Thanks.  You know I'll be honest.  Thought running a system without a case would A. be more at risk for issues with exposed parts.  B. Thought that cooling the cards would be less efficient since fans would have to be placed / tied on / etc. to force air-cool the cards.  C. Don't really have any place that I'd consder safe  at home where I could leave bare components run without issues.  D.  Again, pets and stuff.  E.  I guess it kinda scared me really.  I mean I can see otherwise that plenty of people have done it in this thread without issue but I've not tried it.  F.  I also run a computer business so these rigs can be donated / repurposed / etc. should mining tank.  I'm sure the average person would buy a clean system but it could be parted-out if necessary.

In terms of maintenence, there really isn't any now (finally).  Uptime so far is upwards of 10 days at a time barring Windows updates (haven't had a single BSOD with all 3 systems at all).  Temps and systems are rock solid and are remotely managed.  At the CC facility, they gather what, a fifth or sixth of the dust as fast as at home?  Probably could let them run for 2 months there before even a single cleaning.