Steam Engine

The Steam Engine is a block that provides Rotational Force. It outputs the highest Stress Unit (SU) capacity of all the survival-mode power-generating blocks. It converts the pressure caused by heating Water in a Fluid Tank into Rotational Force, allowing for large scale item production and multiple contraptions.

Obtaining

Crafting

Name	Ingredients	Crafting Recipe
Steam Engine	Golden Sheet + Andesite Alloy + Copper Block

Usage

Steam Engines use heated Water for power and are placed on Fluid Tanks, which are then used as a boiler. At least 4 Fluid Tanks and 4 heat sources are required. A Shaft can be used on the engine to create a kinetic output. The direction of said output can be adjusted through the Value Settings on the side of the engine.

Increasing the total power generated requires that one or more of the three characteristics (heat, size, water) of the Fluid Tank boiler be increased. This will increase the boiler's level, increasing the maximum amount of SU Steam Engines are capable of generating from the boiler. A single Steam Engine can only extract up to 16,384 SU (The equivalent of 1 boiler level). To combat this, multiple Steam Engines can be attached to a single boiler to extract more power; however, this will not increase the total power generated by the boiler.

Boiler size

The tank size is the basic characteristic of a steam boiler. The required dimensions are affected by the heat supplied. For a passive steam engine (level 0) the boiler must be a 2x2 fluid tank of preferably one block height (making it any higher will be a waste of resources). For an active steam engine (level 1 or higher) the boiler must have 4 blocks per heat level. For example, a level 1 boiler must have a tank made of at least 4 fluid tank blocks, a level 9 boiler must be made of at least 36 blocks and a level 18 boiler (maximum achievable) must be at least made of 72 blocks.

Heat

A steam boiler requires heat to function. Heat sources must be placed underneath the boiler tank in order to affect it. All passive heat sources generate the same amount of heat. More power can be generated with the help of Blaze Burners, which produce varying amounts of heat depending on their state. Adding additional fluid tanks and increasing water input can also generate more power. At higher power levels, more Steam Engines are required to extract rotational power from the boiler.

• Passive (0 heating levels)
  •  Fire
  •  Campfire
  •  Lava
  •  Magma Block
  •  Empty Blaze Burner lit with Flint and Steel
  •  Blaze Burner (smoldering)
• Active (1 heating level per Blaze Burner)
  •  Blaze Burner (heated)
• Overclocked (2 heating levels per Blaze Burner)
  •  Blaze Burner (super-heated)

Water

Steam boilers also require water being pumped into them. The water requirements for a steam engine depend on its level, with higher levels consuming more water. If water is insufficient, the minimum required fluid transfer rate is shown in the Boiler status. To control the flow of water, you can use a Fluid Pump and a Rotation Speed Controller, or another method for adjusting the pump's speed like an Adjustable Chain Gearshift. This allows you to achieve different fluid transfer rates for different engine levels.

When operating a steam engine, it's important to ensure that you have the correct amount of water flowing through it. For each level of a steam engine, you'll need to supply it with 10mb/t of water, or if the water source directly touches the fluid pumps, you can use the fluid transfer rate to calculate the total rpm. Note that rpm values of more 256 are impossible to reach without changing the upper limit through Configuration. In these cases, you will need to use multiple fluid pumps (e.g. two fluid pumps each set to 180rpm instead of one set to 360):

Engine Level	Minimum Total RPM (before undersupplying)	Maximum Total RPM (before oversupplying)
1	20	39
2	40	59
3	60	79
4	80	99
5	100	119
6	120	139
7	140	159
8	160	179
9	180	199
10	200	219
11	220	239
12	240	259
13	260	279
14	280	299
15	300	319
16	320	339
17	340	359
18 (Max)	360	379

This equates to $rpm=20\times level$, but any value where $20\times level\le rpm<20\times (level+1)$ avoids under or oversupplying. However, smaller values consume less Kinetic Stress, so the lower bound is recommended.

Viewing Power Levels

Power levels can be inspected by viewing the boiler with the Engineer's Goggles or by attaching a Display Link connected to a Display Board. The required water input rate will also be highlighted in this display if insufficient. The levels are shown as a number representing the number of Steam Engines that can be attached.

The maximum number of power levels is 18. Eighteen Steam Engines each producing their maximum power of 16,384 SU gives a maximum boiler stress capacity of 294,912 SU. This can be achieved with the help of Blaze Burners fed Blaze Cakes (Super-heated Blaze Burners). For just a level 9 steam engine without Blaze Cakes, the maximum output is exactly half that amount at 147,456 SU.

Examples of configurations

Here are a few examples of valid steam boiler setups with no resource waste:

• Level 0 steam engine (smallest possible) - 2,048 SU
  • 2x2x1 fluid tank
  • 4 passive heat sources under the tank (such as lava or campfires)
  • one pump pumping water into the tank, running at 20 rpm
  • one steam engine attached to the tank
• Level 1 steam engine - 16,384 SU
  • 1x1x4 or 2x2x1 fluid tank
  • one heated blaze burner under the tank
  • one pump pumping water into the tank, running at 20 rpm
  • one steam engine attached to the tank
• Level 4 steam engine (like in the picture above) - 65,536 SU
  • 2x2x4 fluid tank
  • 4 heated blaze burners under the tank
  • one pump pumping water into the tank, running at 80 rpm
  • 4 steam engines attached to the tank
• Level 9 steam engine (max achievable without superheating) - 147,456 SU
  • 3x3x4 fluid tank
  • 9 heated blaze burners under the tank
  • one pump pumping water into the tank, running at 180 rpm
  • 9 steam engines attached to the tank
• Level 18 steam engine (max achievable via superheating) - 294,912 SU
  • 3x3x8 fluid tank
  • 9 superheated blaze burners under the tank
  • two pumps pumping water into the tank, running at 180 rpm each
  • 18 steam engines attached to the tank

Trivia

• Steam Engines can overstress separately. This means that if one overstresses, the rest will continue to generate rotational force. This makes it possible to make a self-sufficient steam engine that never binds up.
• Unlike machines in various other mods, which may use only a small amount of water and store excess for later, a Steam Engine setup does not store water, despite being made of Fluid Tanks. Water is "evaporated" upon insertion whether it surpasses the requirements of the engine or not, and any liquid stored beforehand in the Fluid Tank is instantly voided.
• For active steam boilers, the blaze burners can be automatically fueled, via mechanical arms or deployers. In order to remain functional, an active steam engine requires a renewable supply of fuel which is usually achieved by either a lava or charcoal farm.

Troubleshooting

• Occasionally your steam engine may show that it has no water intake despite having a water pump going into it. The only way to fix this is to remove all steam engines so that the tank reverts back to a normal fluid tank and then replacing them.
• By holding right click on the side of a steam engine you can change which direction it rotates in. If your factory seems to be running backwards then this is a quick way to fix it.

Advancements

Advancements

Name	Description	Requirements
Full Steam	Run a boiler at the maximum level of power	Place down Fluid Tanks and a Steam Engine and run them at max output (LVL 18)
The Powerhouse	Use a Steam Engine to generate torque	Get a Steam Engine to generate power.

History

• 0.5.1: Boiler status now highlights information about water flow when insufficient.
• 0.5: Introduced, replacing the Furnace Engine as the premier source of power.