FU Guide : Generators and You (codex)
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| FU Guide : Generators and You (codex) | |
|---|---|
| Power Your Lab | |
| Category | codex |
| Rarity | uncommon |
| Price | 0 |
| ID | ffguidepower-codex |
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Spoiler Warning! |
| This page contains spoilers, proceed at your own risk! |
Contents
------------------------ A Note on Batteries ------------------------
Eight kinds of batteries can be crafted in Frackin' Universe. These store energy and dispense it as needed at any level of power, allowing even a weak generator to fuel a very power-hungry machine, if only slowly.
It is always beneficial to use a battery in any power setup, no matter how small or how large, and it will help eliminate problems where a generator produces power at a different rate than the machine expects it.
------------------------ Table of Contents ------------------------
Renewable Power
Solar Panels Nocturn Panels Wind Turbines
Fuel-Based Generators
Alternator Generators Combustion Generators Neuro-Psionic Generators Quantum Reactors Precursor Reactors
Decay-Based Generators
Hydraulic Dynamos Fission Reactors Small Fusion Reactors Large Fusion Reactors
------------------------ Renewable Power ------------------------
Green energy. Low-powered, situational, inconsistent but completely free to operate, renewable energy is suitable for low-power setups or where power is needed infrequently enough that it can be left to build up in a battery for later use.
If intending to explore renewable energy sources it's recommended to craft the Weather Beacon, researched in the initial node of the Electronics tree. It can be used to determine the power that renewable energy sources would output at that location, to determine whether a planet is suitable for renewable energy.
Solar Panels
Solar panels come in three varieties. The Solar Panel, Solar Array and Solar Tower. When placed on a planet, they generate power during the day and when the natural light is bright enough - up to 4W, 10W and 24W respectively on a typical planet, such as a Lush world. On some rare planet types, the light can exceed normal levels and produce significantly more power. Artificial light sources cannot power a solar panel, and panels will not function when submerged in liquid.
On a ship, space station, or in a star-orbiting asteroid belt, there is no day-night cycle and so solar panels will always produce a fixed amount of power - 3.5W, 8.75W and 21W respectively. They're a much more reliable source of energy when the sun never sets.
Nocturn Panels
Similar to solar panels, Nocturn Panels care about the level of light falling upon them. Unlike solar panels, however, Nocturn Panels fear the light and thus produce more energy in a darkened space - up to 10W in the pitch black. Nocturn Panels are perfectly content underground and do not care whether it is day or night. They're happy to be contained within a lightless box, producing the same level of power eternally, but they do not function when submerged.
Nocturn Panels are the product of maddened research, and function anywhere.
Wind Turbines
Wind Turbines come in one variety, which can produce up to 12W in ideal conditions. The amount of power produced depends on how windy the current weather is, and the weathers available depend on the planet and how it generates. Some planets have eternally windy weather and will produce a constant 12W of power, while some will never produce any power at all, and others will vary. Experimentation and the Weather Beacon will help identify the best planets to use Wind Turbines on.
Wind Turbines do not function on ships, space stations, and in asteroid belts.
------------------------ Fuel-Based Generators ------------------------
Bad for the environment and good for your factory, fuel-based generators are the backbone of any serious early- to mid-game lab or factory, producing significant power.
All fuel-based generators work using a Heat system. When fuel is first placed in the generator, or it is turned on, it will consume one fuel item and begin heating up. Its heat level, which reaches maximum productivity after 18-20 seconds, either partially or fully determines the power output of the generator. In some generators the chosen fuel determines only how quickly the generator consumes fuel, and in some the chosen fuel also provides power on top of that generated by its heat.
When a fuel-based generator is turned off, by supplying an 'off' signal to its first blue input node, it will finish consuming its current fuel item before ceasing operation to avoid wasting fuel.
Alternator Generators
The first generator a player will gain access to. The Alternator Generator can only consume wood and coal, though these materials are abundant on Lush and Forest worlds and so it is trivial to fuel. The Alternator Generator will only produce 4W at full heat (reached after 18s), and so it should be quickly replaced by the Combustion Generator or another power source.
