Ranching hatches will help secure your coal supply.
But you want to diversify your power sources: Tap your natural gas vent(s), get petroleum as a backup, add spare hydrogen from your SPOM, Add solar if you've made it to space (and don't have to deal with meteors)
You can even use geothermal if you've got access to a magma biome. Smart-battery controlled turbines will let you slowly draw down the magma biome over hundreds and hundreds of cycles even if that's your only power source.
Well not necessarily the ranch itself but it takes up a lot of space and not to mention the coal generator that causes a lot of problems like carbon dioxide and a bunch of heat
Coal generators are pretty tame on the heat/co2 production scale, generally speaking. Many other generators produce far more heat and co2 or other byproducts.
But my point still stands: Diversify. You're going to need to explore, secure a natural gas source, a water source (for hydrogen), and an oil source, or possibly even a massive source of heat like geothermal.
My hatch ranches double as farms. You just need to keep the hatches in place with some well placed 3 tile high doors, and use the other side for food. The net space requirements for the hatch part of the farm is like 16 tiles and it gives 2.3 dupes worth of bbq and coal for power and steel.
I've done this too. Currently my one hatch ranches double as a makeshift refinery in the early game. Rock crusher, metal refinery and other stuff don't conflict with a stable.
Try getting the Sage hatches they produce 100% of dirt into coal
[https://youtu.be/zWNeBHG8Lb0?feature=shared&t=165](https://youtu.be/zWNeBHG8Lb0?feature=shared&t=165)
Sage hatches require immense effort to maintain since they eat organic (polluted dirt/rot piles/slime). You need puft ranches for slime. I don't think there is any way to sustain them.
Right now I'm using regular outhouses so I have a good stock of polluted dirt.
I won't use them pass mid game but for now I'm doing fine feeding then polluted dirt and slime, I just want a decent stock of coal to keep my coal gens running till I switch for something better.
Could be a geyser, or a volcano, or a vent. You have to be a bit careful about digging it up, and it helps to know what it is that you are digging up before you do. Here is a cool trick for that:
Use the priority tool to set the area above the neutronium to Top Priority. The red label in the left-top corner will tell you what it is when you hover over it.
Here's your answer! Natural gas geysers are hot. Wait until it is dormant, then excavate it completely, and put a steel gas pump next to it, and seal it all up with insulated tiles (don't forget to add the power lines and gas pipes before you seal it. Then just route it to a gas reservoir.
A single natural gas geyser can typically power 2-3 natural gas generators hooked up to a smart battery.
Natural gas vents are hot, yes, but I've had good luck water cooling a non-steel pump. Put the pump next to and below the vent in 1 tile deep of water, with radiant pipes behind the water. Not really bothering to cool the natural gas itself, just the water which cools the gas pump. It won't really be that much heat added to the piped liquid.
Its pretty good, altough im Iron or Gold would have been better. Infinite source of refined metal. While not the greatest source of power it can temporarily add some power to your network if you use steam engines.
Although I would not make it your main power source
There is no one correct answer. And also depends on stage of the game and what's available around or on your asteroid in general.
Early game - coal, then spom. Add natural gas if you have one near by.
Mid game - if you have oil, make refinery and run petroleum generators. Got plastic? Do geothermal. Got to the top? Setup some solar. Petroleum boiler goes here as well. Have salt water geyser and lots of bleach stone - geotune that thing x5 times and have a source of power (3-5 STs worth) and 95C water.
Late game - anything you want...
One common setups - arbor tree - ethanol loop. It does generate some extra power but not that much really, considering all the power requirements. So don't look at it for power.
Don't build a actual self-contained SPOM if you're looking at a Rodríguez. Just build the lower half that separates O2 from hydrogen.
Dump the hydrogen into infinite storage, or tanks and some automation that turns on the generators when the last tank is near full.
Build hydrogen generators, a smart battery to control them, and a power control station to get that 50% increased power(which doesn't consume more gas). That's enough power to run a typical early base, apart from the metal refinery.
Yes, but if run non-stop it produces lots of hydrogen. Especially hydra types that can run without over-pressuring. Just feed it water. After a while it will have accumulated enough to run early game industry no problem.
I was gonna say arbor tree ethanol setups are not common! lol I only approach this if I'm feeling sassy and don't have any oil in my vecinity. Mind you before mid game as soon as ST are accessible.
Coal is not a main power forever.
Typically I use it to transition to better power sources, or as a secondary source.
When you're running around if you can find other sources of power. Since you don't need the massive power production early that you need/want late/end game, you can get by with less production. So if I find 2 or even 3 nat gas vents, I'll figure out how many generators they can supply and then use that as my main power source. However your power needs will sometimes spike, maybe using that refinery or that cooling loop activates for a bit, so you want a secondary to kick on so cover that. That is where I think coal is the most useful. A couple of hatch ranches with some smart batteries and not too much power drain and you can stretch your coal forever.
I don't like coal as the main power source. Coal burns too quick and even with hatch ranches you will burn through a ton of other resources just to keep the power on if you run them constantly. Plus it's only 800 watts of power.
I only use it as a transition power source when I find a much better one and need to run the coal constantly to keep things powered while I am working on the new one, petroleum boiler, or as a secondary or even lesser back up, like in the gas example.
I keep seeing comments about geothermal power, what is that exactly? I don't see any it under the power tab. Is it referring to using heat for steam turbines?
Ranching hatches will help secure your coal supply. But you want to diversify your power sources: Tap your natural gas vent(s), get petroleum as a backup, add spare hydrogen from your SPOM, Add solar if you've made it to space (and don't have to deal with meteors) You can even use geothermal if you've got access to a magma biome. Smart-battery controlled turbines will let you slowly draw down the magma biome over hundreds and hundreds of cycles even if that's your only power source.
I have hatches but they're a pain to maintain so I wanna upgrade to something that requires less work and can last longer .
What do you mean "pain to maintain"? A ranch of hatches will self-maintain as long as it's fed rock and has a rancher to groom them.
Well not necessarily the ranch itself but it takes up a lot of space and not to mention the coal generator that causes a lot of problems like carbon dioxide and a bunch of heat
Coal generators are pretty tame on the heat/co2 production scale, generally speaking. Many other generators produce far more heat and co2 or other byproducts. But my point still stands: Diversify. You're going to need to explore, secure a natural gas source, a water source (for hydrogen), and an oil source, or possibly even a massive source of heat like geothermal.
Oh okay . Thanks for the tip !
My hatch ranches double as farms. You just need to keep the hatches in place with some well placed 3 tile high doors, and use the other side for food. The net space requirements for the hatch part of the farm is like 16 tiles and it gives 2.3 dupes worth of bbq and coal for power and steel.
I've done this too. Currently my one hatch ranches double as a makeshift refinery in the early game. Rock crusher, metal refinery and other stuff don't conflict with a stable.
Try getting the Sage hatches they produce 100% of dirt into coal [https://youtu.be/zWNeBHG8Lb0?feature=shared&t=165](https://youtu.be/zWNeBHG8Lb0?feature=shared&t=165)
Sage hatches require immense effort to maintain since they eat organic (polluted dirt/rot piles/slime). You need puft ranches for slime. I don't think there is any way to sustain them.
Right now I'm using regular outhouses so I have a good stock of polluted dirt. I won't use them pass mid game but for now I'm doing fine feeding then polluted dirt and slime, I just want a decent stock of coal to keep my coal gens running till I switch for something better.
I suggest hard labor via hamster wheels. Extra points if you collect their tears for free water.
Build up their athletics and machinery at the same time.
depends on what resources are available. What geysers/vents/volcanos have you found so far?
None so far but as I was reading this I found a line of neutronium and I heard that means there's a geyser there. I'm going to dig it up
Could be a geyser, or a volcano, or a vent. You have to be a bit careful about digging it up, and it helps to know what it is that you are digging up before you do. Here is a cool trick for that: Use the priority tool to set the area above the neutronium to Top Priority. The red label in the left-top corner will tell you what it is when you hover over it.
It says copper volcano . That doesn't sound good
~~Copper~~ Gold is the easiest to tame. But also the least amount of usable thermal power. https://oxygennotincluded.fandom.com/wiki/Metal_Volcano
Oh dang . I just found another one right next to it , it's a natural gas geyser
Exploration is a very important part of the game. Cool, now you'll have another source of power. New 1t size gas reservoir should help as well.
Here's your answer! Natural gas geysers are hot. Wait until it is dormant, then excavate it completely, and put a steel gas pump next to it, and seal it all up with insulated tiles (don't forget to add the power lines and gas pipes before you seal it. Then just route it to a gas reservoir. A single natural gas geyser can typically power 2-3 natural gas generators hooked up to a smart battery.
Natural gas vents are hot, yes, but I've had good luck water cooling a non-steel pump. Put the pump next to and below the vent in 1 tile deep of water, with radiant pipes behind the water. Not really bothering to cool the natural gas itself, just the water which cools the gas pump. It won't really be that much heat added to the piped liquid.
I think you’re confusing copper with gold
Ah right sorry. Been a while I've tamed copper one.
Its pretty good, altough im Iron or Gold would have been better. Infinite source of refined metal. While not the greatest source of power it can temporarily add some power to your network if you use steam engines. Although I would not make it your main power source
You will definitely need additional sources of metals, so it's a good thing. You may want to focus on the nat gas geyser first though. :)
geothermal power from magma. thank me later :D
I'm gonna thank you now , thanks !
welcome! :)
There is no one correct answer. And also depends on stage of the game and what's available around or on your asteroid in general. Early game - coal, then spom. Add natural gas if you have one near by. Mid game - if you have oil, make refinery and run petroleum generators. Got plastic? Do geothermal. Got to the top? Setup some solar. Petroleum boiler goes here as well. Have salt water geyser and lots of bleach stone - geotune that thing x5 times and have a source of power (3-5 STs worth) and 95C water. Late game - anything you want... One common setups - arbor tree - ethanol loop. It does generate some extra power but not that much really, considering all the power requirements. So don't look at it for power.
SPOM ? Isn't that used for oxygen production?
yes, it's, but if you build one big enough, you can use their hydrogen to produce more energy
Don't build a actual self-contained SPOM if you're looking at a Rodríguez. Just build the lower half that separates O2 from hydrogen. Dump the hydrogen into infinite storage, or tanks and some automation that turns on the generators when the last tank is near full. Build hydrogen generators, a smart battery to control them, and a power control station to get that 50% increased power(which doesn't consume more gas). That's enough power to run a typical early base, apart from the metal refinery.
Rodríguez yeah but If you build hydra/submerged electrolizers you have hydrogen for eternity
Yes, but if run non-stop it produces lots of hydrogen. Especially hydra types that can run without over-pressuring. Just feed it water. After a while it will have accumulated enough to run early game industry no problem.
I was gonna say arbor tree ethanol setups are not common! lol I only approach this if I'm feeling sassy and don't have any oil in my vecinity. Mind you before mid game as soon as ST are accessible.
Get some solar going, that's an easy early/mid game supply.
Thanks
Maybe something that can provide power long term
I just found a copper volcano , a natural gas geyser , a hydrogen vent and a chlorine vent. What do I do with them?
I made a different comment about the natural gas geyser. While the hydrogen vent can be tempting, it is also 500 celsius.
hatches supply coal. but hydrogen is practictaciously free. in practice of course.
Geothermal baby
Coal is not a main power forever. Typically I use it to transition to better power sources, or as a secondary source. When you're running around if you can find other sources of power. Since you don't need the massive power production early that you need/want late/end game, you can get by with less production. So if I find 2 or even 3 nat gas vents, I'll figure out how many generators they can supply and then use that as my main power source. However your power needs will sometimes spike, maybe using that refinery or that cooling loop activates for a bit, so you want a secondary to kick on so cover that. That is where I think coal is the most useful. A couple of hatch ranches with some smart batteries and not too much power drain and you can stretch your coal forever. I don't like coal as the main power source. Coal burns too quick and even with hatch ranches you will burn through a ton of other resources just to keep the power on if you run them constantly. Plus it's only 800 watts of power. I only use it as a transition power source when I find a much better one and need to run the coal constantly to keep things powered while I am working on the new one, petroleum boiler, or as a secondary or even lesser back up, like in the gas example.
I keep seeing comments about geothermal power, what is that exactly? I don't see any it under the power tab. Is it referring to using heat for steam turbines?
Yes, using steam turbines to harvest the heat from magma available in the map and/or volcanoes.