Most mining containers move air the same way: pull cold air in through a louver or awning, draw it through the miners, and exhaust it out the other side. Scot Johnson, founder and CEO of Digital Shovel, says that system works, and his company still sells it on some lines. But newer miners, and operators who want to overclock, need more ventilation than it gives. At Mining Disrupt Fort Lauderdale, his answer was to flip the fans to the intake side and push the air through.
Johnson spoke during the March 25–27, 2025 conference, when Bitcoin traded at $87,393; on October 11, 2026, it was $83,079. He used his ten minutes to cover the company, the new ventilation design, an entry-level pod and the infrastructure side of the business.
From Closet to Robotic Fabrication
Johnson’s entry into the industry mirrors that of many early adopters. He began in 2016 with a few GPUs in a closet, a setup that quickly expanded to a bedroom, then a basement, and finally a shipping container. The trajectory from hobbyist to industrial manufacturer is a common narrative in the space, but Johnson emphasized the scale of the transition. By 2018, he had founded Digital Shovel, a company that now operates an 80,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with 67 full-time staff.
Uh and in 2018, I founded Digital Shovel.
Scot Johnson · 0:42
The evolution from cutting apart shipping containers in a parking lot to a fully vertically integrated facility marks a shift in how the industry handles scale. Today, Digital Shovel’s operations include a complete sheet metal shop, forming operations, and panel benders. The welding operations are fully robotic, and the company is in the process of automating its powder coating booth. This vertical integration extends to the electronics as well; Digital Shovel manufactures its own PDUs, including the PCBs inside them, utilizing two surface mount lines and two through-hole wave solder lines. This level of control allows for the tight integration of hardware and software that is central to Johnson’s ventilation argument.
The Physics of Forcing Air Through
The core of Johnson’s presentation focused on the mechanics of airflow. Most conventional containers, including some of Digital Shovel’s own entry-level lines, pull cold air in through an intake and exhaust it out the other side. While this system works, Johnson noted that the new generation of miners, combined with the desire to overclock, demands more ventilation than passive systems can provide. The solution is to put centrifugal fans on the intake, effectively blowing the air through the miners rather than sucking it out.
So, we're blowing the air through the miners.
Scot Johnson · 2:33
This shift from suction to forced blow is not just a matter of fan placement; it is a change in the pressure dynamics within the container. By using variable speed EC drive motors, Digital Shovel can control the speed of each fan individually. This allows for precise management of airflow based on real-time conditions. Johnson explained that the system uses differential pressure sensors and temperature sensors on each awning, providing data on airflow, filter condition, and air temperature. This granular level of control is what enables the system to adapt to changing environmental conditions, something a passive louver system cannot do.
Solving the Hot Air Loop
One of the most persistent problems in containerized mining is hot air recirculation. When the prevailing wind blows against a container, hot air leaving one side can come back over the top and get pulled into the intakes. The container heats up and the cycle feeds itself. Johnson said this is not unique to Digital Shovel's containers; it happens across the industry.
The sensor suite on each awning allows the system to detect when this recirculation is beginning. Usually, it is the top section of the intake that is pulling in the hot air. By recognizing this, the system can lower the speed of that specific fan and pull more air from the lower fans, which are less likely to be affected by the hot air plume. This dynamic adjustment helps to break the recirculation loop and maintain cooler operating temperatures for the hardware.
We're able to control that.
Scot Johnson · 4:42
Digital Shovel also offers a double-stack configuration to further mitigate this issue. In this setup, the top section of the unit contains no miners, serving only to provide additional filter area and fan capacity. The two sections are connected, allowing cold air to be pushed down through the miners and heat to be ventilated up through a louver system between the two rows. This configuration doubles the ventilation capacity and filter surface area, providing a robust defense against heat recirculation.
Snow, Dust, and Filter Lifespan
Blowing in through a larger filter area also changes how fast air enters the container. Rather than putting powerful fans on the exhaust and sucking a lot of air through a small intake, the design brings in more air at lower velocity. In snow country, an operator can block off the lower banks and pull air only from the top, above any snow drift against the container, which reduces or removes the risk of snow intake.
It reduce or removes the risk of snow uh intake.
Scot Johnson · 5:55
This lower air input velocity also extends the life of the filters. With double the filter surface area in the double-stack configuration, and less aggressive air velocity, the filters clog less quickly. This is particularly important in dusty environments, such as those prone to dust storms or cottonwood pollen. By reducing the velocity of the air entering the container, the system minimizes the pickup of large particulate, which can clog filters and reduce airflow efficiency. The result is a system that requires less frequent maintenance and offers more consistent performance over time.
The Smart PDU as the Brain
The integration of the ventilation system with the power distribution unit (PDU) is a key feature of Digital Shovel’s approach. The PDU acts as the central brain, communicating with the fans, the sensor suite, and the miners themselves. This integration allows for coordinated control of the entire system, optimizing performance in real time.
So, it's talking to the fans, it's talking to the sensor suite and it's talking to the miners as well.
Scot Johnson · 6:29
This communication enables advanced features such as dynamic overclocking. For example, if the system detects that the ventilation capacity is sufficient during cooler nighttime temperatures, it can instruct the miners to increase their power consumption. Conversely, if the system detects that the ventilation is being strained, it can throttle the miners back to prevent overheating. This real-time adjustment allows operators to maximize hash rate without manual intervention, ensuring that the system is always operating at its most efficient point. Johnson noted that while this feature is not part of the current M300 line, it is a key component of the upcoming Gen 3 line, which was on display at the conference.
Infrastructure Beyond the Pod
While the ventilation system is the headline feature, Digital Shovel’s infrastructure offerings extend well beyond the mining pod. The company manufactures Switch Gear, busway systems, and PDUs, all of which are designed for the specific demands of Bitcoin mining. Johnson highlighted that infrastructure has become one of the company’s largest sellers, with 550 megawatts of busway systems deployed in the last two years alone.
Uh in the last two years, we've deployed 550 megawws just of busway systems alone.
Scot Johnson · 8:38
The company’s Switch Gear offerings include a standalone 4,000-amp unit with a 100,000-amp short-circuit rating. This unit is designed to be dense, with a small footprint of 65 by 45 inches, making it suitable for facilities where space is at a premium. Unlike traditional Switch Gear from major manufacturers, which is often built for versatility rather than specific application, Digital Shovel’s units are tailored for the high-density, high-heat environment of Bitcoin mining. The system includes active ventilation and temperature monitoring for bus bars and lugs, using technology from Littlefuse to detect hot spots in real time. This proactive monitoring provides a layer of safety that is critical for protecting high-value infrastructure.
Johnson also showed the Nanopod, an entry-level unit rated up to 120 kW that runs on single-phase or three-phase power. It holds 27 S19 or S21 miners or 24 S21 Pros. Its cooling is rated at 80 kW at 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 100 kW at 100 degrees. It is meant for people starting out on a farm, at a house with enough power, or in a small industrial unit without three-phase 415-volt power. When this session was recorded, Bitcoin traded at $87,393; on October 11, 2026, it was $83,079. The conversation continues at Intelligence Disrupt 2027, March 22 to 24 in Irving, Texas.