Accepted fuels (burn time):
Wooden Log (10s), Coal (16s), Golden Wood (20s), Redwood Bark (20s), Penumbral Bark (30s), Alien Weird Wood (40s), Energy Wood (50s), Aen Wood Log (60s)
Combustion Generator
A serious power source for a growing industrialist, the Combustion Generator accepts the greatest variety of fuels of any generator in the game and can produce a respectable amount of power from both solid and liquid fuels, including wood, erchius and fuel canisters. The Combustion Generator produces 12W of power at full heat (reached after 18s).
Accepted fuels (burn time):
Paper (1s), Unrefined Wood (2s), Wooden Log (5s), Coal (8s), Hydrogen (9s), Methanol (9s), Liquid Erchius Fuel (10s), Oil (10s), Redwood Bark (10s), Biofuel Canister (10s), Crystal Erchius Fuel (12s), Unrefined Fuel (13s), Refined Fuel (15s), Penumbral Bark (15s), Golden Wood (15s), Erithian Biofuel Canister (15s), Protocite Fuel Canister (20s), Alien Weird Wood (20s), Energy Wood (25s), Erchius Crystal (25s), Aen Wood Log (30s), Crunchy Chick (30s)
Neuro-Psionic Generators
The product of maddened research, Neuro-Psionic Generators use neurological power, drawn from stolen brains, to fuel your mad experimentation. Brains are a plentiful resource with the right equipment, and so a budding mad scientist can easily provide for all their power needs if they're not afraid to get their hands dirty. Neuro-Psionic Generators can produce 60W of power at full heat (reached after 18s).
Accepted fuels (burn time):
Inferior Brain (10s), Superior Brain (20s), Artificial Brain (60s), Perfect Brain (60s), Psi-1 Energy (60s), Psi-2 Energy (80s), Psi-3 Energy (100s), Psi-4 Energy (120s), Brain in a Jar (200s), Superior Brain Housing (360s), Artificial Brain Housing (360s), Advanced Brain Housing (520s)
Quantum Reactors
An incredibly efficient and powerful generator, a single Quantum Reactor is sufficient to power a substantial lab all by itself, and can be trivially powered by infinitely-obtainable fuel sources in the late game. The Quantum Reactor's output depends on its fuel source, and can reach 620W, of which 20W is heat built up over 20s of use.
Accepted fuels (power, burn time):
Biofuel Canister (60W, 40s), Erithian Biofuel Canister (70W, 50s), Uranium Rod (70W, 50s), Energiflower (80W, 60s), Plutonium Rod (80W, 60s), Helium-3 (90W, 70s), Liquid Protocite (100W, 80s), Neptunium Rod (110W, 90s), Thorium Rod (110W, 90s), Energy Wood (125W, 105s), Enriched Uranium Rod (150W, 130s), Essentia Obscura (170W, 150s), Protocite Fuel Canister (220W, 200s), Enriched Plutonium Rod (240W, 220s), Metallic Hydrogen (275W, 255s), Deuterium Rod (300W, 280s), Tritium Rod (320W, 300s), Solarium Star (470W, 450s), Ultronium Rod (520W, 500s), Liquid Metallic Hydrogen (570W, 550s), Liquid Deuterium (620W, 600s)
Precursor Reactors
The most powerful generator in the game bar none, Precursor Reactors create phenomenal amounts of power but cannot be crafted, and are instead found in the abandoned colonies and factories of the extinct Precursors. Unlike other generators, they have an additional requirement - to channel the power sources of the ancients, you must place one Neutronium Rod and one Anti-Neutronium Rod, both products of maddened research, in the designated slots. For your trouble, Precursor Generators can produce up to 1055W depending on their fuel source, of which 95W is heat, reaching their full output (50%+ heat) after 20s.
Accepted fuels (power, burn time):
Poop (135W, 40s), Crunchy Chick (195W, 100s), Essentia Obscura (315W, 220s), Quantum Fluid (515W, 420s), Ultronium Rod (745W, 650s), Dimensional Cell (1055W, 960s)
------------------------ Decay-Based Generators ------------------------
Make sure to dispose of the waste cleanly (or profitably). Decay-based generators output power by gradually and randomly consuming isotopes over time. Uniquely, these generators come with multiple fuel slots, giving them the ability to vary their power output by filling the desired number of slots to adapt to any required workload without changing the fuel type, though each fuel slot may use different fuel if desired.
