Nuclear Reactor Setup Discussion...

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

So, for anyone Who's still interested in this thread, I thought I'd post a bit of an update in regards to how my testing of a super reactor went.

I decided to take up the challenge of setting up a reactor, capable of generating massive amounts of eu, being easily controlled using redstone, and also easy to maintain in terms of components.

I used this Reactor setup.

I'll try to post as much information as I can in this post, without posting anything too overwhelming.

If you view the general info tab, You can see that the generation time is 24 seconds, and the cooldown time is 11 seconds.

I setup a redstone timer with a delay of 20 seconds(to prevent the reactor from reaching any higher than 70% heat), that would then trigger a toggle latch.

A few blocks over, I have the same setup, however the second timer is set to go off at 2x the delay of the original(or 40 seconds).

These two latches then connect to a NAND gate.

The way this works, simply put, is that whenever both toggle latchs are set to an "on" state, the NAND gate outputs an "off" state, allowing the reactor to run.

The redstone setup will have one "on" state, followed by 3 "off" states.

SO, the reactor is on for 20 seconds, and is then allowed to cooldown for 60 seconds.

The reason for the extra cooldown time is to allow the Ice to refill.

The two blocks and the redstone(and redstone torches) are there to allow for synchronized starting of the timers. By placing a redstone torch directly "below" the redstone in between the two blocks, You will activate both redstone timers at the exact same time.

The ice is made by converting diamonds down to ice using the following conversion process.

Diamond>Gold>Obsidian>Lapis>Ice

The ice is then sent into a endless loop in front of the reactor. The pipe that inputs the ice into the reactor is an Advanced Insertion Pipe(looks like obsidian pipe), and MUST be connected DIRECTLY to the Main Reactor. The endless loop is just made using Iron Pipes to prevent any items from leaving the loop by exiting the wrong direction.

In order to not have an Underflow or Overflow of ice blocks entering the loop, (overflow causing lag, underflow causing an Explosion), You should run a timer to extract 1 Diamond every 250-270 seconds.

The EXACT time required using my EXACT setup to replace the amount of ice being eaten is 269.4 seconds. However, I have tested the reactor for extended time periods at this time, and it will eventually explode, as it will sometimes use more ice than expected. To run the reactor from almost full cells to completely used cells, I chose to set up the timer to extract 1 Diamond every 250 seconds.

This will cause lag however over long periods of time.

If You have any sort of Diamond making machine, or setup, this is an easy to maintain setup, As over the entire process, I used ONLY 141 Diamonds to create a total of 351,990,656 EU's. Approx. 352 Million Eu's.

This took approx. 67 Minecraft days to accomplish, and even with the use of the Somnia mod, took the better part of a day to complete.

I believe thats the better portion of the information I have to share. It's after midnight here, and I've been designing, testing, and simulating for over 12 hours, so I hope SOMEONE finds this useful XD

I'm adding snapshots in the spoiler below as I couldn't figure out how to re-size them to be manageable on the forum.

Redstone Timer Setup :

The Timer to release The diamonds :

The Pipe Loop Pic 1 :

The Pipe Loop Pic 2 :

The Pipe Loop Pic 3 :

The Diamond to Ice Converter :

How the Converter connects to the Loop :

My Massive MFSU Setup :

(The Reactor only filled the last three and a half rows with EU)

My Reactor Pic 1 :

My Reactor Pic 2 :

Edit: THis is the map save for the reactor setup, for anyone interested in seeing how i set it up.

Nuclear Testing

[Nolzi]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

What do you think about this setup?

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8c9b5cfc0v29kmzy1hueo8v3yuyp0=1l10101001501521s1r11r10

It has a shorter generation time, but more efficient.

Or an even more efficient one, but it needs a lot more ice.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8i8uxer2543k2htogwd02d15vy3hg=1l10101001501521s1r11r10

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

They both look like plausible reactors for sure, and as the cooldown is low on both I dont see that it would be a problem to run them on redstone and ice, similar to the way i did mine.

I will say though that You would probably have to re-do the ice converter timing in order to not have to little ice being generated, and If You change the redstone timer for running the reactor itself, that would cause further changes to the ice converter...

It is plausible to setup reactors such as those, It just requires alot of effort to do so to make them safe.

And be aware, no amount of calculations can guarantee that something wont go wrong, and You wont still have a giant hole in the ground.

But Yes, They're both plausible, however unless You really need 300+ million EU's, Theres no real need to make reactors such as these, or even the one i did. I could make that much energy last a full minecraft year, if not more...

[7rex]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

I use Redpower to feed buckets of water into my reactor. Other than that it has no cooling yet it can safely produce 240EU/t with no cooldown

[havocx42]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

This is my preferred super efficient setup. I have a running version on my server built by a friend. It eeks out that 4.35 efficiency while still generating a lot of power. It requires a whole load of Ice makers though and a big redpower tube system.

[ErusPrime]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Power Converters

This mod adds blocks that will convert IC2 to BC and BC to IC2.

It was supposed to be in the pack but someone was pissed as a fart and forgot it.

