Introduction

To prepare ASIC miners for long-term storage, record their condition and configuration, follow the model-specific shutdown procedure, clean and dry the equipment, handle any coolant as instructed, then pack and label each unit and store it within the manufacturer’s environmental limits.

Long-term storage of ASIC miners involves more than disconnecting a unit and placing it on a shelf. Residual dust, uncontrolled humidity, condensation, corrosive air, and — for liquid-cooled models — trapped cooling fluid can all complicate redeployment months later. The correct preparation sequence also differs by cooling design: air-cooled, hydro-cooled, and immersion-cooled miners have different manufacturer requirements for temperature, humidity, and handling. This guide focuses on air-cooled miners, with additional precautions for hydro-cooled equipment, based on publicly documented manufacturer guidance. Consult the specific manual for your model before making storage decisions; immersion-cooled miners require storage and handling instructions from their system supplier.

1. Record the Miner’s Condition Before Storage

Operators may consider storing miners during facility maintenance, power curtailment periods, equipment relocation, seasonal shutdowns, or when a purchased unit cannot be deployed immediately. Before powering down a miner for storage, it is worth recording its model, serial number, hashrate at shutdown, and any known faults such as an offline hashboard or a fan alarm. This record becomes the baseline against which the miner's condition can later be compared during recommissioning.

2. Shut Down and Inspect the Miner

A documented shutdown and inspection step reduces the risk of damage during handling and gives operators a reference point for diagnosing any issue that appears after storage.

• Follow the manufacturer’s shutdown and power-isolation procedure for the specific model. Use a stop-mining or shutdown function in the local web interface only where supported and specified by that procedure.
• Stopping mining does not itself disconnect electrical power. Isolate the power supply as instructed before disconnecting cables or cleaning the miner.
• Allow the unit to cool to ambient temperature before handling, packing, or stacking it with other equipment.
• Photograph the exterior, fan grilles, connectors, cabling, and the serial-number label.
• Note any pre-existing fan alarms, hashboard faults, abnormal temperature readings, damaged connectors, or visible corrosion.

This pre-storage record is useful mainly because it allows later technicians to distinguish faults that existed before storage from problems that may have developed during the storage period itself.

3. Clean Dust Before Packing

Dust accumulated during operation should be removed before a miner is sealed in packaging, since trapped dust can hold moisture against internal components. Bitmain’s How to clean and dust the ANTMINER specifies that the miner must be shut down before cleaning begins. For the cleaning step itself, Bitmain's guidance for ANTMINER units calls for compressed air delivered through an air gun at approximately 0.7 ± 0.05 MPa; this figure is specific to Bitmain's documented procedure and should not be assumed to apply to other manufacturers' hardware without checking their own instructions.

For air-cooled miners covered by the applicable cleaning procedure:

• Do not touch fan blades or fan grilles directly with the air-gun nozzle.
• Direct airflow from a safe distance to dislodge dust rather than forcing it deeper into the hashboards.
• If dust has adhered to surfaces because of prior humidity exposure, removal may require taking off the fan assembly and brushing the affected area; this step should be performed only by personnel who can follow the model-specific service instructions for that miner.
• Avoid liquid cleaners, washing hashboards, or using a household vacuum cleaner unless the exact manufacturer manual explicitly permits that method.

4. Control Moisture, Condensation, and Corrosive Air

Environmental control is the central requirement of long-term ASIC storage. Manufacturer-stated limits differ by product line and cooling design, so the exact figures used for a given unit should come from that model's own documentation rather than a generic range.

As a reference point, Bitmain's general ANTMINER guidance lists a storage temperature range of -20°C to 70°C and a storage humidity range of 5%–95% relative humidity, non-condensing. These are permitted limits rather than an ideal target for a multi-month storage period, and the non-condensing condition is as important as the numeric humidity figure: a miner that is within the stated humidity range can still develop condensation if it is moved quickly from a cold environment into a warm, humid one.

Practical considerations for the storage location include:

• Store miners indoors, in a clean area shielded from direct weather exposure, rain, and standing water.
• Avoid locations subject to salt air, industrial chemical fumes, or conductive dust, which Bitmain's environmental documentation identifies as risks for corrosion and equipment contamination.
• Allow a miner that has been transported in cold conditions to reach ambient temperature inside its packaging before unsealing it, to reduce the risk of condensation on internal components.
• Humidity control alone is not a substitute for electrostatic-discharge precautions. The EOS/ESD Association notes that controlling humidity can reduce static-charge accumulation but does not replace a proper ESD-control program; boards and other exposed electronics should still be handled with ESD-safe practices and packaging.

5. Pack and Label Each Miner

Packaging should protect the miner from physical shock, moisture, and dust while allowing it to be identified without opening the box.

• Consider using the original carton and internal supports where they remain clean and structurally sound.
• Where original packaging is unavailable, use sturdy packaging that prevents the miner from shifting and protects fans and connectors from impact.
• Package the miner only once it is dry and at ambient temperature; sealing a cold or damp unit can trap condensation inside the box.
• Separate loose power cables, network cables, and accessories, or label them clearly if they are packed with the miner.
• Label each box with the model, serial number, storage date, firmware version, prior rack or site location, and any known fault.
• Maintain a separate inventory record, whether a spreadsheet or another tracking system, that mirrors the information on the box labels.

