Why do large power transformers exist ?

[Shadic]

No, really why does it exists ? It prevents nothing because it outputs 4kW it's twice more than the amount of power that conductive wire can run through, so when its more than 2kW it just starts overload. And so i ask again why does it exist ? You can make a slider for managing it's power that it can move thought or make it recognize how much power it can move through and not move more than 2kW or 1kW depending on what wires are connected, that's how i thought it was supposed to work at first time i tried to use it, but then as it turns out it doesn't work in anyway and presents nothing and it's existence is just not justified. Or maybe i and many other players (probably all of us) don't know how to use it properly and in a right way ?

[Sasza22]

Usually 2 small transformers can do the same. The 4kW output is weird but it prevents stuff running out of power if you got accasional spikes above 2kW that don`t cause overload but drain the charge. Still a battery after the transformer usually fixes that.

As for controlling how much charge comes through we got automation for that. But you need to connect it to certain branches you want off when overloaded instead of the whole thing or it will flicker on and off.

[KonfigSys]

did you install two transformers and two lines going to one 1k+watt  building? What wires do you use in this setting? Can you share a picture?

Why would you install two small transformers (1K each) if you can have one big in place?

I always use big transformers for such buildings (like refinery  or molecular thing).

[irOninfernO]

I think you have to pair up the large transformer with a wattage sensor and shutoff switch to prevent overloads. it a weird design. Which brings up this question for spaced out DLC. Why don't 1600 watts plug slugs overload the circuit?

[Sasza22]

11 hours ago, KonfigSys said:

did you install two transformers and two lines going to one 1k+watt  building? What wires do you use in this setting? Can you share a picture?

I actually used 2 transformers on a single line of conductive wire. I just do it when one transformer can`t keep up with the power needs and it`s easier for me to add another one than fit the bigger one. My bases are usually pretty cramped.

7 hours ago, irOninfernO said:

Why don't 1600 watts plug slugs overload the circuit?

Overload is based on power recievers. Producers won`t overload the circuits no matter how much they produce. Transformers count as power recievers though.

[Nocare]

They of course exist for conductive wire.

However you can also use heavy watt wire on both sides of a transformer.
There are many reasons to do this such as partitioning generation capacity and such.

It can regulate battery usage so that one area gets some power from battery backup but cannot pull full power.

[Lupbert]

If I want to power an aquatuner in a sealed box, I use a single large transformer, to conductive cable, to my aquatuner.  I’d have to use two normal transformers for the same thing.  Basically, it works just fine as long as the machines on the conductive cable can never use more than 2k.  

Also, once I have a metal volcano, it’s “cheaper” since it doesn’t use valuable ore.

[TheMule]

On 12/27/2020 at 12:25 AM, Nocare said:

They of course exist for conductive wire.

However you can also use heavy watt wire on both sides of a transformer.
There are many reasons to do this such as partitioning generation capacity and such.

It can regulate battery usage so that one area gets some power from battery backup but cannot pull full power.

I think the question is why not 2kW. Why the 1:1 ratio that exists between small transformers and 1kW wire does not translates to large transformers and 2kW wire? Why the 2:1 ratio?

I add, why not 20kW instead of 4kW?

 

I have no answer. I've moved to a different type of grid, so I rarely build transformers now.

[nakomaru]

Look up a switching battery grid. You'll see critical applications of 4kW power transformers which would just be nerfed it were to be 2kW.

I'd love for them to change the large transformers to 10kW or at least 5kW. This makes even more sense now that conductive hevi-watt is 50kW. Using 14 transformers (12 large and 2 small) to reach this a little bit silly.

[Ventulus-lab]

I use the mod 4k wire

This is more reasonable 

[MachineryMan]

 

On 12/18/2020 at 11:42 PM, Shadic said:

No, really why does it exists ?

Well, you can connect the outputs of five four-kilowatt transformers with a single 20kW cord and then power a Tesla coil with it, so the damned capitalists don't infiltrate Soviet soil, no nuclear missiles here, you want to deny us our last chance for defence??? Долбаный агент тлетворного запада, я знаю таких как ты, я таких чую за милю, держись подальше от моих четырехкиловаттных трансформаторов, маленький капиталистический говнюк!

[The Plum Gate]

On 12/19/2020 at 4:04 PM, Sasza22 said:

I actually used 2 transformers on a single line of conductive wire. I just do it when one transformer can`t keep up with the power needs and it`s easier for me to add another one than fit the bigger one. My bases are usually pretty cramped.

Overload is based on power recievers. Producers won`t overload the circuits no matter how much they produce. Transformers count as power recievers though.

