Factorio Forums

Can I use a single pipe line to run across my base and hook up like 30 pumps and a bunch of steam engines to it or do I have to split up the load to different pipe lines?

Yes, there is a limit. The maximum speed depends on the length of the pipe.

This should be helpful:
viewtopic.php?t=6066

Just be aware that they changed some of this in 0.15, so if you're on the experimental release those numbers won't be accurate but the general idea still holds. You'll need pumps occasionally on long lines to keep the throughput up and you may need multiple lines in parallel if you have really high demand.

This post has some updated data on the fluid mechanics for 0.15.

It seems like Factorio uses a model that models laminar vs. turbulent flow in each pipe segment (in a simple/linear way, but I'm still impressed!), so the rate of flow for a given distance of pipe, or how far you can take a pipe given the amount of flow you want, isn't easily calculated - use the graph or table for pre-calculated values. Calculate your required flow into your factories (in units/tick; note that the game plays at 60 ticks per second), and then look up how long a pipe you can use in the table. Alternatively, figure out how long your pipeline is and look up the table/graph to get your approximate maximum rate of flow.

Note that the underground pipes only count distance for the part that's above-ground—so basically it's as if underground pipes were 11x better than overground pipes for distance vs. rate of flow!

You can use pumps to increase the effective range, just make sure the length of pipe in between pumps is short enough that it can pass the flow you want. If you want to be able to take it longer distances, use two pipes side-by-side—then each pipeline only has to pass half the total desired rate of flow (or use more than 2, if you're doing something insane—I'll let you calculate whether there's a point where parallel pipep are more economical than using pumps on one pipe, I've never had to do this).

Rate of flow = units of liquid per second, by the way.