Need some help with with smart battery and battery module

[DamnLord]

Hello everyone,

Can someone help me with my problem? I've been scratching my head but haven't come up with a solution.

I want to use a rocket battery module as a battery storage system, but I want to activate, say, a petroleum generator if the battery module drops to 20%. Apparently, I'm not smart enough to figure it out.

Please, can someone help? I saw how to use smart batteries and jumbo, but I can't seem to make it work with the battery module.

 

Thank you

[Gurgel]

There is no direct solution. There are options.

1. You can put one smart battery that sets your trigger on the same circuit as the rocket batteries. That causes your rocket batteries to be treated as 20 kj batteries. It still has the advantage of no heat generation in the rocket batteries. 
2. You can measure the power-flow and when it goes to zero, you know the rocket battery is empty. (Make sure to add some permanent load like a light.) To find out whether it is fill, use a power-flow meter. (Never tried that myself.)
   This will give you short power interruptions though. 
3. You can use a more complex version of (1) with a 2nd full smart battery that gets connected to the power circuit when the first one is empty. If you chain 5 like that you can use the full 100 kj capacity, but you end up with a complex circuit where the "sensor" batteries all need to be charged together but discharges one after another.

My opinion is that it is not worth the effort. Use all smart batteries and provide some cooling. Or go with option (1), which takes more space but less cooling.

Edited December 18, 2025 by Gurgel

[Knurek]

Here's one way to recharge Battery Modules when below 20%, no smart batteries needed: You can use one of the power generators that have the Fuel Request Threshold slider. Build one in a locked room with an Auto Sweeper supplying it with a little bit of fuel. Set the slider to 20%. Connect the new generator to the main line with Battery Modules and Petroleum Generators. Connect the Auto Sweeper to it's dedicated transformer and use a Wattage Sensor to get a green signal when the Auto Sweeper is running. Use a Buffer Gate to make the signal longer, so that the Petroleum Generators can charge the batteries as long as you need. Additionally you can use a Not Gate to disable the Auto Sweeper when Petroleum Generators are running.

Edited December 18, 2025 by Knurek

[DamnLord]

Thank you both,

maybe using smart battery as storage is the best way.

[Zarquan]

What I do is I have my rocket batteries on a different circuit than the smart batteries, connected in both directions by power transformers and I control this process with smart batteries.  Let's call the circuit with the smart batteries Tier 1 and the one with the rocket batteries Tier 0.  I have a smart battery on Tier 1 set to 99-97 and connected via NOT gate to the transformers from Tier 1 to Tier 0.  Then I have another smart battery set from 96-94 set to activate the transformers from the Tier 0 grid to the Tier 1 grid, treating the Tier 0 grid as a generator.  Then I set all my generators on smart batteries below 94. 

If I have excess power from solar or steam turbines or other generators, then they will charge the batteries to 99% and start draining in to the Tier 0 grid for storage.  Then, if I have a power deficit, the batteries will go below 94% and drain the batteries.  I also sometimes put my solar panels and always-on steam turbines on my Tier 0 grid if convenient.

By doing this, your smart batteries drain in to your rocket batteries when full and your rocket batteries drain in to your smart batteries when they are not full.

Edited December 18, 2025 by Zarquan

[DamnLord]

14 hours ago, Zarquan said:

What I do is I have my rocket batteries on a different circuit than the smart batteries, connected in both directions by power transformers and I control this process with smart batteries.  Let's call the circuit with the smart batteries Tier 1 and the one with the rocket batteries Tier 0.  I have a smart battery on Tier 1 set to 99-97 and connected via NOT gate to the transformers from Tier 1 to Tier 0.  Then I have another smart battery set from 96-94 set to activate the transformers from the Tier 0 grid to the Tier 1 grid, treating the Tier 0 grid as a generator.  Then I set all my generators on smart batteries below 94. 

If I have excess power from solar or steam turbines or other generators, then they will charge the batteries to 99% and start draining in to the Tier 0 grid for storage.  Then, if I have a power deficit, the batteries will go below 94% and drain the batteries.  I also sometimes put my solar panels and always-on steam turbines on my Tier 0 grid if convenient.

By doing this, your smart batteries drain in to your rocket batteries when full and your rocket batteries drain in to your smart batteries when they are not full.

This is pretty good, to use the battery as if is a generator ... thank you