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[Zaphod]

I'm planning on building my first pump stack. I plan on making it atleast 20z layers up. Since they are on top of each other, does that mean they are mechanicaly connected to each other? Do I need a seperate power source/pump dwarf for each one? This will probably be the most complicated thing I've yet to build in df.

[Zaphod]

Reading the articles on power. I'm not exactly sure how axels and gears transfer power. Would some one mind drawing me a picture?

[Lytha]

You need to channel one of the tiles between the pumps, have them sit on each other. Let me show you the setup for the 3x3 pump stack that I use these days:

z = 0

#####
#+++####
#+++C+C#
#+++#+#
#####+#
####X#

z = 1

#########
#####+++#
##C+C+++#
###+#+++#
###+#####
####X

X = the staircase, feel free or encouraged to use two stairs next to each other to avoid traffic jams
C = a channeled tile
+ = floor
# = wall/not dug out area


You'll find that you can only install the pumps in one single way onto the "C+" sections, if you want to pump into the 3x3 room (the impassable tile goes onto the C, the passable tile onto the floor).

In this supposedly more FPS-friendly pump stack, the power is transmitted from impassable tile to impassable tile.

You only need to connect one of the pumps with your power source.


You can connect the pump stack to your powersource by placing a gear on top of the topmost pump (channel out the tile, again), or with a clever addition of some more screwpumps to contain the magma in the 3x3 room while getting a pump accessible for your gear.

[Zaphod]

That's pretty helpfull. Thanks. But the power source is either going to be a brook ( the water source) from about 20 z's down or a water reactor (never made one before). Does the power source being below the first pump effect it at all? Or can I put a gear below the first pump?
If I build a water reactor for this. It doesn't say how deep of a v shape I need to channel.

FPS isnt a huge issue for me. I play on gigantic maps with little to no fps problems.

Ps.
 the point of this to move the water a little further into my fort because it's currently located pretty far from any populated areas of my fort. I also have acess to magma, so I want to mess around a bit with steam eventualy.

PPS.
Can steam be used to power machinery?

[Lytha]

The power reactor needs 1 z-level full of water, and a U shape transfers the water movement better than a V shape, really. I think I actually go with O-shapes, pouring the water straight back down to the lower z-level past the pump.

You'll need more than just two waterwheels for your 20 z-level pump stack. Expand the power reactor with 1 waterwheel at each side, and you should be golden.


Yes, you can put the gear below the lowest of the pumps, but I think there were some sort of issues with this leading to a situation with a gear ending up where a wall should be (to avoid the magma leaking all over the place).

What I do when I want to connect the power from a random z-level to my pump stack is the following:

z = x

#####
#+++####
#+++SsC#
#+++#+#
#####o========oPowerSource
####X#

z = x+1

#########
#####+++#
##CsS+++#
###sS+++#
###sSS###
####Xs


o = gear
=== = a horizontal axle
sS = a screw pump. S is the impassable tile
sS = a screw pump placed over a channeled tile


These are 3 additional pumps, but they contain the magma safely in the 3x3 room. Power comes from below.

It is quite possible that I have been overthinking this and that it is unnecessarily complicated.


Take extraordinary care not to connect the lever to a gear from which your pump stack is hanging in the air, else everything disconnects and !!FUN!! might ensue.

[Zaphod]

Thanks a bunch. Really helpfull. It seems there is no real use for steam (today is against steampunk dwarfs for some reason) aside from saunas and traps.

Im going to make another thread about steam.
Also our avatars make us cat bros!

CAT BROS FOREVAR

[Mechatronic]

I just used gear assemblies to transfer power.

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