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[GhostDwemer]

A basic idea that can be applied to all reactor designs, I know someone has probably thought of this before but I didn't see it in the wiki: diagonal flow to regulate pressure. The problem with many designs is that they are quite dependent on water level, ceasing to function with too much or too little water. By putting diagonal pressure reducers right before your water wheels, you will get a perfectly regulated flow across the wheels. I just made a three wheel version, with four pipes feeding down into the three wheel race channels through diagonal connections. It can't be overfilled, the upper half can be totally full and the diagonal connections will keep the excess water from jamming the wheels.

It also works with very little water, which is a problem for me now because I put the outlet in the wrong place, and it bleeds off very slowly. The thing is down to 1/4 the water it had when full, water at 1-3 through most of it, but the pressure regulators are still at 6-7, and feeding the wheels perfectly.

[GhostDwemer]

Hehe, months later, it is down to 1-2 water through most of the system, 3-4 in the pressure regulators, and 2-4 across the wheels, and amazingly, it still functions at 1/3 power (I have the load detached). At least one of the wheels still has four water under it at. I'm currently using two pumps and three wheels, which is overkill on the pump part, but I had scaled it back from a five pump design after I actually calculated the power needs of my pump stack. It could be scaled up to any size, really, although at extreme size I think it might need additional pumps to keep the lower raceways clear.

Also, as I mentioned, the current outlet is just dumb, and the inlet isn't much better. I'm pretty sure it can be filled so that nothing evaporates, unlike many water reactors, where if you fill them full enough not to evaporate, they jam (water at 7-7 across the wheels, no flow, only teleportation, thus no power.) It's not super efficient, in that all the gearing and power train take up some power, but I like having the wheels and pumps isolated, and only connected by an overhead axle.

Here's a screenshot:

[Reelyanoob]

You should see if you can mod the water repeater from the wiki to regulate the water levels! That design fills a cistern to alternating 3/4 level, so you could link it to the bottom level maybe, at the south where the level is low in your diagram.

[Triaxx2]

Cool. Can we get a quickfort for laying it out?

Why the second power transfer gear?

[Daetrin]

My issue with the standard dwarven water reactors is more the immense lag. I've been meaning to experiment and try less space-efficient but more processor-efficient versions.

[RTiger]

I run a 20 waterwheel reactor just fine.

[Quietust]

I've built several water reactors that were filled from rivers and included fortification drains (off the edge of the map), and I found that when (and only when) I left the drain open while filling, the entire reactor would acquire permanent flow (even though the water dropped several Z-levels after exiting the river and said levels did not get permanent flow); once they acquired permanent flow, I simply turned off all of the pumps (well, closed the hatches over their intakes) and continued to receive full power without any lag.

Food for thought (and ‼Science‼), I suppose.

[expwnent]

I've found that when a water reactor is filled to the point where putting any more water in it makes it overflow, it never dries up. Ever.