Mining 101: Monitoring & Dashboards
Mining isn’t “set it and forget it.” Your miners produce heat, draw significant electricity, and run 24/7 — meaning you need good monitoring to protect your investment and stay safe.
Good monitoring prevents downtime, overheating, electrical overloads, and lost revenue.
What You Should Monitor
Whether you have one miner or a whole farm, you should keep an eye on:
- Hashrate (is it stable?)
- Temperature (chips and environment)
- Fan speeds
- Rejected shares
- Uptime
- Electricity usage
- Breaker load
- Ventilation/airflow health
If any of these drift, something upstream is wrong — and catching it early saves you money.
Monitoring Through Your Mining Pool
Every mining pool includes a dashboard showing:
- Reported hashrate
- Average hashrate
- Worker status (online/offline)
- Reject rate
- Payout history
Pool dashboards are great because:
- They show your true “effective” hashrate
- They smooth out short-term fluctuations
- They help identify network/pool/router issues
BUT — they don’t show temperatures or power draw.
Monitoring Through Your Miner’s Web Interface
Every ASIC includes its own local dashboard, typically accessed by typing its IP address into your browser.
These dashboards show:
- Real-time hashrate
- Chip and board temperatures
- Fan RPMs
- Power draw (approximate, not always accurate)
- Error logs
The ASIC’s own dashboard is the single most accurate place to check temperature and fan health.
If temps start to rise slowly over time, that’s usually dust or ventilation changes — early warning signs.
3rd-Party Monitoring Apps & Tools
HashWatcher
A simple, mobile-focused monitoring app that lets you track multiple miners at once and get alerts if something goes offline.
Pros: Easy to use, supports many miner brands.
Cons: Limited advanced analytics.
Minerstat
Full-featured mining monitoring suite with graphs, alerts, and historical data.
Foreman
More advanced, often used by small-to-medium farms. Offers:
- Power tracking
- Uptime reports
- Reboot automation
- Alerts pushed to your phone
For beginners, HashWatcher is simple. For multi-miner setups, Minerstat or Foreman are better.
Monitoring Your Electricity (Critical for Safety)
Monitoring power is just as important as monitoring hashrate. You want to know:
- How many watts your miner is actually using
- How many amps your circuit is pulling
- How close you are to the 80% breaker safety limit
“Smart plugs” like the Kasa HS110 or KP115 are NOT designed for high-wattage ASICs.
The Real-World Example
You shared an important experience:
- You plugged an Avalon Q into a Kasa energy-monitoring smart plug.
- Within a day, the Kasa device burned out.
This is NOT surprising — most smart plugs are only rated for 10–15 amps at 120V and cannot safely handle ASIC loads (2,000–3,500W).
This experience will help countless beginners avoid the same mistake.
Why Smart Plugs Fail
- They’re not designed for continuous loads near their limit.
- ASICs create inrush current spikes beyond what smart plugs can handle.
- They overheat internally, damaging components.
NEVER use a smart plug to measure ASIC power.
What You Should Use Instead: DROK / Dedicated AC Multimeters
You found the right solution: **DROK AC digital multimeters** or similar panel meters. These are designed for:
- High power loads
- Continuous operation
- Accurate voltage/watt/amp tracking
- Safe current measurement
DROK meters are commonly used by:
- Home miners
- HVAC technicians
- Electricians
- DIY solar power hobbyists
These meters can safely track the heavy, continuous load of an Avalon Q or any other modern ASIC.
Other Safe Options
- Kill-A-Watt 4400W model (NOT the 1800W consumer version)
- PDU with built-in metering (best for multiple miners)
- Clamp meters for electricians or advanced users
- Wi-Fi energy meters designed for 240V/30A circuits
Why Electricity Monitoring Protects Your Hardware
Electricity problems are a leading cause of miner failure.
- If amps spike → breaker trips and miner crashes
- If voltage sags → miner throttles or errors
- If wiring overheats → dangerous conditions
Power monitoring = safety + performance + early warning system.
Notifications & Alerts
Use tools that notify you when:
- Miner goes offline
- Hashrate drops
- Temperature rises
- Fans fail
- Power usage spikes or dips
Even for home miners, alerts save hours or even days of lost hashing time.
What We Recommend for Monitoring
For 1–2 Miners
- Pool dashboard
- Miner’s built-in web UI
- HashWatcher mobile app
- DROK AC meter for power monitoring
For 3–20 Miners
- Foreman or Minerstat
- PDU with metering
- Dedicated ventilation sensors
- Automated alerts
For serious home setups
- Sense Energy Monitor
- UniFi Smart Power integrations
- Inline temp/humidity monitors