Decay-based generators will turn off immediately when an 'off' signal is supplied to their first blue input node, and will not waste fuel in doing so.
Hydraulic Dynamo
An honourable inclusion, the Hydraulic Dynamo is an early-game generator that evaporates water using hot solids and liquids (or liquid nitrogen) in order to generate power. Although very large, it outperforms many other early generators despite being craftable on the first world and fuelled by trivially-obtainable substances such as lava and core fragments. The Hydraulic Dynamo can generate up to 21W at maximum output, but will not function without water, consuming one for each fuel item used. The Hydraulic Dynamo has three fuel slots.
Accepted fuels (power per fuel slot, average decay time):
Lava (4W, 10s), Core Fragment (5W, 40s), Liquid Iron (6W, 32s), Volatile Powder (7W, 40s), Scorched Core (7W, 180s), Liquid Nitrogen (6W, 20s)
Fission Reactors
Good old-fashioned nuclear power, the greenest thing about it is the uranium it consumes. Fission Reactors are an affordable way to create significant amounts of power, reaching up to 360W across their four fuel slots. Uniquely, this generator creates Tritium Rods as a by-product of its fission, with a 50% chance for one to be made each time a fuel item is consumed. It will also create Toxic Waste, two if Tritium is created and one otherwise. While active, depending on how long it's been operating and how much power it's generating, the Fission Generator will begin to flood its nearby area with Moderate Radiation, up to 16 tiles away. Walls and other containment will not block this, only distance and Moderate Radiation immunity will help.
Accepted fuels (power per fuel slot, average decay time):
Tritium Rod (10W, 40s), Deuterium Rod (15W, 50s), Uranium Rod (20W, 90s), Plutonium Rod (30W, 90s), Neptunium Rod (40W, 90s), Thorium Rod (50W, 90s), Enriched Uranium Rod (60W, 120s), Enriched Plutonium Rod (80W, 180s), Solarium Star (80W, 240s), Ultronium Rod (90W, 300s)
Small Fusion Reactors
Harness the power of the stars for your lab, albeit on a very small scale. Fusion Reactors of both kinds fuse light isotopes together, releasing nuclear energy from them to create power. Like the Fission Reactor, Fusion Reactors generate Moderate Radiation the longer and more productively they operate, which cannot be blocked. Small Fusion Reactors have four fuel slots, and can generate 360W when filling all of them. They must be given coolant to continue operating or will quickly overheat and shut down, releasing a burst of radiation, though water is typically sufficient. Each consumed fuel will create one Toxic Waste, which can be used as coolant in a pinch.
Accepted fuels (power per fuel slot, average decay time):
Hydrogen (15W, 50s), Tritium Rod (25W, 60s), Helium-3 (45W, 80s), Solarium Star (55W, 150s), Deuterium Rod (60W, 120s), Ultronium Rod (90W, 700s)
Accepted coolants (heat reduction per item) Toxic Waste (10), Salt Water (30), Water (30), Liquid Nitrogen (80), Cryonic Extract (125)
Large Fusion Reactors
Originally pioneered by the Skath, Large Fusion Reactors are simply better-built, scaled-up versions of Small Fusion Reactors with a greater power output. Filling their four slots, they can generate up to 600W. They generate radiation and produce Toxic Waste as Small Fusion Reactors do.
Accepted fuels (power per fuel slot, average decay time):
Hydrogen (35W, 50s), Tritium Rod (55W, 60s), Helium-3 (60W, 80s), Solarium Star (105W, 150s), Deuterium Rod (90W, 120s), Liquid Deuterium (90W, 120s), Ultronium Rod (150W, 700s)
Accepted coolants (heat reduction per item)
Salt Water (20), Water (30), Toxic Waste (40), Liquid Nitrogen (80), Cryonic Extract (125)