When a new generation of miners launches, the attention goes to how much efficiency has improved. Most of the machines being replaced are not scrapped. They change owners, move to a different site, or get taken apart and keep working inside other machines.
For an operator, an old machine comes down to a few choices: run it somewhere with cheaper power, repair it and then sell or keep it, take it apart for parts, or sell it as it is. Choose well and you recover real money. Choose badly and you are treating a working asset as scrap.
First, work out what power price the machine still earns at
A machine usually becomes “obsolete” not because something is wrong with it, but because the power at its current site is too expensive.
At a hashprice of about $41 per PH/s per day (illustrative):
| Model | Efficiency | Break-even power price |
|---|---|---|
| S19 95T | about 34 J/TH | about $0.050/kWh |
| S19 XP 132T | about 21.5 J/TH | about $0.080/kWh |
At a $0.06/kWh site, the S19 loses money every day while the XP still earns, which is why some operators are swapping old S19s for XPs. Move that same S19 to a $0.035/kWh site and it is profitable again.
So the first question about an old machine is not how old it is, but where the power price would let it keep earning.
Option 1: run it somewhere else
This suits machines in good condition that simply do not pay at their current site. They can be sold to an operator with cheaper power, or placed with a low-cost hosting provider.
Before they go:
- Run a full test. Check that hashrate is on spec, every board shows its full chip count, and temperatures are normal. A machine with a known condition sells for more and gives you a stronger position with a host.
- Record the parts details. Buyers and hosts will ask for the power supply model and version letter, the control board type and the firmware version. APW121215 units in the a/b/c group and the d/e/f group, for example, are not freely interchangeable — see APW121215 version letters.
- Protect them in transit. After a long shipment, the same pre-power-on checks apply before they go back on the rack — see What to Check Before Restarting Idle Miners.
Option 2: repair it, then sell or keep it
A machine with one failed board usually sells for far less than a working one, because the buyer prices in the repair cost and the risk.
Whether to repair first comes down to one comparison:
Price gap between a working and a faulty machine > repair cost + freight + waiting time
If the gap is bigger, repair first. In practice:
- Hashboards with a few missing chips or an isolated power fault are usually worth repairing.
- When several machines in a batch show the same fault, sending them for repair together saves freight and time over handling them one by one.
- Sending a single power supply for repair rarely pays: round-trip freight plus the repair often comes close to the price of a new unit.
Option 3: take it apart for parts
When a machine is no longer worth running or repairing, many of its components still have value:
- Power supplies — direct spares for the same model
- Fans — a wear part that is always in demand
- Control boards — replacements for machines on the same platform
- Hashboards — good ones become spare boards; faulty ones become repair stock
For an operator still running the same model, parting out its own retired machines is often faster and cheaper than buying spares in. Those spares also shorten the next outage — see Cheap Part, Expensive Downtime.
Option 4: sell them as they are
If you have no machines of the same model that need spares, and no time to take them apart, you can sell the whole lot. NODE29 buys old and faulty miners, as well as individual hashboards and parts, wherever they are located. We quote on the model, quantity and condition.
If you are the one buying used machines
The more used machines change hands, the higher the chance of receiving problem units. Check each machine on arrival:
- Is hashrate close to spec, and are any boards dropping out?
- Does every board show its full chip count?
- Do the power supply model and version match the machine?
- Are any connectors carbonised, and do any fans sound rough?
- Is the firmware clean? Reflash before the machines go online.
Problems found on arrival do not have to mean returning the whole batch. Missing parts can be replaced and faulty boards can be repaired — as long as you list the problems early and work out what to repair and what to replace.
Retiring machines or taking on used ones?
NODE29 can buy your old and faulty machines, supply the missing parts, and repair the faulty boards. Send us the miner model, quantity, condition and location, and we will put together a complete quote.