You'll need to start the game, let it crash, then open PowerConverters.cfg and change the block ID to 223

[BlasterMaster555]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

This is a 5 chamber setup with a top load BC pipe for remote loading. It makes 80 EU/t with just 4 rods and is completely stable.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?88sggziinyyfgwty50rvh7xeiu9qr=1l10101001501521s1r11r10

This reactor runs live on my server, but its power output pales in significance to my HV Solar Array of DOOM, which can run every plot in town, even if the plots were pumping out chestloads of UU-matter 24/7

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Very Nice reactor Blaster, Mind if I steal that at some point? haha

Post a picture or two of that solar array, I've always been interested in setting up something using solar energy, but never felt like actually building them all...

[ErusPrime]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

This is a 5 chamber setup with a top load BC pipe for remote loading. It makes 80 EU/t with just 4 rods and is completely stable.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?88sggziinyyfgwty50rvh7xeiu9qr=1l10101001501521s1r11r10

This reactor runs live on my server, but its power output pales in significance to my HV Solar Array of DOOM, which can run every plot in town, even if the plots were pumping out chestloads of UU-matter 24/7

is this for automatic or just remote loading? how do you get the depleted uranium out before replacing it?

[BlasterMaster555]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Stilll working on that... I have to find out if Redpower can extract from a chamber, otherwise, it ends up being a 4 chamber design, like this one:

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?71kbm4yffj1kzhuoiqj0gtwvyr=1h10101001501521s1r11r10

And here's a single chamber design that needs just 8 water blocks round it to stay completely stable - half the power output, but half the Uranium used - you could drop down several of these in a reactor room to get lots of power efficiently.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?4bfawvlxjwjhxga=1810101001501521s1r11r10

Or you can go Chamberless with 13 water blocks

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?31hgf6amf82i=1d10101001501521s1r11r10

Edit: Fixed the links

[ErusPrime]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

can you post pics of your design so far? I'll go to my TMI install and see if I can come up with something.

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

hey blaster, check your links, the last three You posted all lead to the same 5 chamber setup as You originally posted...

[Nolzi]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

This is my preferred super efficient setup. I have a running version on my server built by a friend. It eeks out that 4.35 efficiency while still generating a lot of power. It requires a whole load of Ice makers though and a big redpower tube system.

This setup seems to need a few less ice, but still the same max cycle and everything.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8c5xxee19i4kh8rui7s1mk4l33sbo=1l10101001511621s1r11r10

or this

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8i5hw3hjgv7tbuo9lgzba7nxl6o8m=1l10101001511621s1r11r10

[havocx42]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

This setup seems to need a few less ice, but still the same max cycle and everything.

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8c5xxee19i4kh8rui7s1mk4l33sbo=1l10101001511621s1r11r10

or this

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8i5hw3hjgv7tbuo9lgzba7nxl6o8m=1l10101001511621s1r11r10

As I said, I was going for super efficiency both of those are less efficient.

[SimpleGuy]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

As I said, I was going for super efficiency both of those are less efficient.

Efficiency is merely one design factor when building a nuclear reactor. Sure this setup is hitting the efficiency roof, but it is also fully unusable (even if you did run it) due to packet size issues. It's easy to use as a man-meat measurement size, but it's one-dimensional.

From a guy that plays Tekkit, I value stability much more than efficiency, as I have no idea when the reactor's chunk is going to be loaded/unloaded, and how the redstone clock state will be reloaded and in what order, so when using 5 or more cells the sheer power gained definitely outweighs any small sacrifice in efficiency for increased stability.

[BlasterMaster555]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

hey blaster, check your links, the last three You posted all lead to the same 5 chamber setup as You originally posted...

Fixed, scroll up

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Thanks Blaster.

And as SimpleGuy said,

efficiency is hardly the only thing to look at in a reactor. Cooldown, generation time, and how much Ice You're putting in are all factors as well.

I don't play tekkit, but I still prefer using something that I know isnt going to possibly blow every four seconds if I messed something up...

I also never find myself needed 350 million EU's ever... It is cool to have that much power, but hardly necessary in my opinion.

[couchguy987]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

I've personally been theorizing around this setup:

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?8i8wuofm32jtj4gk5datjybg6v7hy=1l10101011511621s21s11r10

The idea being that generating anything more than 512 EU/t means that I would have to run 3x Insulated HV Cable directly out of the reactor, meaning that I'd be taking 1 EU/t loss, at the very least, on the wiring (more if I would want the HV transformer a bit farther from the reactor)

You'd also have to factor in the fact that you'll be running some kind of buildcraft or redpower pipe to funnel the ice blocks to the reactor. Each cable/pipe you run into the reactor core means you're losing the cooling effect of that water block.

So with this setup, I only have to run Splitter Cable (same loss rate as glass fiber cable, 0.5 EU/t) to an MV Transformer. Saves the diamond, redstone etc., required to make the HV transformer.

