Gameplay
Alchemy Factory Steam Boiler: Pipes, Heating Pads and Supply
Build a boiler-to-pad steam network, compare it with local furnace heating, and protect steam production from an underfed shared loop.
Updated
- Guides
- 30
- Topics
- 2
- On this page
- 4
Carry heat through a steam pipe network
Place a Steam Boiler above a fuel-fed furnace to convert its heat into high-pressure steam. Carry the steam through pipes to a Steam Heating Pad, then place the equipment to be heated above the pad.
The Steam Boiler output rate is adjustable. A boiler costs 20 Iron Ingots and 5 Steel Ingots; a Steam Heating Pad costs 3 Steel Ingots and 3 Copper Ingots.
Connect the heat source to distant machines
- Supply fuel to the furnace and build the Steam Boiler above it. The boiler uses furnace heat to create steam.
- Join boiler outputs to a header pipe and branch the steam line toward the factory floors that need heat.
- Connect the steam supply to a Steam Heating Pad and position the consuming machine above that pad.
Local furnace or steam heating
| Heating route | What the layout needs |
|---|---|
| Stone Furnace | Fuel at the machine location, with the device above the furnace. A belt can refill the fuel automatically. |
| Blast Furnace | A larger heating area with automatic fuel refilling through a conveyor belt. |
| Steam Boiler and Heating Pad | Fuel and heat at the boiler, then steam pipes to the pad beneath the distant machine. |
One workable progression is to start a small steam network near the end of the Coke Powder stage, then expand it as Black Powder production becomes established. Steam lets the factory distribute heat through pipes in place of moving fuel to every heated machine.
Protect the system that makes the steam
- Watch for the steam-producing system losing its own heating supply when the rest of the factory consumes all shared steam. Heating pads in that system can stop, shutting down steam creation.
- Keep the steam engine on local fuel heating, or give its heat-consuming machines a separate private steam circuit. Reserve the shared circuit for the wider factory.
- In the demonstrated Black Powder setup, the private boilers feed daisy-chained heating pads and the other boilers supply the public line. Separate those destinations when reproducing the layout.
- Keep a fuel buffer for startup and maintenance. For a Blast Potion system, a reserve box helps restart the setup or cover interruptions while working on the steam line.
- For a self-sustaining steam blueprint, preserve the complete loop for every input. Letting an incomplete loop run continuously can put extra demand on the systems supplying it.
Watch the steam network demonstration, including header pipes, private heating circuits and the shared factory supply.Playing this video connects to YouTube.
