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[smjjames]

I've got the lake draining (more like drying out, lol) setup finished with the pumps and axles plus a few gearboxes, which adds up to 902 power needed.

So, here is the problem that I have. I'm going to need 6 of the standard reactors, which is fine, but I'm wondering how should I efficiently chain them or if there are more efficient reactors that give more power. Although i have a few ideas going.

Also, it's a 5x5 embark if anybody is wondering and I have the pumps spaced about 21 blocks apart, except for the corners.

Oh yeah, does the amount of power delivered decrease over distance? I'm not sure if it's fine to have one central powerplant or I should scatter multiple ones around.

[Patchy]

You can run a central powerplant if you like. There is no power decrease over distance, though each of the axles and gears do use a small amount of power to operate. So if it a long ways from the power plant to the pumps it could use a significant amount of additional power. And remember if your powerplant doesn't generate enough power to power the whole thing, it'll power nothing at all. So keep that in mind if your powerplants output fluctuates a little. An extra reactor might be needed.

[Niyazov]

if you have wind, an aquifer or flowing water it might prove less of a headache than reactors.

if it's an above-ground lake, you can mount windmills right on the pumps, eliminating the need to build a powertrain in the first place

[smjjames]

I have aquifers turned off and I checked and the local wind power speed is 0.

Six reactors will do it with at least 100 units of power in surplus and I am able to put it pretty close.

[Merendel]

you could make a zero point reactor.   It basicly exploits definition of flowing water in much the same way as the aquifer with flow.   All it needs is enough water to fill a room and access to an infinate water sink.   If your lake is a refilling one its posible you could use it to fire this up but I tend to just use an aquifer(which you dont have apparently) or the map edge.

Setup:
you can do this almost anywhere you want but relitively close to the map edge makes parts of it easier.  Dig out 2 rooms on top of eachother (leave the floor between for now to aid water wheel construction later) in the lower room dig a drain tunnel to the map edge.  once you dig up to the map edge smooth the last block then carve fortifications in it (important double check that you rememberd this step as its a pain if you have to drain the water afterwards if you forgot)   Once the fortification is in place build a door or floodgate as close as you can to that fortification and link it to a lever (dont put the lever somewhere where it will be under water later)  you'll want to be able to remotely open that door/floodgate briefly once you flood the lower chamber.

at this point the lower chamber is ready to be filled.  Seal any access paths you made to get in there (not the drain tunnle) and get water into that lower chamber however you please. you want the chamber and drain tunnle up to 7/7.  Once filling is compleat pull the lever and let a bit of water drain.  As soon as water reaches the map edge and starts flowing off pull the lever agian to close the floodgate.  Congradulations you just created an artificial river in the location of your choice.  Top the water back off to save on FPS.   Now you can channle out strips of teh floor in the upper room and install water wheels.  the flow will be in the direction of drain tunnle so make sure you orient them properly.  I find it easiest to build gears to support the wheels on one side, install the first row of wheels, channle out the next row, install and repeat till the room is filled.  a 6x6 room can fit 12 water wheels.

if you plan on makeing a really huge reactor try to make it longer rather than wider.  if the channle is too wide the flow does not always start up properly, 6-7 wide is prety safe and you can make it as long as you want.  I've done a 60 wheel reactor before, stoped there because I deforested the map to build that thing

[smjjames]

Yes it's a refilling one and the 30 or so pumps isn't doing the trick with spacing of 21 blocks.  I mean it works, but the water level isn't dropping below 4. So I had started digging out that suggestion on the thread where I asked about ideas on draining the lake before doubling the number of pumps and the number of reactors.

Although, a zero point reactor? Maybe I could do that.