What should I use Aquatuner-Turbine for first?

[Glen Wheatley]

I got 15t of Petroleum, and I know I should use this Petroleum to make Plastic(since I don't have any), and use Plastic to make a Steam Turbine.
I also have some Steel to make an Aquatuner.
I should make an Aquatuner-Turbine combo to cool something, but I don't know what I should use the system for first.
Any recommendations are welcome.

[KittenIsAGeek]

Generally I use polluted water as a coolant rather than petroleum, unless I'm trying to cool something well below the freezing point of water.  This is because petroleum only has a SHC of 0.978 DTU/g/degree f  while water has a SHC of 2.322 DTU/g/f.  This means that because of how the aquatuner works, water is more than twice as efficient as petroleum.

The thermal aquatuner changes the temperature of one pipe unit of liquid by -25.2 degrees f per second while using 1.2kW of power.  Assuming you're running with full pipes of 10kg, that means that petroleum has an efficiency of 205.8 DTU per watt while water has an efficiency of 487.62 DTU/w.  In other words, water will move 240% more heat than petroleum.

The downside of using water or its variants (polluted water, brine, etc) is the relatively small temperature range where it is effective before you start breaking pipes.    If you need to cool something below zero before you get supercoolant, petroleum can be useful.  I would like to point out that there is a much better coolant available now: Nectar.

Nectar has a SHC of 2.278, which is pretty close to water.  Unlike water, it has a useful temperature range of -116.5f to 320f.  Sure, the thermal conductivity is a bit lower, but that evens out when you're using things like conduction panels and radiant pipes.

 

Then again, your question was what to cool.. I suppose that depends on your base layout.  I generally only manage heat where necessary, such as the dupe living areas, farms, etc.  Geysers/Volcanoes are also great things to cool.  Nothing cooks your base faster than piping nearly boiling water into your latrines...

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Good luck on building your aquatuner and steam turbine!

[Glen Wheatley]

On 3/24/2025 at 2:08 AM, KittenIsAGeek said:

Nectar has a SHC of 2.278, which is pretty close to water.  Unlike water, it has a useful temperature range of -116.5f to 320f.  Sure, the thermal conductivity is a bit lower, but that evens out when you're using things like conduction panels and radiant pipes.

I did check the internet about "Nectar", it is indeed a good coolant, but it needs the Frosty Planet Pack DLC, which I don't have. Interesting stuff, nevertheless.
 

On 3/24/2025 at 2:08 AM, KittenIsAGeek said:

Then again, your question was what to cool.. I suppose that depends on your base layout.  I generally only manage heat where necessary, such as the dupe living areas, farms, etc.  Geysers/Volcanoes are also great things to cool.  Nothing cooks your base faster than piping nearly boiling water into your latrines...

Well, my starting Asteroid is Rime, and 99.9% of my living area is as cold as where a Yeti or Sub-Zero could live. I heat up water to raise temperature instead, to make crops grow.
I guess I will "only manage heat where necessary" like you mentioned, not worrying about heat for now(though I could be wrong).
 

On 3/24/2025 at 2:08 AM, KittenIsAGeek said:

Anyway, just some thoughts.  Good luck on building your aquatuner and steam turbine!

Overall, thanks for coming to this post, and I appreciate your thoughts!

[cyberwarlord]

Too bad you can't quick freeze steam and make it snow.

Been wanting to make an environmental dome on oni for a while but it's only for looks.

I could send in tiny amounts of steam to make it rain. The waterfall was cooled to 28c. The water runs down to the pond and the excess water from the falls is taken back out.