Immersion cooling
Immersion cooling submerges the whole ASIC in a liquid that does not conduct electricity. Heat goes into the dielectric, and from there into an external loop.
What immersion cooling is
The hashboards go into a tank of dielectric fluid, usually a purpose-made synthetic oil. The liquid washes over every chip, every coil, and every capacitor, picks up the heat, and hands it off through a heat exchanger outside. The fans come off the boards; they have no job to do in oil.
The liquid touches the whole board, so this is the most even cooling of any scheme: no hot spots, no dust, no vibration, and connectors do not oxidize. Asics in immersion hold their frequencies steadily, take overclocking well, and in our experience outlast their air-cooled peers.
The price of entry is the highest of any scheme. Tanks, hundreds of liters of fluid, pumps, heat exchangers, valves, and lifting gear: the ticket in costs more than hydro, let alone air. Maintenance is different too: pulling a board means letting it drain, and any work on the asic is work with oil.
That is why immersion's niche is industrial: containers and sites where density and silence matter. Our catalog has such models from both big manufacturers: MicroBT marks them with a six in the second digit, M56, M66, and M76, while Bitmain sells separate Imm versions.
The short version
| Principle | full submersion of the boards in dielectric fluid |
| Fluid | synthetic dielectric, not water and not household oil |
| Fans | removed, no use for them in liquid |
| MicroBT naming | second digit 6: M56, M66, M76 |
| Niche | containers and industrial sites |
What sets immersion apart in practice
The fluid is a serious budget line and it does not last forever: over time the dielectric picks up contamination and its properties drift, so it gets filtered and replaced on schedule. The estimate covers the tank itself plus years of fluid upkeep.
Firmware on submerged asics usually allows more: with no dust and even temperatures, the chips hold an overclock that would end in overheating on air. That is why immersion is popular with people who squeeze the maximum out of every asic.
The flip side for a small operation: a submerged asic is harder to sell or move. It is wet, heavy, and tied to its tank. For a home or a garage we usually suggest starting with air or hydro; immersion pays off at scale.
Example
The WhatsMiner M66 is an immersion model: 280 TH/s at 5572 W, and all five and a half kilowatts go into the liquid without a single fan on the case. In a container these asics stand packed by the dozen; air cooling could not match that density on heat or on noise.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Hardware
- WhatsMiner M66 tool
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
Guides
Questions and answers
What fluid is used
Purpose-made synthetic dielectrics for immersion cooling. Household oils do not qualify: different viscosity, impurities, and behavior under heat, and the experiments end in board repairs.
Can a regular air-cooled asic be submerged
Technically the boards will run, but the manufacturer frowns on the conversion warranty-wise, and the fans and sensors need firmware reconfiguration. Buying a factory immersion version is simpler.
Immersion or hydro, which one
For one asic or a few, hydro: cheaper entry and easier upkeep. From a container up, run the numbers on immersion: the gains in density and maintenance add up with quantity.
What about warranty on submerged asics
Factory immersion models carry the normal manufacturer warranty. A do-it-yourself dip of an air-cooled asic is almost always a warranty refusal; make that call with your eyes open.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .