Cosmic Upgrade - power ideas?

[gelat]

Ok, so since Nat Gas was changed, I've tried to run mid game power via hydrogen. Using things like SPOM MKII or simpler designs (before I find wheezeworts), and I can get self powering, but I cannot make "extra" power via hydrogen. I am using gas filters, so technically, if I tried mechanical filters, I'd get a net 120, but that seems very trivial.

What is the coal alternative before oil or steam?

Also, there was a post here recently on transformers, and using multiple lines from one transformer, each capable of powering 1000kw simultaneously due to the transformer "pulse" rate. I can't get that to work, and I can't find any examples of people actually using this.

Any ideas would be nice, especially with save games, images or video. 

[Yunru]

Coal? Oil? Steam? I've been using manual generators for everything!

Admittedly as a self-imposed challenge, buuut...

[withers]

Potatoes + copper wire = batteries!

[Soulwind]

21 minutes ago, gelat said:

 

Also, there was a post here recently on transformers, and using multiple lines from one transformer, each capable of powering 1000kw simultaneously due to the transformer "pulse" rate. I can't get that to work, and I can't find any examples of people actually using this.

The only way to do this is with power shutoffs and automation.  All lines attached to a transformer will be considered on the same circuit otherwise. 

[neoazureus]

15 minutes ago, withers said:

Potatoes + copper wire = batteries!

Muckroot* + copper wire = batteries !

[KittenIsAGeek]

I love hydrogen power.  I usually have the best efficiency around 10 to 12 dupes. The oxygen they use lets me generate hydrogen enough to run a hydrogen genny continually and another one as power demands.

 

[Neotuck]

Personally I go with ranching hatches for coal for mid game

About one full stable can support 1 coal gen (two if you have sage hatches)

If you use a smart battery to automate a transformer you can have a 2000 W circuit

[chemie]

Mine coal and get oil and pet gens much sooner than b4....unless I get lucky with a good ng geyser...they can be good mid game option if not dormant and good flow 

[gelat]

7 minutes ago, KittenIsAGeek said:

I love hydrogen power.  I usually have the best efficiency around 10 to 12 dupes. The oxygen they use lets me generate hydrogen enough to run a hydrogen genny continually and another one as power demands.

 

Could you post a picture of your setup?

7 minutes ago, Neotuck said:

Personally I go with ranching hatches for coal for mid game

About one full stable can support 1 coal gen (two if you have sage hatches)

If you use a smart battery to automate a transformer you can have a 2000 W circuit

I was doing well on that once lately, since I got lucky and found a glossy drecko nearby, so I could get plastic to trap the hatches. Since that save, not so much luck, so my hatch farms are very limited until I find oil, and that usually isn't until Cycle 80+ (maybe I explore too slow?)

[KittenIsAGeek]

1 minute ago, gelat said:

Could you post a picture of your setup?

Certainly. I'm currently at work, but I'll provide screenshots when I get home tonight.

[leoroy]

I don't know what's you power consumption(mine is quite low, tepetizer working almost never and no need for borg cube), but you know you should still use NG if you have a geyser with at least an output of 45g/s (one NG generator half the time). Like KittenlsAGeek, I have a 10 dupes base and I use H2 as primary fuel. So the setup is : 1) H2 generator directly connect to H2 pumps. 2) If pipes of the first H2 are full AND smart batteries below 80% the second H2 generator kikcs on. 3) If smart batteries below 60% NGG number one starts. 4) NGG two starts at 40%. 5) Below 20% two coal generator start.(I can't remember when I saw them in use) I'm lucky enough to have a 167g/s NG geyser plus another one I never use, but I don't use that much Natural Gas. You can even use micro chip on the main hydrogen generator (5kg of refined metal per cycle isn't that much at all) to get a whooping 1.2kw from your main supply. I can provide screenshots tonight if you want.

[Neotuck]

1 hour ago, gelat said:

Could you post a picture of your setup?

I was doing well on that once lately, since I got lucky and found a glossy drecko nearby, so I could get plastic to trap the hatches. Since that save, not so much luck, so my hatch farms are very limited until I find oil, and that usually isn't until Cycle 80+ (maybe I explore too slow?)

If you have a rancher then you don't need traps

[gelat]

14 minutes ago, Neotuck said:

If you have a rancher then you don't need traps

Wait, what?

41 minutes ago, leoroy said:

I don't know what's you power consumption(mine is quite low, tepetizer working almost never and no need for borg cube), but you know you should still use NG if you have a geyser with at least an output of 45g/s (one NG generator half the time). Like KittenlsAGeek, I have a 10 dupes base and I use H2 as primary fuel. So the setup is : 1) H2 generator directly connect to H2 pumps. 2) If pipes of the first H2 are full AND smart batteries below 80% the second H2 generator kikcs on. 3) If smart batteries below 60% NGG number one starts. 4) NGG two starts at 40%. 5) Below 20% two coal generator start.(I can't remember when I saw them in use) I'm lucky enough to have a 167g/s NG geyser plus another one I never use, but I don't use that much Natural Gas. You can even use micro chip on the main hydrogen generator (5kg of refined metal per cycle isn't that much at all) to get a whooping 1.2kw from your main supply. I can provide screenshots tonight if you want.

