I can't figure out how the water/steam system works. Apparently, the boilers heat up the water, and the engines use up the heated water? But how do i tell how much 100-degree water is in a pipe? And does this mean that adding more boilers once the water is at 100 doesn't help?
I'm trying to figure out how to build an optimal power plant. How many engines can my boilers supply at full efficiency?
How does steam work?
Re: How does steam work?
From my expirience:
When water is heated to 100 degrees it can't be heated more. One engine to run on full effciency needs 2-3 boilers. But, when you heat water to that point, other boilers don't consume coal to heat up water. In my freeplay world I have i think 8 boilers and 5 steam engines on one line made like that:
e-engine
p-pipe
b-boiler
#-pump
e.e.e
pppppbbbbbbbb#
.e.e
I found it having max performace on all engines, right now I'm using only 2 engines on max and third on half of power and using about 5 boilers.
If you need more power make another pump and replicate it. And good idea is to have 2 boilers and one engine only to power coal drills and inserters in main power plant, so if you won't provide enough electricity it won't just slowly stop cos it can't supply coal.
I hope that I helped.
When water is heated to 100 degrees it can't be heated more. One engine to run on full effciency needs 2-3 boilers. But, when you heat water to that point, other boilers don't consume coal to heat up water. In my freeplay world I have i think 8 boilers and 5 steam engines on one line made like that:
e-engine
p-pipe
b-boiler
#-pump
e.e.e
pppppbbbbbbbb#
.e.e
I found it having max performace on all engines, right now I'm using only 2 engines on max and third on half of power and using about 5 boilers.
If you need more power make another pump and replicate it. And good idea is to have 2 boilers and one engine only to power coal drills and inserters in main power plant, so if you won't provide enough electricity it won't just slowly stop cos it can't supply coal.
I hope that I helped.
Re: How does steam work?
There are two facets that come in, temp and pressure (or maybe flow). Each pump is capable of providing a certain amount of water, and each boiler is capable of heating a certain volume a certain amount. Steam engines do not cool water, but rather simply consume it, at a pace relative to their load. There is also a flow cap through devices, but they have stated that right now it is so high it might as well not be a factor. It is important to note that you can not tell if your pumps and boilers are sufficient for full power operation unless you are actually operating at full power. You can hook dozens of steam engines up to a single pump and boiler if they are all idling, and they will all happily show 100 temp water and full power available. As soon as those engines start ramping up though you will start having temp drop cause the boiler can not keep up with the new increased flow through it. Likewise, many boilers and engines hooked to a single pump will result in problems, but this time the front engines will reach full power, and the temp wont drop, but no water will reach the back engines once you place the system under load.
A nice simple balance point seems to be 1 pump, 5 boilers, and 3 steam engines. I have not done more testing on other successful setups yet since I found out how the mechanics work.
A nice simple balance point seems to be 1 pump, 5 boilers, and 3 steam engines. I have not done more testing on other successful setups yet since I found out how the mechanics work.
Re: How does steam work?
Okay, so if I understand correctly:
- A pump produces up to X l/s of water
- A steam engine uses up water proportional to demand, up to Y l/s at full demand.
- A boiler heats up to Z °l/s of water (i.e. it can heat Z l/s by 1 degree, or 1 l/s by Z degrees)
Re: How does steam work?
Anyone? One of the devs, maybe?