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[Lord Licorice]

The wiki says:

 

quote:The water wheel will sit "in" this channel

I took "in" to mean "the waterwheel is built at the same level as the water, literally in the channel."  Does the wiki actually mean above the channel?

I am trying to build a water system for my fort, and I went through a lot of work only to realize someone's horribly vague use of prepositions may have doomed it all to uselessness.  Assuming the waterwheel does belong in the channel (submerged by water, if I'm still unclear), how much pressure does it require before it starts working?  If I have a pump one or two spaces further than the waterwheel, will it have any time to start operating or will it fill up before the pumping process has a chance to start?

Edity: Whoops, one forum too low; can someone move this up to Gameplay Discussion?

[ January 23, 2008: Message edited by: Lord Licorice ]

[mwoody450]

.

[ January 23, 2008: Message edited by: mwoody450 ]

[Captain Mayday]

A picture is worth a thousand words.

[Lord Licorice]

quote:Originally posted by mwoody450:
<STRONG>.

[ January 23, 2008: Message edited by: mwoody450 ]</STRONG>

?

quote:Originally posted by Captain Mayday:
<STRONG>A picture is worth a thousand words.</STRONG>

Well, I guess that clarifies... and I guess I'm going to have to tear up all my work and lay it all down again a level higher, if I can.    I'm going to go edit the wiki for clarity.  I should have probably checked first, but I figured it was simple enough...

[Pandarsenic]

quote:Originally posted by Captain Mayday:
<STRONG>A picture is worth a thousand words.</STRONG>

Nice.

[Captain Mayday]

quote:Originally posted by Pandarsenic:
<STRONG>

Nice.</STRONG>

Seemed easier than words.

About his second question, I've never set up mechanical stuff before, since I haven't yet had a need.

[Skanky]

I am unsure what the second question means.
Regardless, I would recommend searching "perpetual motion" for designs others have come up with.

This design by Reynard seems quite nice:

code:

LOWER LEVEL, top view
#########
#~~~~~~~#
##~~~~~##
##~~~~~##
#~~~~~~~#
#########
UPPER LEVEL, top view
#########
#.......#
#^=====^#
D|=====|D
#.=====.#
#########

If you manage to find a way to use up all 500 power generated, congratulations!

[Alaern]

We would need even more when dwarfs will finally invent the light bulb.

[Lord Licorice]

quote:Originally posted by Skanky:
<STRONG>I am unsure what the second question means.</STRONG>

The question means, once water touches the waterwheel, is power generated instantly?  Or is it like other mechanisms such as levers and pressure plates, where a trigger event takes a few turns before the event takes effect, like a floodgate that doesn't immediately close when a lever is pulled?  For example:

code:

   *-----*
###|#####|
~~WWW...xx
##########

The water (~) is moving from left to right, passing under the waterwheel (W), which powers the screw pump (xx) a scant three tiles away.  In three turns, the water is going to fill in the rest of the channel (.) and start flooding my fortress if the water isn't starting to be pumped by that time.

Basically, does the screw pump instantly activate as soon as any water passes under the wheel, or does it take a few turns for the wheel to get momentum before generating power and the pump to begin pumping?  How much lead time (in tiles/turns) should I give the mechanisms to ensure they'll be active once water reaches them?  For that matter, how fast does a screw pump actually pump out water?

[Saktoth]

quote:Originally posted by Captain Mayday:
<STRONG>A picture is worth a thousand words.</STRONG>

Technically, in that picture, the water is flowing from above the waterwheel (It has a little channel/pipe thing up there), making it turn, and emptying into the body of water below. Its using gravity to turn, its not using the waters flow at all (The water isnt flowing, or at least very fast- it looks almost stagnant).

[ January 23, 2008: Message edited by: Saktoth ]

[Skanky]

quote:Originally posted by Lord Licorice:
<STRONG>Basically, does the screw pump instantly activate as soon as any water passes under the wheel, or does it take a few turns for the wheel to get momentum before generating power and the pump to begin pumping?  How much lead time (in tiles/turns) should I give the mechanisms to ensure they'll be active once water reaches them?</STRONG>

In that case, instantaneously as far as I can tell. OTOH I do not know if there is a minimum level of water necessary before the water wheel starts generating power. I built my wheel on 7/7 water and then created a flow under the wheel to generate power.