.17 coal power ratios

[xng]

Factorio Cheat Sheet is extremely handy, it also has been updated to 0.17.

[mrvn]

So are boilers really cheaper? One time cost for the tanks vs. constant cost for the extra power.

What do you mean? Boilers do not waste any energy.
And usually belts are long enough to be sufficient buffer. Moreover if you deliver fuel by train.

16 boilers + tanks need 16 inserter. 32 boilers without tanks need 32 inserters. That's an extra 16 inserters that constantly drain power.

And no, belts are no sufficient buffer to run 32 boilers (i.e. one red belt) at full throughput for minutes. Unless your coal mine is far away and then why didn't you use trains? Trains tend to come with buffer chests so plenty buffer there.

[Ranakastrasz]

16 inserters! My god, thats like, 6.4kw of power drain. That is really breaking the bank. /sarcasm.

But in all seriousness, the price there is so negligible I wouldn't consider it relevant. I mean, I guess an upkeep of.... 0.22% of the production of each steam engine exists, but thats about as far as I am willing to go. Its not like laser turrets which can seriously eat into your energy budget even when idling. 6kw drain each adds up when you have a few hundred of them lying around.

On the other hand, yes, it IS an upkeep. even if tiny, and is, sort of, part of the boiler, whereas a tank doesn't require it. I honestly don't think it is a big deal.

[BlueTemplar]

The question is more about how negligible it is not in absolute, but compared to the cost of the whole setup.
It's a bit how burner inserters are safer than electric inserters, but the energy cost ends to add up !

So are boilers really cheaper? One time cost for the tanks vs. constant cost for the extra power.

What do you mean? Boilers do not waste any energy.
And usually belts are long enough to be sufficient buffer. Moreover if you deliver fuel by train.

16 boilers + tanks need 16 inserter. 32 boilers without tanks need 32 inserters. That's an extra 16 inserters that constantly drain power.

And no, belts are no sufficient buffer to run 32 boilers (i.e. one red belt) at full throughput for minutes. Unless your coal mine is far away and then why didn't you use trains? Trains tend to come with buffer chests so plenty buffer there.

Yeah, and if you want to have an extra buffer in the form of a chest full of fuel, that's triple the inserters right there !
But yeah, I also forgot about how steam flow is often easier to control via circuits than inserters...

[mrvn]

I feel the same about the price of 16 tanks. I think both ways are perfectly valid.

[BlueTemplar]

Well, depending on what kind of buffer you want, you might be content with single tank for your whole power plant...

[Maddhawk]

Now figure out the ratio of miners to boilers for each level of mining productivity.