Uranium power generator layout?

[Elusive]

I have the relivant techs reserched, and know how to make fuel cells. But I dont understand exactally what to do with heat pipes, exchangers, turbines ect.

Can someone please give me a screenshot or advice on what to do. Thanks.

[KatherineOfSky]

I created a tutorial here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_Eh7sz1Pik&list=PL4o6UvJIdPNpm9szThfI-2y3Bv0c3rPlB

[The Chaotic Coder]

That's a good tutorial, Katherine.

Quick question, on the 4-reactor setup, did you have trouble with heat not making it all the way to the last boilers?

I ask because as you can see below mine doesn't seem to want to heat up:


http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=918763192

The reactors are all at 1000 degrees but only the first 6 boilers have enough heat to operate. The left-most one is only 220-ish. It's been sitting there for over an hour, too, so it's not that it's just taking its time.



Also, if OP is looking for a simpler uranium processing/enrichment method for starting out, here's how I did it:

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=918757867

Any newly produced U-235 (the "hot" one, travelling to the right) will first be grabbed by the kovarex enrichment if it needs any, and if not then it will proceed to become fuel cells.

The U-238 ("cold", going to the left) goes through a splitter that sends some to make ammo and the rest to do a U-turn (pardon the pun) an go back to the kovarex and fuel cells.

Once the U-235 backs up (as in the picture) it will stop the kovarex but leave the ore-processors open to continue if you need more U-238 for ammo. Mine is backed up past the first couple of centrifuges because I made a LOT of ammo to fill a very long gun turret wall.

When the U-238 backs up it will stop the ore-processing centrifuges one at a time, but it will never back up enough to stop the kovarex because that process uses more than it consumes. So the kovarex can always operate when there is need for U-235.

Used fuel cells come in on the lowest belt and get reprocessed, the resulting U-238 goes onto the belt ahead of everything else.

[KatherineOfSky]

@JCHardin. Hmmm, that seems like very odd behaviour. In the tutorial video, my heat pipes go on for a much longer distance, and they did heat the Heat Exchangers all the way at the end of the line. (It's about 24 heat-exchanger lengths, so ~72+ tiles).

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=918944376

I've also gotten lots of comments on my videos about people placing HEs at the end of very long heat pipes (for combinator fun), and they have no problems with heating.

The only appreciable differences that I see are that I am using 1 heat pipe and you are using 4. Also, my steam pipes connect throughout the array. However, neither of those things should affect heat transmission, one would think.

Is it the same for all HEs at the ends of the lines? You may want to post the pic and description on the Factorio Bug Forums, it may be a rare bug: https://forums.factorio.com/viewforum.php?f=7

[The Chaotic Coder]

I searched the factorio bug forums and found this page:

https://forums.factorio.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=44972

Apparently heat pipes only work well in the direction you build them, not very well the other way. So you have to start at the reactor and build outward, ending at the last heat exchanger.

In the design I posted above I built the second section by blueprinting the first section, and the robots built the pipes in the wrong direction, meaning very little heat flow.

I rebuilt the heat pipes, and the reactors dropped to about 700 degrees for a minute while everything caught up, and now it's working perfectly with 950 degrees at the last HE.

[KatherineOfSky]

@Jchardin -- thanks for that! Had no idea they were directional.