Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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RedScourge
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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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EDIT: massively revamped and simplified so that "it just works".

The 2x2 is based on an old design I got off the forums years ago that I can no longer find, and the 2x5 is of my own design, but then stuck inside one of Nilaus' city blocks, with a dead simple auto start/stop feature added which disables the reactors' inserters whenever enough steam is in the tanks, no combinators or other convoluted stuff, just a single decision circuit!

Instructions for the 2x2 to ensure auto start/stop works:

- Place the blueprint as close to a water source as you can, with the water to the left, and connect 4 offshore pumps directly to the open pipes provided on the left side of the blueprint near the center
- If the distance between the blueprint and the offshore pump is long, you will need pumping stations at least every 2 or 3 hops
- Ensure that your main logistics network intersects with the logistics network of this blueprint
- For pump backup power to work, detach any wires connecting the solar panel electric poles to the small electric power poles which feed back to the main grid - this ensures that the solar panels and accumulators are on a separate grid which can feed the pumps in case of an outage with the main power grid


Instructions for the 2x5 to ensure auto start/stop works:

- Place the blueprint as close to a water source as you can, with the water below, and connect 12 offshore pumps directly to the open pipes provided on the bottom side of the blueprint
- If the distance between the blueprint and the offshore pump is long, you will need pumping stations at least every 2 or 3 hops, I recommend copying the design of the one included on the bottom edge of the blueprint as it works and is easy
- For pump backup power to work, detach any wires connecting the set of electric poles closest to the solar panels from the electric poles which feed back to the main grid - this ensures that the solar panels and accumulators are on a separate grid which can feed the pumps in case of an outage with the main power grid


Here's how the auto start/stop works:

- The reactors' inserters are configured to turn off and on based on the current amount of steam in one the steam tanks via a green circuit
- The reactors will slowly run out of fuel, the turbines will run down the stored steam until the stored steam falls below the activation threshold
- The inserters start up again and refill the reactors, and start the process over again

Note: If your base becomes so large that you're using about the max power that these designs produce, consider removing the steam tanks and just running the reactors non-stop, as steam storage won't matter, and it should help speed up your game a bit for it to not have to calculate all the steam sloshing around between all those tanks



And now, on to the screenshots and blueprints:



Example pumping station for the 2x2 reactor (be sure to disconnect any wires the game adds connecting the small electric poles to the big electric pole, otherwise when your main power grid goes down, it will suck up all their power and prevent them from functioning as independent power for these pumps):


2x2nuc-pump-station-sample.png
2x2nuc-pump-station-sample.png (251.35 KiB) Viewed 2654 times

2x2 reactor stats:
Power production: 464MW sustained, 500MW peak, 80 tanks, 86 turbines, 48 heat exchangers, req. 4 offshore pumps
Screenshot and blueprint:


2x2.png
2x2.png (1.65 MiB) Viewed 2654 times


2x5 reactor stats:
Power production: 1.37GW sustained, 1.6GW peak, 146 tanks, 278 turbines, 144 heat exchangers, req. 16 offshore pumps (technically only fully consumes 12 offshore pumps worth of water, but I split it into 16 lanes to make it much easier to get full efficiency)

Screenshot and blueprint:


2x5-in-cityblock2.png
2x5-in-cityblock2.png (1.48 MiB) Viewed 2654 times


The bottom of the blueprint includes my recommended pumping station with backup power (note that every portion of the design stays completely clear of any part of the path):
2x5-clear-of-paths.jpg
2x5-clear-of-paths.jpg (943.1 KiB) Viewed 2643 times
(Also note that the bottom row of electric poles does not connect to the main grid; this is necessary to ensure the solar panels and accumulators serve as an independent power source for these pumps)
Last edited by RedScourge on Fri Nov 27, 2020 10:42 pm, edited 29 times in total.
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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

Post by RedScourge »

If you require a 2x5 design that can be belt-fed from one of two different ends and can also be logistics chest fed, you might prefer this design of mine instead, which is based on an old 2x6 design by Nefrums and is slightly less efficient:


2x5.png
2x5.png (1.45 MiB) Viewed 2629 times
Note that the water pipes come in on two sides with this design, which results in the pipes ever so slightly protruding into the paths.
Last edited by RedScourge on Fri Nov 27, 2020 4:16 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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Compact Nuclear designs /w tank storage + simple auto start/stop: 2x2, and 2x5 in a city block

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