Automated nuclear reactor feed/retrieval.

[Stevolution]

Ahh.... another 1am Tekkit session

Bit new to all the nuclear reactor stuff....

I have been playing around with a system to automatically feed a nuclear reactor with Uranium and coolant cells.

Although in theory... I should not need to replace coolant cells if its set correctly.

Question...

If I set up my reactor with the pattern of coolant and Uranium cells that I want, how can I ensure that I replace a coolant cell with another coolant cell, and uranium for uranium (without messing up the layout).

I am thinking of checking the reactor with a timer every so often and drawing out a single empty or near depleted cell. How would I do that? Will a filter directly attached to the reactor work?

If I withdraw one at a time and then push a new one back in, it should fill the space in theory.

Also, ho do you automatically craft a coolant cell? I know its a bucket of water and an empty cell, but how do you craft a bucket of water? I can make empty buckets all night long.

Finally, does an Ice block cool a lot better than a coolant cell, or is there not much in it.

Thanks

[Stevolution]

OK. After an entire evening of messing around with item detectors, filters, pipes and timers (and lots of tea + turning stuff with screwdrivers).... I think I have the solution.

Still have not worked out how to fill a bucket automatically however

I wish these Wiki pages would actually tell you which way around these machine go!

[disconsented]

Bucket = Deployer + infinite water source.

[Stevolution]

Got there in the end. I have ingots into crafting table = make empty buckets. Feed those into deployer in front of a water source. Pulse deployer with timer and then after short repeater delay, pulse filter (with full bucket inside) that is mounted behind the deployer.

Send those into the crafting table that is receiving the empty cells... coolant cells.

Finally

Trouble is, the whole setup now makes FAR too many coolant cells!

[gavjenks]

I dont think theres any way to make sure the pattern is maintained.

If you want to maintain your layout and ONLY uranium cells are being depleted (for example a mark 1 typical reactor with uranium surrounded by coolant), then you can do that by filling the entire reactor with buckets, then removing only the ones that are where the uranium and coolant cells go. Hook up a transposer feeding the reactor from a chest with uranium cells, and then hook up a filter pumping out of the chest depleted uranium cells only. As they run out, they will be replaced by new uranium cells (including depleted ones), in the correct pattern since that will be the only available slot in the inventory with everything else jammed up by buckets.

[LyteWing]

A friend and I were also working on this issue. We set up a fairly simple system that removed the near depleted cells and sent a fresh cell automatically using just a timer, two deployers, some pneumatic tube, a chest and some red alloy wire. The trouble for us was we were also pumping ice blocks in and no matter how much we played with the timers we still sometimes got ice where uranium should be. So in the end we came to the conclusion that (at least with our current level of knowledge) there is no practical way to maintain the pattern in your reactor. If anyone else can find a way to do this I would love to hear the details.

[gavjenks]

A friend and I were also working on this issue. We set up a fairly simple system that removed the near depleted cells and sent a fresh cell automatically using just a timer, two deployers, some pneumatic tube, a chest and some red alloy wire. The trouble for us was we were also pumping ice blocks in and no matter how much we played with the timers we still sometimes got ice where uranium should be. So in the end we came to the conclusion that (at least with our current level of knowledge) there is no practical way to maintain the pattern in your reactor. If anyone else can find a way to do this I would love to hear the details.

A friend and I were also working on this issue. We set up a fairly simple system that removed the near depleted cells and sent a fresh cell automatically using just a timer, two deployers, some pneumatic tube, a chest and some red alloy wire. The trouble for us was we were also pumping ice blocks in and no matter how much we played with the timers we still sometimes got ice where uranium should be. So in the end we came to the conclusion that (at least with our current level of knowledge) there is no practical way to maintain the pattern in your reactor. If anyone else can find a way to do this I would love to hear the details.

If youre using ice cooling anyway, simply go with an MFFS reactor controller, and then you can put the ice in a separate inventory, leaving your reactor to ONLY ever have empty slots where the uranium goes. (fill all other slots with buckets)

[Tyl3r684]

^Auto feeder and renewer!

[Stevolution]

MFFS Reactor controller? I will have to have a look into that.

Yes, at the moment, I just simply make sure that there is only ever a single space available.... take out one depleted cell, then replace it with another.

I never did find out if ice cools quicker than water. I was going to have a system that removed the coolant cells and replaced them with ice - should I need to cool quicker.

One odd thing.. part of my production line is tin ore - into ingots - into a storage chest.

If I take these ingots out the chest with a redstone engine+wood pipe and send them to an auto-crafting table, then all is well. They fill up the diamond shaped crafting patttern for empty cells without a hitch.

If I take them out that chest with a filter+pneumatic pipe, then they just pile into the crafting table all in a stack, not equally dividing over the receipe.

That is a pain, as I wanted to send 4 ingots at a time which it easier with the filter.

[gavjenks]

MFFS Reactor controller? I will have to have a look into that.

Yes, at the moment, I just simply make sure that there is only ever a single space available.... take out one depleted cell, then replace it with another.

I never did find out if ice cools quicker than water. I was going to have a system that removed the coolant cells and replaced them with ice - should I need to cool quicker.

One odd thing.. part of my production line is tin ore - into ingots - into a storage chest.

If I take these ingots out the chest with a redstone engine+wood pipe and send them to an auto-crafting table, then all is well. They fill up the diamond shaped crafting patttern for empty cells without a hitch.

If I take them out that chest with a filter+pneumatic pipe, then they just pile into the crafting table all in a stack, not equally dividing over the receipe.

That is a pain, as I wanted to send 4 ingots at a time which it easier with the filter.

1) Ice provides 300 cooling, buckets of water provide 250 cooling. Ice has the advantage of stacking (less likelihood of a tragic traffic jam) and very slightly higher cooling, but unless you're using EE, it also has the slight disadvantage that compressing snow to make it uses up a decent portion of the power you produce from your reactor. More so if you begin with water -> snow.

2) autocrafting tables only work with buildcraft if you pump directly in. If you want to use redpower tubes, you have to do something different, but you have 2 options. One, yo can put the items i a chest NEXT TO the auto crafting table, and it will pull the correct ratios out of the chest when ready. Two, you could use an auto crafting table Mk II, which is basically just a chest and auto crafting table in one, to do the same thing in a single block, making it inherently redpower friendly.