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[Darkmere]

So I'm trying to make a self-regulating water reactor core, which works by way of a pressure plate that opens the water feed floodgate when in less than 6 deep water.

I've never used pressure plates before, and the wiki seems spotty about this particular issue. I constructed a floodgate and linked it to a pressure plate that should send the open signal from 0-6 water as a test. Floodgate doesn't open. Do I have to manually open it once? Am I setting the pressure plate improperly?

[aepurniet]

This is not needed, you can make a water reactor without pressure plates.  A water pump can pump water up, and as it falls it powers a water wheel.  (Well not quite, it falls, then floats to the intake of the water pump, powering the water wheel in the process) on a phone here, so not nice diagrams.

I do want to test your suggestion though, I think it will be tricky with the delays introduced by floodgates and the plates though.  Getting enouugh current to move might be a problem too, as I imagine the water levels will eventually stabalize. I don't think it would work.

[Darkmere]

I've used reactors before, it seems they either oversaturate and lose flow because I forget to turn the last pond zone off, or slowly evaporate and shut down. The idea was to keep them between those values by placing a pressure plate in the trench of the farthest reactor cell that would refill if all 10 reactors started getting low.

That said, I'm meticulous about shutoff valves, so I can just shut the entire core down and refill it without overfills by manually operating the floodgate feed. I'll just do this instead for now and practice pressure plates on my next fort when I haven't stopped 4 projects to figure out how it all works.

Would still love an answer if anyone knows, though.

[Urist Imiknorris]

Pressure plates only react to a change from <trigger condition> to <not trigger condition> and the other way around. They also send no signal when initially constructed. If you flooded the tile and then drained it, the floodgate would open.

[RiderofDark]

I'm not familiar with pressure plates, so this may not be the answer you're looking for, but it is an alternate method to quickly and easily refill (or keep filled) water reactors.

Below the pump:

Code: [Select]

WWWWWWWW
W......S
W.W.WWWW
W.W.W
W.W.W
WWPWW
 WWWPump level

Code: [Select]

WWWWW
WH.HW
WHPHW
.HpH.

W=Wall
.=Floor
S=Outside water source
P= Pump
H=Water Wheel

I've used this setup before, it's low maintenance and I've never had a problem with spillage. I like hooking it up to a river, but having an open square designated as a pond will still work. I'm not sure how big a problem evaporation is, though.

So I'm trying to make a self-regulating water reactor core, which works by way of a pressure plate that opens the water feed floodgate when in less than 6 deep water.

I've never used pressure plates before, and the wiki seems spotty about this particular issue. I constructed a floodgate and linked it to a pressure plate that should send the open signal from 0-6 water as a test. Floodgate doesn't open. Do I have to manually open it once? Am I setting the pressure plate improperly?

To hazard a guess, I'd say that there isn't anything triggering the pressure plate. Tried dumping a bucket of water onto it from above?

Pre-edit: ninja'd.

[Darkmere]

Got it, thanks guys.

If it helps anyone, here's my setup, pre-installation.the top path drains off-map through carved fortifications, and the feed supplies my hospital well from cavern 2. Before I start the reactor I'm going to dig an offshoot from drainage that will go to an obsidian factory eventually, so the floodgate is there to keep the reactor water sealed while casting takes place.

Now that I look at it, I guess it'd be safer to have a manual override put in for maintenance, as well.

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

[Fredd]

Try pulling the lever for the floodgate that fills the reactor. Since when you pull the lever, the floodgate is activated. So when it fills to operating level, the signal from the pressure plate gets reversed, closing the floodgate until water reaches less than 6. A manual override to the levers signal. Beware pressurized water flow, anyway.
 Theory is the pressure plate sends a signal to reverse the current status of the linked object.
 Hatchs act instantaneously, no lag, good thing to remember.

[outofpractice]

I found this out learning about self filling cisterns. You always have to open the floodgate initially via a lever when they are linked to a pressure plate. I'd also suggest not setting your floodgate at 0-6.. maybe 0-5. This is because of the extra water that still has to filter down to the pressure plate before it signals to close.

So 0-5 open, 6-7 close.

[Quietust]

Theory is the pressure plate sends a signal to reverse the current status of the linked object.

Only gear assemblies behave that way, and that's the case whether they're triggered by pressure plates or levers; for anything else, both levers and pressure plates send specific "on" and "off" signals when they are activated or deactivated.

[Mercenare]

So I'm trying to make a self-regulating water reactor core, which works by way of a pressure plate that opens the water feed floodgate when in less than 6 deep water.

I've never used pressure plates before, and the wiki seems spotty about this particular issue. I constructed a floodgate and linked it to a pressure plate that should send the open signal from 0-6 water as a test. Floodgate doesn't open. Do I have to manually open it once? Am I setting the pressure plate improperly?

Sorry to not contribute an answer, but I'm curious to what the point of a water reactor is?

[Darkmere]

Sorry to not contribute an answer, but I'm curious to what the point of a water reactor is?

Reactors are a self-contained power generator using water wheels and a screw pump. They provide power for other mechanical objects, like screw pumps and millstones. The one I built powered a pump stack to move magma up several floors to a forge area, as well as (eventually) an obsidian foundry.

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Water_wheel#Dwarven_Water_Reactor

There's the associated wiki article, and for good measure:

http://df.magmawiki.com/index.php/Screw_pump#Pump_stack

[Triaxx2]

If you're really dwarven about it, you can also link in a Windmil to enable and disable the reactor.

[Darkmere]

Once the reactor is primed it works on its own until either all the water evaporates below 4 or it gets flooded and loses flow. The best shutoff is hatch covers over the pump intake tiles, all linked to a cutoff lever, as they close immediately and the core shuts down very shortly thereafter.