And then you have to consider how many ice blocks/second you'd have to produce in order to keep the SUC reactor properly cooled. For each ice block producing rig, you'll need a Water Pump and 1 Compressor, and 1 Singularity Compressor (unless anyone is aware of a more efficient design, and I'm not talking Equivalent Exchange, because that's only available in single player), meaning you're losing however many EU's it takes to run the Singularity Compressor, plus at least 3 EU/t for each Water Pump + Compressor rig required to make enough ice blocks/second.

According to the reactor design here: http://imgur.com/a/YZsyT

"This seems to be the maximum number of fuel rods you can have whilst keeping the core cool with ice"

That being the case,

"The power plant uses ice at a rate of approximately 15 per second, which means that each tower can cool the core for 72min."

One of those ice block producing rigs I mentioned earlier? Only produces at a rate of 1 ice block per about 30 seconds.

In other words, running a SUC reactor with ice blocks is an insane logistical challenge. The speed of the water pump is the major bottleneck, so if we had the ability to funnel water through buildcraft pipes directly into the supercompressor, that would make it go a lot faster.

A few more calculations:

Generation time: 71 minutes 21 seconds

4281 seconds per cycle

102.70 stacks of Ice Blocks used

6572.8 Ice blocks per cycle

1.535342 Ice blocks per second

Feel free to check my math and offer suggestions for improvements. BTW I'm really looking forward to ComputerCraft to make timing a lot easier. I would still like a thermometer for SMP though (currently only available in SSP tekkit)

[minestewycrafty]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Becareful of the wiring...

Red to Red

Black to Black

Blue to bits! :P

[mmaughanjr]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

I use this'n

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?9102nq1tcdp4u1evxbvhnz536osq8j9fm=1k101010037ps011111101110

[Naturam]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

I use this setup. The reactor is stable about 20 minutes longer than the Uranium cells can last and it fully recharges 1 depleted cell.

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

@mmaughanjr

While that looks like a pretty decent setup, having a 69 minute cooldown is quite a dealbreaker for me :l

I could run my 3cell reactor twice in the time yours would run and cooldown, and I'd be generating more power as well:P

for a four cell reactor it is pretty decent though

@Naturam,

Cool idea, although If You really want a reactor to recharge a depleted cell, You're probably better off creating a second reactor and using it as a breeder, or switching layouts every other generation...

It is nice that You get one cell back essentially after each run though..

[Naturam]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Yeah but if I make a breeder I could just turn that thing into a whole reactor in itself for even more power and another depleted cell recharging. The depleted cell does not generate as much heat as the other cells so its kind of a "bonus"

If you run a whole program the cooling devices stop short at about 2 mm HP when the Uranium cells are used up. I like my reactor low maintenance. so I pop in 3 Uranium cells and 1 depleted. 3 hours of running time plus say.... 1 hour for cooling and I just check on it every 4 hours to refill the uranium cells and pick out my free new cell.

The less time I have to spend thinking about or working on the reactor the better.

If I have to constantly work on the reactor and then a breeder reactor on the side then it losses its purpose as an out-of-sight-out-of-mind power source that lets me put all my time towards making use of the power.

[gloomwalker]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Yes You could use it as a second reactor, no doubt.

Low-Maintenance reactors are pretty nice, I do agree on that point.

You can run a 3 cell reactor and a breeder reactor and not have to check on either, and still only have to come back and check them at the same 4 hour interval as before.

My reason for saying "make a breeder type reactor" is that the way You are running it now, Yes you are getting one uranium cell back, Your still getting a -2 loss of cells each generation cycle. So regardless of whether you put that depleted cell in there or not, You're still losing uranium in the end.

If You don't want to have to go hunting for uranium eventually You can make a breeder reactor, run it a few times, then switch it to your preferred layout after that until Your low on uranium again.

It's mainly to help self support your reactor systems.

I run a breeder style reactor and a normal reactor, and whenever i have a decent surplus of uranium cells i just switch the breeder to a normal reactor setup, and when i get low again i switch back. I don't have to check up on it constantly as both the normal reactors and breeders have no real cooldowns.. As well, The reactor setup I use only uses 3 cells(no depleted cell) and has a 21 second or so cooldown. That reduces the wait time to about 3 hours, instead of 4, theoretically.

Even if I did come back a bit early, it can run for infinite cycles, so it will never overheat.

Breeder Reactor Setups:

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?7baq0hj5hnxytheu41au4olui=1m101010114010101001019

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?9101qiia11xpishk9m5teqhzms476xac3=101k1010114010101001019

Reactor Setup I Use:

http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/reactorplanner.html?93qkkjfufykbie9pp8uqkalr76aw69z4=1k10101001501521s1r11r10

Again, As You can see, none of those reactors requires checking, other than to refill or refuel them every 3 or so hours.

Im not saying You have to do it this way, it's just a suggestion to maybe reduce the effort on your part :)

[gugglle]

Re: 6 chamber Nuclear Reactor Setup

Well, if you guys want to make BC power from IC2, please try the tin engine (electrical engine). 1 geothermal (or ~18eu/t) to feed 3 electrical engines will power the quarry, and it'll be really fast as well.

I'm in love with them. I really am.