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[OneRaven]

I've got a blueprint set up for my fortress, and in said design, which is already partially done, I have a solid multiple story pillar running through the fort. I want to put self-powering pumps in to move water up through the fortress and make a waterfall, but the pillar is only 7x7, so I've got limited space. Did I mention I've also never used mechanics or plumbing before?

The real question is, would the following work, and if not, can it be fixed while still in a 7x7 area? The layers are repeatedly alternated up several stories.

Code: [Select]

███████   ███████
█  ██_█   █__%% █
█ ███=█   █=█|█ █
█ █*-=█   █=-*█ █
█ █|█=█   █=███ █
█ %%__█   █_██  █
███████   ███████
If I've made any hilariously stupid errors, its because I never figured pumps or gear systems out.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

If I understand your diagram, it looks like water never so much as touches the waterwheels :/

IIRC there's a self-powered stackable design on the wiki

I think if you just flip the wheels over to the other side of the tower it should work, but I haven't fiddled with hydro engineering in a while.

[Peewee]

Shoe, he put channels under the water wheel... I hope. 

Other than how you managed to get your dwarves up there, I see no problems...
UNLESS there's a channel under the central gear, in which case there may not be enough power to start it pumping.

[TheDeadlyShoe]

Ah yeah. Shit. Nah, this looks good. Disregard my post.

[OneRaven]

Shoe, he put channels under the water wheel... I hope. 

Other than how you managed to get your dwarves up there, I see no problems...
UNLESS there's a channel under the central gear, in which case there may not be enough power to start it pumping.

I did indeed plan channels under the wheel, but I can only fit one character in a space at a time 
Could you please explain your last comment about the central gear?

[Peewee]

If there is a channel under the central gears (connecting the axles), then the whole system is linked up from z-level to z-level -1. Then if your pumping pillar is tall enough, the whole thing will refuse to start upon adding water, because there would be too many pumps/gears/axles/water wheels requiring power to move.

If you start the tower with dwarves working the pumps (like I said, you'd need to build access), you might be able to bypass that issue.

[OneRaven]

Thanks for responding so quickly.
Second, access is definitely going to be harder than I first thought. Would keeping each layer as a separate system allow me to start it by pumping only on the first (and the second if I need it) levels?

[TheDeadlyShoe]

You could build a secondary dwarf-powered pump pillar and use it to bring water above the central piller, then send that down through the system to get it started.  That one is pretty simple and compact.  However, shouldn't you just be able to mine out one tile per level (next to the pump) and get access that way?

[OneRaven]

I can remove a tile next to the pump, but theres no way to get a dwarf into that space - the tiles above and below it are keeping the water in, so stairs would send water everywhere. A thought that just occurred to me is going to the bottom level and creating one of the massive-more-power-that-you-could-ever-use-machines in the wiki, and using that to jump-start the entire stack...would that work?

[Peewee]

Yeah, if each layer is a separate system, you're good to go. Remember though, that it's slightly difficult to stop the tower you have now.

Also @ Shoe: He'd need to make two stairwells, and every floor would have a separate access tunnel. It'd force a 9x7 size at the middle.

EDIT: If you use a power plant to power the stack, what's the point of the system you just created -.-

[TheDeadlyShoe]

I was thinking stair-scaffolding on the outside. Just take it down level by level when you're done.