Coal generator

[Ninjabiscuit90]

I just got upgraded to coal power, but my biggest problem is the most ideal area i found is a little bit of a distance, i think around 1,000 meters at least. Would it be practical to build the coal generator and run a power line all the way back? or is that nuts? I just dont want to relocate my entire place since I've got a system set up now.
My other option is there is one a bit closer probably 400meters away, but the water source is back by my base, at least the nearest one i've found.

[umop-apisdn]

Rules of thumb for coal power:

• Bring the coal to the water.
  Solids are easier to move than liquids, and have a more stable and consistent behavior. Therefore, it is best to bring the solids to the liquids rather than vice versa, when you need both.
  
• Bring the power to where it's needed.
  Power poles and cables are much cheaper than belts/pipes. There's no need to bring the resources to your "base", when all you're really after is the power.
  
• 1 coal generator wants 15 coal per minute; 1 Mk.1 belt can supply 4 coal generators.
  
• 1 water extractor at 75% clock speed will provide enough water for 2 coal generators. You can do the math and get creative with the piping if you want, feeding 8 coal generators with 3 water extractors... but it's ever so much simpler not to.

[syphonax]

Originally posted by Huillam:

Originally posted by syphonax:

I nearly had a 60 footer working, not quite sure where I went wrong but I prefer bringing the water to the coal as it aesthetically more pleasing to look at.

A skybridge is the easiest way to transport fluid. Even if you want to keep the pipes on ground level it's a good idea to build a temporary one above them: Build walls starting from the water extractors, skybridge your way to your generators, build walls to the ground. A wall being 4 meters high, you can easily know how many pump you need.

In the Dune desert the main body of water is well below where you are building, its seems more logocally and looks more pleasing to transport the water to the coal generators "on land" the Skybridge thingy sounds interesting though

[SpaceWombat]

yep that's how the game is balanced. Nodes are always quite a ways distance from eachother so that as you progress you'll need to figure out increasingly complex logistics solutions.

For coal it really depends on the setup. Imo your best bet is going to be doing whatever is easist because you'll want to re-do your setup anyway when you unlock the best belt speeds. If I were you I'd just build the power plant on or near the coal nodes and near plenty of water, then route power lines out. *tip: try not to place coal generators too high above your water source. you'll end up having to use a LOT of water pumps to get the headroom and it'll consume a big chunk of your output...

Remember that the optimal way to do it is to underclock your water extractors to 75% so that each one feeds precisely 2 coal generators. 20 coal generators ( using 10 extractors @ 75% clock) will yield 1500MW. imo you'll want at least 3000MW to get to tier 6-7

[Tenzek]

Originally posted by syphonax:

In the Dune desert the main body of water is well below where you are building, its seems more logocally and looks more pleasing to transport the water to the coal generators "on land" the Skybridge thingy sounds interesting though

I always head to the cliff at the east edge of the map in the southern part of the Dune Desert. There is plenty of coal right beside the sea and relatively close to where you spawn into the world. It's also just a few hundred meters from the southern oasis, so it's easy to set up a factory at the top of the cliff. I usually use that one as a raw material processing hub, because it sits close to several biomes and has water for pure ingots.

[Ninjabiscuit90]

Awesome, thank you guys for all the input on everything.

[syphonax]

Originally posted by Tenzek:

I always head to the cliff at the east edge of the map in the southern part of the Dune Desert. There is plenty of coal right beside the sea and relatively close to where you spawn into the world. It's also just a few hundred meters from the southern oasis, so it's easy to set up a factory at the top of the cliff. I usually use that one as a raw material processing hub, because it sits close to several biomes and has water for pure ingots.

Yes thats exactly where I am at, trying to pump water up from that position is a HUGE task though.