Yes, I’d appreciate some pics

[ShadowOfALegend]

my latest colony has a spom system along with coal generator that I plan to automate using my ranch and once I can get a mechatronics engineer set up out of my jack-of-all-trades builder, that will up the ante

 

PS i really hope transformers will be able to be made with refined metals as an option later on

49 minutes ago, gelat said:

Wait, what?

Yes, I’d appreciate some pics

The only critter that needs a trap is the morb, rest can be wrangled

[Soulwind]

Ranchers don't need traps to catch hatches,  they can be wrangled.  Out is in their details

[gelat]

15 minutes ago, Soulwind said:

Ranchers don't need traps to catch hatches,  they can be wrangled.  Out is in their details

Just re-read the notes. I missed that. Ok, so coal is more viable. I still want to try and make a go of Hydrogen though...

[Carnis]

I start hamsterwheels

Then coal + smart battery + coal container + autosweeper coal-loader minigrids. You don't really need hatches, if your consumption is minimal as mine is.

For the maingrid, Ive hydrogen + natural gas, which I pipe around to local powerplants, for local powergrids. I don't make a supergrid anymore, cause of the immense metal requirement of it.

 

For the ultimate endgame, I'm working on pooling 7 large magma reservoirs, one minor volcano that will be used to initially power 49 natural gas generators, later expanded possibly to 98. These are really for water more than power though..

We are kinda half way through with the pools of magma:

[clickrush]

23 minutes ago, gelat said:

Just re-read the notes. I missed that. Ok, so coal is more viable. I still want to try and make a go of Hydrogen though...

Hydrogen based power only really scales well with large duplicant populations or by destroying the oxygen w/o pumping it or by using any other power based solution.

The answer to your problem is simply coal. The midgame is usually about digging up large areas anyways. There is so much coal to dig up and tons and tons of abundand minerals to feed to hatches.

Also petroleum generators are *much* more efficient now. Even if you don't have a molten slickster ranch. They are 33% more efficient than before cosmic. Meaning 1 oil refinery feeds 2.5 petroleum generators and 2/3 NG generators now instead of 1.7 petroleum generators and 1 NG generator. That is a 1.3kW net gain per refinery. With the earlier addition of smart batteries and this balance change I think this is a very viable midgame power solution now.

[chemie]

20 minutes ago, clickrush said:

Hydrogen based power only really scales well with large duplicant populations or by destroying the oxygen w/o pumping it or by using any other power based solution.

The answer to your problem is simply coal. The midgame is usually about digging up large areas anyways. There is so much coal to dig up and tons and tons of abundand minerals to feed to hatches.

Also petroleum generators are *much* more efficient now. Even if you don't have a molten slickster ranch. They are 33% more efficient than before cosmic. Meaning 1 oil refinery feeds 2.5 petroleum generators and 2/3 NG generators now instead of 1.7 petroleum generators and 1 NG generator. That is a 1.3kW net gain per refinery. With the earlier addition of smart batteries and this balance change I think this is a very viable midgame power solution now.

So make an electro room in the space vacuum.  Put wallpaper over electro and above for h2 capture and let vacuum eat the O2.  With water surplus, free power (effecti ely swap PW NG power to clean water power although less efficient.)

[SamLogan]

Natural gaz is still efficient, it's only the combo fertilizers/NG Generator got nerfed. NG geyser give enough gaz to run 4-5 NG Generator with Smart Battery.

[leoroy]

Here are my pics. Sorry if it's a bit messy, I didn't take the time to re-work my power facilities yet.

Automation is simple, one smart batterie for one generator.

Spoiler

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[avc15]

5 hours ago, gelat said:

but I cannot make "extra" power via hydrogen

If you want net positive power from electrolysis try an open air build. The majority of power consumption in most SPOM builds is oxygen circulation+cooling. 

You only get about half the work out of your wheezeworts this way, but, that just means you have to go find twice as many. Also you'll have a gross abundance of hydrogen for your generators:

Spoiler

 

Spoiler

[leoroy]

Quote

57 minutes ago, avc15 said:

If you want net positive power from electrolysis try an open air build. The majority of power consumption in most SPOM builds is oxygen circulation+cooling. 

You only get about half the work out of your wheezeworts this way, but, that just means you have to go find twice as many. Also you'll have a gross abundance of hydrogen for your generators:

 

 

With only 2 wheez, what's your oxygen outuput temperature?

[avc15]

with 2 it would be much too high, my crops would stifle.

I have 4 in my screenshots, look again.

 

edit: oh, you mean 2 wheez per elecrolyzer. I'm letting air into my base at around 23C but it heats up pretty quickly because of other things.

You'll double take at that but when you're letting your electrolyzers vent freely into your base, you'll need more of them than you expect. Because, natural circulation takes longer to deliver air, and your electrolyzers will spend more time over pressure. So, each of those 2 electrolyzers there are running at best 40% duty cycle, and I only need 2 wheezeworts each.

I've got two of those electrolysis blocks in my base (4 electrolyzers), serving 12 dupes.

[Oni Noob]

I don't get it, why you need Fertilizer maker if you got geysers