6. Additional Steps for Hydro-Cooled Miners

Hydro-cooled miners require preparation steps beyond those used for air-cooled equipment, primarily related to the liquid remaining in the cooling loop. Hydro-cooled miner storage requirements published by WhatsMiner distinguish short-term handling from long-term storage and specify that cooling liquid should be drained if the miner will be stored or transported for longer than two hours.

For long-term storage specifically, the same WhatsMiner documentation lists a humidity range of 30%–69% relative humidity, non-condensing — narrower than the 5%–95% RH figure given for short-term handling of the same equipment. This distinction illustrates why a single humidity figure should not be applied across different storage durations or product lines without checking the applicable manual.

Before storing or transporting a hydro-cooled miner:

• Drain the cooling liquid according to the manufacturer's instructions if the storage or transport period will exceed the threshold specified in that model's documentation.
• Inspect quick-connect fittings, cooling plates, and hoses for residual liquid or signs of prior leakage before sealing the unit for storage.
• Retain original packaging where possible, secure the miner to prevent shifting or tipping during transport, and protect it from rain, moisture, and direct sunlight.

Before returning a hydro-cooled miner to service, confirm that the cooling loop is filled, circulating, and free of trapped air, and that no leaks are present. Do not energize the miner until these checks are complete and no condensation is visible on the unit. These instructions are specific to hydro-cooled equipment and should not be applied to immersion-cooled miners, which use different fluids, filtration requirements, and handling procedures; immersion-system guidance should come from that system's own supplier.

7. Keep a Pool and Network Configuration Record

Before a miner goes into storage, it is useful to record the configuration details needed to bring it back online without guesswork. This includes the worker name, the pool URL and any backup URL in use, the IP address or DHCP reservation if a static address was assigned, and the firmware version. Keep these configuration details alongside the condition record described in Section 1.

For BTC mining on ViaBTC, workers are identified using the format userID.workerID, and official ViaBTC BTC mining settings describe the current connection details, including the use of multiple ports for connection resilience where supported by the miner. Because pool endpoints and supported options can change over time, operators should verify the current settings directly from ViaBTC's official documentation when the miner is recommissioned, rather than relying solely on configuration notes or screenshots taken before storage.

8. Recommission the Miner Carefully

Returning a stored miner to production benefits from a structured check rather than simply reconnecting power and cabling.

1. Move the miner into the deployment environment and allow it to reach ambient temperature before power-up.
2. Inspect for moisture, corrosion, loose connectors, and any physical damage that may have occurred during storage or transport.
3. For hydro-cooled units, confirm the cooling loop is filled, circulating, purged of air, and free of leaks before applying power.
4. Power on the miner and confirm that the control board and hashboards initialize without fault indicators, and check fan operation where fans are fitted.
5. Verify the current pool URL, worker name, and backup connection against official documentation rather than stored notes.
6. Allow an appropriate stabilization period before comparing local readings with expected performance, since readings during the initial startup period may not reflect steady-state operation.
7. Investigate any alerts, missing hashboards, or abnormal fan behavior (where fans are fitted) before returning the unit to full production.

FAQ

What temperature and humidity are safe for long-term ASIC storage?

There is no single figure that applies to every ASIC miner. Manufacturer documentation gives different ranges depending on the product line and cooling design — for example, general ANTMINER guidance lists -20°C to 70°C and 5%–95% RH (non-condensing), while WhatsMiner's long-term storage guidance for hydro-cooled models lists a narrower 30%–69% RH range. Readers should consult the manual for their specific model before selecting a storage environment.

Do hydro-cooled miners need to be drained before storage?

Manufacturer guidance for hydro-cooled WhatsMiner units specifies draining the cooling liquid if storage or transport will exceed a stated time threshold. Air-cooled miners do not have an equivalent liquid-drainage step, which is one of the clearest procedural differences between the two cooling designs.

Is it necessary to clean dust from a miner before storing it?

Removing accumulated dust before sealing a miner for storage reduces the risk of trapped moisture and contamination inside the unit. Manufacturer cleaning procedures, such as Bitmain's compressed-air method for ANTMINER units, require the miner to be shut down first and specify handling precautions around fans and connectors.

Can a stored miner be reconnected to the same pool settings without checking them first?

Pool endpoints and connection options can change over time. It is advisable to verify the current official pool URL and worker configuration from the pool's documentation at the time of recommissioning rather than relying only on settings recorded before storage.

References

• Bitmain Support. "Environmental Requirements for ANTMINERs." Updated July 19, 2024
• Bitmain Support. "How to Clean and Dust the ANTMINER." Updated July 28, 2022
• WhatsMiner Support. "Common Q&A of Installation and Deployment Operations." Published May 13, 2026
• EOS/ESD Association. "Does an ESD Control Program Require Humidity Controls?"
• ViaBTC Help Center. "BTC Mining."