[SpaceWombat]

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2824970529

[ShodaN]

I did it like this for the grasslands start and have pretty much the same basic setup for all the other locations too:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2822739321

The limiting factors at first are your belt and pipeline capacity. So you'll need to make sure to balance that out and use multiple lines to feed everything. Make a lot of room, because you can really push the coal extraction rate later down the line. But eventually you can switch to fuel and nuclear power anyways, so no need to go completely overboard. However power is a major limitation all the way. So you'll want to use what's there.

I'd suggest you do some of the caterium research first, so you can unlock Blade Runners to move much faster. There's also the zipline, which can allow you to use your powerlines, that you'll have to run back to base for faster movement.

[Huillam]

Originally posted by syphonax:

In the Dune desert the main body of water is well below where you are building, its seems more logocally and looks more pleasing to transport the water to the coal generators "on land" the Skybridge thingy sounds interesting though

I use the coal nodes near the ocean (east of the desert beyond the cliff):
I start with the pure node as it can output enough coal for 8 generators with a Mk. 1 Miner and Mk. 2 belts and it's only few meters away from the water.
As I progress into the game I can switch to the normal node (the two nodes are next to each others) for the same output and use the pure node for my fuel generators.

[Ninjabiscuit90]

Originally posted by ShodaN:

I did it like this for the grasslands start and have pretty much the same basic setup for all the other locations too:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2822739321

The limiting factors at first are your belt and pipeline capacity. So you'll need to make sure to balance that out and use multiple lines to feed everything. Make a lot of room, because you can really push the coal extraction rate later down the line. But eventually you can switch to fuel and nuclear power anyways, so no need to go completely overboard. However power is a major limitation all the way. So you'll want to use what's there.

I'd suggest you do some of the caterium research first, so you can unlock Blade Runners to move much faster. There's also the zipline, which can allow you to use your powerlines, that you'll have to run back to base for faster movement.

This is literally where i set mine up

[kLuns]

On that location you got a lot of water on a higher place to get rid of the pumps.

[Tenzek]

Originally posted by syphonax:

Yes thats exactly where I am at, trying to pump water up from that position is a HUGE task though.

Don't. Just use the oasis for water at the top, and build your coal generators at the sea edge with the coal nodes.

[syphonax]

Originally posted by Tenzek:

Originally posted by syphonax:

Yes thats exactly where I am at, trying to pump water up from that position is a HUGE task though.

Don't. Just use the oasis for water at the top, and build your coal generators at the sea edge with the coal nodes.

I really want to pump the water up though :) its really hard to do

[SpaceWombat]

Originally posted by syphonax:

Originally posted by Tenzek:

Don't. Just use the oasis for water at the top, and build your coal generators at the sea edge with the coal nodes.

I really want to pump the water up though :) its really hard to do

I respect wanting stuff to look cool, however you're kinda setting yourself for a slog. Excessive pumps are probably the fastest way to diminish your overall power output. In the screenshot I posted I needed 50+ pumps just to generate 3000MW at that height...

It's not an unbearable chip out of the output, but later on you'll actually need to use lots of pumps for getting stuff to your refineries so it's best to not use them when it isn't necessary. At least for refinery pipelines you can switch them off when youve filled up storage tanks, however pumps tied to power generation must always be on.

[daonejhc]

Here are my 2 cents : Belt the Coal ore back to your base from the 400m coal mine as you have one nearby. Later on you will link the 1000m coal mine more easily. Note that in time you will need about 12 to 16 generators (as they run well by group of 8) and nearby you will probably have the aluminium prod as they need coal and water to run. That will be a lot of space, a scale hardly foreseen in early game. The most crucial will be the water input : my way there is the classic sky bridge where you build a tower + pump near the extractor to ensure full pressure in the system after, and then pipe it back above ground to your main base. One thing : build a small secondary electric grid for the water pump, one that runs with biomass burners ready to be switched on. Because if you mess up water input at some point while using coal energy and end up with a broken fuse, then you will need to first restart the water pump, solve your issue and then restart your main grid.