits a block I'll probably buy 10 more of these things immediately.
Firmware Updates
They keep pushing updates. Usually install them, sometimes forget for weeks. Hard to tell if they actually improve anything at this scale.
Latest one supposedly improves efficiency but my hashrate looks the same. Still bouncing around 380-420 GH/s depending on temperature.
Random Stuff I've Noticed
Room definitely gets warmer. AC is needed now.
The thing has been running 24/7 for months with zero issues. More reliable than my WiFi honestly.
LED color changes based on status. Red when something's wrong, green when happy. Very simple.
Sometimes the web interface crashes and you have to restart it. Not often but happens.
People's Reactions
Showed it to my neighbor. He asked if it was a router. Then asked if I was making money. Had to explain I'm basically paying for a very expensive space heater that occasionally finds digital pennies.
My kid thinks it's cool that it's "making Bitcoin" even though I've explained it's more like playing the lottery every second.
Tried explaining difficulty adjustments to my uncle. His eyes glazed over. Just told him it's a computer that helps keep Bitcoin secure.
The Addiction
Check the stats way too often. There's this little dopamine hit when you see shares being found. Completely irrational given the amounts involved.
Started following difficulty adjustments more closely. When it goes up, my already-tiny rewards get tinier. When it goes down, I feel like I'm winning even though nothing changed.
Technical Stuff
Temperature sits around 50-55°C. Seems fine. Fan noise is minimal.
Power consumption is steady at like 14 watts. About the same as an LED light bulb.
WiFi connection has been solid. Was worried about that since my router is upstairs.
Is It Worth It?
No. Obviously not from a financial perspective.
But it's fun in a weird way. Like having a pet that costs money and occasionally poops out satoshis.
Also feels good to contribute to decentralization, even in this tiny way. Every hash matters or whatever.
What I'd Do Different
Maybe buy two next time so I can try solo and pool simultaneously.
Definitely get a better desk fan for summer. This thing plus computer plus monitors made the room pretty toasty.
Should have started tracking exact costs from day one. Now I'm just guessing on electricity usage.
Bottom Line
It's a toy. An expensive, electricity-consuming toy that makes me feel like I'm part of the Bitcoin network.
Will probably keep running it until it breaks or I get bored. Neither seems likely soon.
If you're thinking about getting one, just know what you're getting into. You're not starting a mining business. You're buying a very expensive lottery ticket that also functions as a space heater.
But hey, maybe I'll get lucky and solo mine a block. Probably not. But maybe.
Current Status
Running Ocean pool, ~400 GH/s, earning about $0.05/day, spending $0.20/day on power.
ROI: never
Fun factor: surprisingly high
Wife approval: low but tolerating