Canaan Avalon Nano 3S Review - I Own Four of These
I'll skip the marketing language. I own four Canaan Avalon Nano 3S miners - three are in my home office and one ended up in my living room after a bedroom experiment that my wife shut down immediately (the fan noise, even quiet as it is, was enough to keep her awake). Here's everything I know about this miner from actually running it.
Canaan Avalon Nano 3S - Specs
Why the Nano 3S over the original Nano 3
I also own a Canaan Nano 3 (the original), and I'll say this plainly: buy the 3S. The original Nano 3 had some firmware quirks and hardware bugs that Canaan worked out with the 3S revision. You can still find Nano 3's for less money, and if you're really budget-constrained they'll hash, but for the small price difference I'd always recommend spending a little more and getting the 3S. Four of mine are running the 3S and they've been solid.
Setup and first impressions
Setup is straightforward. Plug it in, find the IP address on your router, configure your pool or solo pool, and you're mining. There's nothing exotic about the process - if you've set up any network device, you can set up a Nano 3S.
The fan noise is genuinely manageable. I have three of these in my home office and I forget they're running within a few minutes of sitting down to work. They're not silent - if your room is completely quiet you'll hear them - but they're nowhere near the level of a traditional ASIC. My wife tolerates the one in the living room without complaint, which is a meaningful endorsement in my house.
The power supplies run warm
One thing I'll flag: the integrated power supplies on the Nano 3S units run noticeably warm to the touch. Not hot enough to be alarming, and I haven't had any heat-related failures across four units over months of operation, but it's something to be aware of. Make sure there's reasonable airflow around the units - don't stack them directly on top of each other or cram them into an enclosed space without ventilation.
Is it profitable at 14 cents per kWh?
No. At 6 TH/s and current network difficulty, the Nano 3S earns somewhere in the range of a few dollars per month in pool payouts. At 14¢/kWh, running it costs about $14.40/month. You will lose money pool mining with this unit at residential electric rates.
That's not a knock on the hardware - it's a knock on residential electricity pricing. The same miner hosted at a facility paying 4-5¢/kWh would be a completely different story. At home, the Nano 3S is a hobby miner. Know that going in and you'll enjoy it. Expect it to pay for itself and you'll be disappointed.
I use mine for solo mining Bitcoin during the winter months when OKC rates drop to 12¢/kWh. The odds are long but the cost is manageable, and the heat they throw off actually helps warm my office.
The verdict
What I like
- Quiet enough for home or office use
- Solid hashrate at low wattage for the price
- Standard 110V - no dedicated circuit needed
- Easy setup, reliable firmware
- Canaan fixed the Nano 3 bugs in this revision
- Good entry point for learning home mining
What to know
- Power supplies run warm - needs airflow
- Not profitable at residential electric rates
- Not a rack miner - this is a desktop hobby unit
- Price continues to drop as newer models release
Where to buy
I've bought from Altair Technologies and they've been reliable. Current price on the Nano 3S is around $215, and it continues to drop as newer models come out. That's genuinely good value for a home-friendly 6 TH/s unit.
Check Price at Altair Technologies →Have questions about the Nano 3S or want to compare notes on your setup? Reach me at info@homeminertools.com.