@irOninfernO,

1600 watt plug slugs won't pass more than 1000watts through a 1kw transformer to a battery on the low side.

A 4kw transformer will not have this problem ( unless you have more than 2 1600 watt plug slugs ), in which case the transformer will only pass 4kw.

@TheMule,

I think this 4kw design is specifically high due to generator behavior rather than consumer line limit behavior.

As was mentioned, generators do not overload the lines, transformers still limit the amount of power flowing through them to the low side - generators included.

@Shadic,

( So ) if you're using generators to supply a larger grid through a transformer ( to prevent back flow or to save on wire resources ), then  ( transformers ) are limited by the transformer's low side capacity to supply generated electricity. 1kw and 4kw respectively.

Anything generated above the capacities is lost before the transformer and not passed through it.

[TheMule]

45 minutes ago, The Plum Gate said:

transformers still limit the amount of power flowing through them to the low side - generators included.

Power doesn't flow in ONI. It appears everywhere in the circuit. The same for load.

Transformers provide power on the low side and make the load on the low side appear on the up side, limited to 4kW. They act as 4kW generators + a 4kJ battery on the low side and a consumer on the up side, for the amount that actually appears on the low side up to 4kW.

On 1/24/2021 at 11:35 PM, nakomaru said:

Using 14 transformers (12 large and 2 small) to reach this a little bit silly.

Or using 5 of them to connect a 20kW wire to a 50kW backbone. They should be 20kW.
Conductive wire -> transformer -> normal wire:
- 2kW conductive wire -> 1kW transformer -> 1kW normal wire
- 50kW conductive heavy watt wire -> 20kW heavy watt transformer -> 20kW heavy watt wire.

[nakomaru]

3 hours ago, TheMule said:

Or using 5 of them to connect a 20kW wire to a 50kW backbone. They should be 20kW.
Conductive wire -> transformer -> normal wire:
- 2kW conductive wire -> 1kW transformer -> 1kW normal wire
- 50kW conductive heavy watt wire -> 20kW heavy watt transformer -> 20kW heavy watt wire.

You'd need to use 2 normal and 10 small to reach the 50kW capacity in that case, which doesn't make things any cleaner. 5kW or 10kW transformers would make them evenly divisible into either backbone. Surely 10kW is enough power for its size.

[The Plum Gate]

On 2/5/2021 at 11:56 AM, TheMule said:

Power doesn't flow in ONI. It appears everywhere in the circuit. The same for load.

Transformers provide power on the low side and make the load on the low side appear on the up side, limited to 4kW. They act as 4kW generators + a 4kJ battery on the low side and a consumer on the up side, for the amount that actually appears on the low side up to 4kW.

Transformers separate circuits, how they distribute power in the divided circuits is programmer handwavium,

We go on to agree about this in your second paragraph - we have esentially said the same thing already.

Am I incorrect to assume that you are indicating that 1600W will go through a 1000w tranformer because it's a generator?

This simply isn't the case with my observations, nor is it logical by the mechanics present in the transformers, batteries are a load when charging and a source when discharging.

Battery to battery transfer of power through a transformer happens at the rate and rating of the transformer, 1kw or 4wk ( 1kj per second or 4kj per second ), and it doesn't damage wires ( handwavium ). The same behavior occurs with generators passing power through tranformers to consumers.

[MikasaTanikawa]

I don't use transformers at all. Mainly because high-wattage backbone can't go through walls and doors.

All generators connected to single distribution network with... 1kW wire. Between every consumer network and distribution network sits small battery bank (batteries are not consumers and will not load distribution network). Automation connects half of batteries to consumer network, another half to distribution network and switch connections to charge them. Charging batteries also turns on lamp in distribution network to let know generators that it's time to work, so 1kW backbone can support 100 consumer networks.

[babba]

On 1/24/2021 at 11:35 PM, nakomaru said:

Look up a switching battery grid. You'll see critical applications of 4kW power transformers which would just be nerfed it were to be 2kW.

I'd love for them to change the large transformers to 10kW or at least 5kW. This makes even more sense now that conductive hevi-watt is 50kW. Using 14 transformers (12 large and 2 small) to reach this a little bit silly.

Great suggestion. In the base game (big maps!) I used to combine 5x4 for a 20kW line. Would be great if Klei would put in a 100,200 and 500kW giant power transformer blocks and corresponding cables. The cables could be made out of multiple metals and plastic. Maybe the cables need to be on wood/metal/ceramic poles and take lots of tile space, so make big maps possible in the DLC please dear Klei.