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[IronOreAgate]

So I am, for the first time, trying to harvest the magma from the seas below my fortress to power my fortress. However It seems to be quite the tall order, seeing as I would need over 130 pumps to get it to where I want it...Is it possible to fuel the pumps with dwarf pumpers? That way I don't need to power the pumps with a metric dwarf-ton of windmills...

Otherwise I have read about magma pistons and minecarts to bring magma up. But I don't quite understand how either of those work.

Any tips for a first time magma harvester?

Thanks,
-agate

[toomanysecrets]

I have not gotten into minecarts but I think that will be the new resource-cheap way.  Pre-minecart, my method has always been to build enough parts for like 25-30 pumps. Then pump the magma 30 levels into a giant reservoir. Disassemble, repeat 3x or 4x. Much better than building 100+ screws and pipes.
Yes dwarves can pump. Once the pump is built, press "q," put the curson on the pump and press enter. Same to stop pumping.

[IronOreAgate]

That makes sense, I thought I should run it by someone before I sense Jimmy McDwarf off to pump magma and fry him alive. How big of a reservoir would you recommend?

[toomanysecrets]

Well, making it too big is better than making it too small. If you don't end up with enough you'll be pretty pissed. 15x15 seems reasonable.

[Triaxx2]

There was just another thread about something similar.

Essentially you need one magma-safe pump, a small area to pump it into and a minecart track to run through it. Guide it down from above, and order it pushed through the area full of magma. As long as it's 6/7 deep, it'll fill the mine cart and can be picked up on the other side. Then run it back up and over a dump stop. Repeat as necessary. There was a discussion

[i2amroy]

If all you need is the small amount of magma required to power your forges then I strongly suggest you check out the Magma Piston design first, or potentially if you are more adept at using mine carts how much work would be required to form a mine cart relay leading up to your fortress before building a massive pump stack.

[Ridiculous]

There was just another thread about something similar.

Essentially you need one magma-safe pump, a small area to pump it into and a minecart track to run through it. Guide it down from above, and order it pushed through the area full of magma. As long as it's 6/7 deep, it'll fill the mine cart and can be picked up on the other side. Then run it back up and over a dump stop. Repeat as necessary. There was a discussion

I did this, but had them position the minecart in the room, flooded the room with magma and then pumped it all out. However this left 1-deep magma puddles all over the tracks, preventing a dwarf coming and picking it up until they evaporated. About 80% of the time was spent waiting for the tracks to clear, so you should definitely set it up so the cart moves itself out of the magma pool allowing it to picked up on the other side.
Also minecarts only seem to hold enough magma for a 2 deep pool, which meant that when I dumped it in my reservoir in my fort, it spread out and evaporated while the minecart was picking up the next load. I ended up using 4 minecarts simultaneously to counter this.

[Snaake]

...Also minecarts only seem to hold enough magma for a 2 deep pool, which meant that when I dumped it in my reservoir in my fort, it spread out and evaporated while the minecart was picking up the next load. I ended up using 4 minecarts simultaneously to counter this.

That's why your first 2 magma-filled carts should only empty to a 1-tile reservoir, then you can expand it to 2, then to 3-4 after a couple more carts, etc.

[Ridiculous]

...Also minecarts only seem to hold enough magma for a 2 deep pool, which meant that when I dumped it in my reservoir in my fort, it spread out and evaporated while the minecart was picking up the next load. I ended up using 4 minecarts simultaneously to counter this.

That's why your first 2 magma-filled carts should only empty to a 1-tile reservoir, then you can expand it to 2, then to 3-4 after a couple more carts, etc.

Yeah, I realised that's what I should've done immediately after I saw the first one empty. I had to screw up my reservoir design by constructing walls in it, but I got it working eventually.

[Triaxx2]

If you really find it a problem, you can construct multiple mine cart tracks sent through the lower reservoir, have the carts pushed through, then be moved on the other side. Then reassign them to higher routes with bad direction orders. Then once all carts are in place, enter the hauling menu and adjust the orders to be pushed immediately towards the dump stops beside the upper reservoir.

Works suprisingly well. Just be sure not to put your reservoir and the track the carts are being pushed from on the same level. Trust me, it doesn't go well. Besides you need the speed the down ramp provides to get out on the far side, even it's only 2 tiles wide.

[lcy03406]

If you really find it a problem, you can construct multiple mine cart tracks sent through the lower reservoir, have the carts pushed through, then be moved on the other side. Then reassign them to higher routes with bad direction orders. Then once all carts are in place, enter the hauling menu and adjust the orders to be pushed immediately towards the dump stops beside the upper reservoir.

Works suprisingly well. Just be sure not to put your reservoir and the track the carts are being pushed from on the same level. Trust me, it doesn't go well. Besides you need the speed the down ramp provides to get out on the far side, even it's only 2 tiles wide.

How high are your ramp? I pushed a cart ~80 levels down into a single tile downward ramp filled with magma. It never got out on the other side, and my dwarf lied on the edge of the downward ramp, injured badly by the magma mist. If he was riding the cart, it cannot run up either, but he would be in the magma too.

[Triaxx2]

80z in a row? Probably left the track, bleeding off speed. I did it with a 3z ramp, and a 1z back up. Seemed to work just fine. I'll give it another go to make sure and then post a picture.

[IronOreAgate]

I swear I read that if your Minecart gets jammed in  the magma, all you have to do is shove another minecart down into it, and the other one should pop back up, I however was unable to replicate this... They would push the other minecart at the ramp, and it would just stop.

[IronOreAgate]

I almost feel at this point it would be easier to build the bloody forges way down by the magma, and just use my minecarts to haul the bars, gear, and dwarfs up and down...

[Snaake]

I swear I read that if your Minecart gets jammed in  the magma, all you have to do is shove another minecart down into it, and the other one should pop back up, I however was unable to replicate this... They would push the other minecart at the ramp, and it would just stop.

I minecart colliding into another will give the 2nd one some of it's momentum. Not necessarily enough to pop it out though, that depends on the situation and the specific layout.