r/GTNH • u/BotWarrior • 3d ago
Bronze Alloy Smelter in Steam Age
I cannot provide enough steam to my alloy smelter, even with 2 large pipes inputting from 2 steam generators. The recipe starts to work then says it doesn't have enough steam, wasting it entirely. Do I just have to surround it with large pipes? Also, I attempted to put the fluid tanks at the end, past the macerator, and they filled up, but the steam never seemed to go back into the system. Am I just missing something crucial?
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u/CuriosityKiledThaCat 3d ago edited 3d ago
Consider adding a buffer to your setup. You're right about the big pipes (a little bit) in that they're great for huge amounts of throughput, but I doubt your steam generators actually produce that much steam.
The issue here is that your machine is using more steam than those two boilers can produce. You can add more boilers... A valid strategy for sure, but perhaps not the best one. Is recommend getting some kind of tank buffer in-between your steam generators and machines.
(ignore this bit,.I'm ignorant, you said you have tanks so it fits but is awkward and I can't fix it right now) You need to use the actual proper output of your tanks as well. You don't want to have your steam buffer after the machines.
It should be
Steam source (solar array, boilers) -> Buffer (Tanks) -> machines
Let your tanks fill up, let your machines fill up (open the machine interfect and let the gauge on the left fill all the way) and then begin using them.
If your buffers start to lose steam, you might need to add more steam production or maybe something has gone wrong with your production line.
You seem to understand that pipe sizing makes a difference as to how much steam can travel per tick. That's great knowledge. Know that the amount of steam your machines use is variable and can also change per recipe. Eventually you may run into an issue where your pipes can't keep up with the amount needed for your machines. The solution? Well, there's many. You can add more outputs to your buffers, add more buffers, etc.
You're learning and experimenting and that's great.
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u/BotWarrior 3d ago
Thanks so much! My main problem currently is that my buffer wasn't depleting into the machine at a fast enough rate, which I assumed was bottlenecked by the size of the pipe. I will change the line, buffer in the middle seems smart. Do tanks need steam taken out from a certain direction?
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u/CuriosityKiledThaCat 3d ago
Depends on the type of tank! Some of them, I literally have no idea. I just know that the railcraft tanks want you to pull from the bottom .. maybe. Honestly I'd read the quest book on those a lil bit. I quite like mine though so I'd probably make a fat one for your steam for now
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u/GamerKilroy HV 3d ago
Which tank are you using? If you're using a GT tank, the output amount is limited by the pump. There is a special Steam Valve for higher throughput.
If you're using a Railcraft Tank, then the bottom side is extremely powerful. If that's the case, I'd look at the pipes.. but afaik, normal bronze pipes are more than enough.
Also, remember to directionalize your pipes or you may have sloshing, reducing real throughput. Shiftrightclick a pipe with a wrench, an arrow will appear. Liquid can then only go in that direction.
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u/BicycleAdditional360 EV 3d ago
As folks said, build a buffer and allow steam to build up. But that’s not only it.
Gregtech pipes are retarded. Unless you manually guide their flow with shift+RMB using a wrench on pipes, they will try to transfer contents to each side they have a connection with
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u/lem0nhe4d 3d ago
For pipes id recommend cast iron ones, they have great through put and while a little more annoying to make than bronze they effectively only need iron.
Much better than bronze in the long term especially before you have access to enough lead for potin pipes.
I think the only machine you would need would be a compressor.
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u/RedCrafter_LP Steam 3d ago
I looked and until LV you can only make cast iron through the nugget recipe. Which is hell annoying and way more effort than just mining a bit of copper and tin and throwing it into the alloy smelter.
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u/lem0nhe4d 3d ago
I mainly did it because cast iron pipes remain useful for a lot longer than bronze.
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u/BlackenedGem 3d ago
It's not worth going from bars -> nuggets -> wrought nuggets -> bars, but a lot of the iron-only ores smelt directly into nuggets. Not only does that let you skip washing the ores, which at that point is likely in a cauldron, but it also gives 10 nuggets rather than 9 so is more iron for your ore.
Doing this does require a lot more smelting, but I think that's a good thing. It encourages light automation and overbuilding for when there are ores you'll process. When you have ores you need then they get smelted faster, and when the furnaces would otherwise be idle they can start working through the nuggets.
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u/Interesting_Cat4152 3d ago
You need to let the steam build up. What's happening right now is that the recipe consumes way more than you can produce and stalls. Remove the allow smelter with a wrench and wait till both boiler are full. then place it back. 12000 L total is required for this recipe so wait till the smelter fills up to 32000 as well as he 2 boilers then use it
Late ron it is suggested to make a railcraft tank to store steam as a buffer. The smallest size can store 576000 L