Power Connectors
An ASIC's power connectors are rated for a specific current. Mix up C13 with C19 and you get a melted contact at the most expensive spot on the farm.
Which connectors ASICs use and how they differ
One family, different ratings. The familiar computer pair C13 and C14 handles 10 A, which is about 2.3 kW at 230 V. The C19 and C20 pair is rated for 16 A, about 3.6 kW. Modern miners with power supplies above three kilowatts live on C19, and that is not a whim, it is current headroom.
What burns is usually the contact, not the cable. A connector seated halfway, a worn-out socket, a cable with thin wires sold as thick ones: a poor contact point generates heat, the plastic darkens and one day starts to smell. On farms this is the most common fire scenario after the wiring itself.
Pick a cable by wire gauge, not by the color of the packaging. For C19 at full load you need 1.5 mm² wires at minimum, better 2.5, and a length without a coiled surplus: a wound-up cable under current heats itself.
Household extension cords and power strips have no place in an ASIC's power path: their contacts and gauge are not built for round-the-clock 16 A. Between the miner and the panel there should be nothing but a PDU or a socket on its own line.
The short version
| C13 and C14 | 10 A, about 2.3 kW |
| C19 and C20 | 16 A, about 3.6 kW |
| What burns | a poor contact, not the cable |
| Gauge for C19 | 1.5 mm² minimum, better 2.5 |
| Never on a farm | household extension cords and strips |
How to look after connectors
Push until it clicks and check the seating by hand: half of all melted connectors start with one seated halfway.
Once a season, inspect and smell the connectors under load: darkened plastic or its smell means replacement, not observation.
Replace the pair as a whole: a worn socket will ruin a new cable too.
Buy cables with honest gauge from your ASIC supplier, not the cheapest ones on a marketplace: you cannot see the wires inside, and the difference shows up under current.
A case from practice
A 3400 W miner was fed with a C13 cable from an old server: the connector technically fit through an adapter. Two weeks later the contact darkened, a week after that came the smell. Lucky: it was caught by nose, not by the fire alarm. The correct 2.5 mm² C19 cable cost less than a single fan.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
Guides
- ASIC Manufacturers knowledge base
Questions and answers
Can I power an ASIC through an adapter
Every adapter is an extra contact, meaning an extra heating point. Adapters have no place at round-the-clock 16 A: the cable must be the right one from the power supply to the socket.
Why does the connector melt if the breaker never trips
The breaker protects against overcurrent, while a poor contact heats up at normal current. To the breaker everything looks fine, to the plastic it already does not.
The cable is warm to the touch, is that normal
Barely warm at full load, yes. A hot cable or connector is a signal: the gauge, the seating or the contact quality is off.
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 .