EU and RF

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RadicalSilver

Guest
Yo whatsup guys, so i have a general question. I chose my own mods to create my own modpack. Now i wonder in IC2 what is the best, or a good way to generate medium or big amounts of EU without using 10 stacks coal every time? Anybody that has great ideas/setups?
Furthermore i have actually additions that is RF sided, the same question for this.
Have a great day!:)
 

Pyure

Not Totally Useless
Aug 14, 2013
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Waterloo, Ontario
IC2 doesn't really have great ways to generate large (or medium) amounts of of power natively.

If you're feeling adventurous, you can make a nuclear reactor. The power output varies wildly depending on the type you make and whether you get into the super-heated-steam route, but for the sake of argument, say 250eu/t -> 1200 eu/t (and much higher for less-safe configurations)

If you have a mod that generates Steam, an alternative is to use that steam with either the IC2 steam turbines themselves or with a machine that can transform steam to EU (such as Advanced Generators, or Railcraft steam turbines).
 

SevenMass

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2013
283
137
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The Netherlands
Yo whatsup guys, so i have a general question. I chose my own mods to create my own modpack. Now i wonder in IC2 what is the best, or a good way to generate medium or big amounts of EU without using 10 stacks coal every time? Anybody that has great ideas/setups?
Furthermore i have actually additions that is RF sided, the same question for this.
Have a great day!:)

Within IC2, you are suppose to move up from a coal generator,
to a geothermal generator,
to a liquid fuel generator (you can create bio-fuel within IC2 )
to a nuclear generator,
to a steam based nuclear set-up,
to a steam based nuclear set-up that uses mox fuel rods instead of uranium rods.

Also keep in mind that the fuel burning generators burn an entire fuel item, even if only a fraction of that is used. So if you have a machine that uses a small amount of EU a tick for a very long time, you will burn though stacks of coal, where most of it is wasted. (especially if you have multiple generators in parallel)

To prevent this, try make a contraption that only inputs fuel if a nearby battery is below a certain amount.

You can also use solar panels/ wind mills/ water mills, to keep things going that use a small amount of energy continuously.
 
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Pyure

Not Totally Useless
Aug 14, 2013
8,334
7,191
383
Waterloo, Ontario
Within IC2, you are suppose to move up from a coal generator,
to a geothermal generator,
to a liquid fuel generator (you can create bio-fuel within IC2 )
to a nuclear generator,
to a steam based nuclear set-up,
to a steam based nuclear set-up that uses mox fuel rods instead of uranium rods.

Also keep in mind that the fuel burning generators burn an entire fuel item, even if only a fraction of that is used. So if you have a machine that uses a small amount of EU a tick for a very long time, you will burn though stacks of coal, where most of it is wasted. (especially if you have multiple generators in parallel)

To prevent this, try make a contraption that only inputs fuel if a nearby battery is below a certain amount.

You can also use solar panels/ wind mills/ water mills, to keep things going that use a small amount of energy continuously.
This is incredibly comprehensive. You even got the biofuel setup.
 
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RadicalSilver

Guest
Thanks for both replys! I think i will just try and follow that route from coal generator to nuclear stuff. Or even watch what happens if you just build 200 water mills or something like that xD. Lastly i want to add that i actually did add the extra solar pannels that are like an extension of ic2 panels, AND i added the advanced solar panel mod. Altough i dont really know how worth it is heading that direction, or that i even added to much and should disabled afvanced solar panel mod
 

Cpt_gloval

Well-Known Member
Oct 20, 2013
490
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If you have AA and IC2 you can use the AA tiny coal to stretch out your coal usage also but yes, you should have the power going into a IC2 power storage block of some flavor any way, from there you can set any version of power storage to emit a redstone signal when fill. Put this signal into the fuel using generator to stop using said fuel. You can also put this signal into your Nuclear reactor/s to stop them when the battery is full.

Search for Safe 420 Nuclear reactor and use that for your 1st one. After that you can make blast proof blocks and another reactor inside then start playing with it for maximum output. Don't mess about with a reactor near your base not in blast proofing, that is a base ender.

As for the other question in your original post, you can use Actually Additions Canola to generate 3240 RF/tic easily using just AA blocks, 4 RF Tools Scanners, Storage Drawers and some form of liquid transport piping.
 
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RadicalSilver

Guest
Thanks, ill search the 420 Nuclear reactor and get into nuclear, so blast proof blocks will hold down the entire explosion in case that happens? Furthermore, ill give a look at the Canola generating, altough the only thing i will be powering up is my drill and it's battery since the mod doesn't really have other things to powerup...
 

ShneekeyTheLost

Too Much Free Time
Dec 8, 2012
3,728
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333
Lost as always
You know... I used to have a design for a 'Tower of Power'. It doesn't work anymore, though. Both because the concept doesn't work anymore (you can't cool a cooling cell in any reactor other than the one that heated it up), and because they changed the wires so it had a maximum throughput as well as maximum voltage, which nerfed the ability to transmit 30k Eu/t.

I think there's a mod... Advanced Generators I'm wanting to say?... that can output significant quantities of eu/t for relatively low maintenance costs.

Not sure why anyone would voluntarily install IC2-ex these days, but hey... to each their own, I suppose.
 

GreenZombie

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
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Within IC2, you are suppose to move up from a coal generator,
to a geothermal generator,
to a liquid fuel generator (you can create bio-fuel within IC2 )
to a nuclear generator,
to a steam based nuclear set-up,
to a steam based nuclear set-up that uses mox fuel rods instead of uranium rods.

Also keep in mind that the fuel burning generators burn an entire fuel item, even if only a fraction of that is used. So if you have a machine that uses a small amount of EU a tick for a very long time, you will burn though stacks of coal, where most of it is wasted. (especially if you have multiple generators in parallel)

To prevent this, try make a contraption that only inputs fuel if a nearby battery is below a certain amount.

You can also use solar panels/ wind mills/ water mills, to keep things going that use a small amount of energy continuously.

I think the real progression is: Coal > Solar > Nuclear

Coal gives you the entry level power you need to build your first machines.
With those machines you can make enough solar cells to generate ~32EU/t.
With 32 EU/t you can run the 3 stage ore processing pipeline and refine uranium and make uranium rods, and thus a simple nuke.
That gives you a stable starting 60EU/t in a reactor that you can upgrade to reach 420 EU/t.

From there you can build the 5x5x5 reactor and harvest its power either using thermoelectric generators, or Steam, But steam is frankly complicated as there is no design that can actually produce the correct amount of heat to operate the steam system efficiently. The 7 rod 420EU/t layout instead generates 1344 HU/s as a fluid reactor: Thermoelectric generators yield 1EU/t for every 2HU/s - so that would give 672EU/t - the Superheated steam>Steam pipeline gives up to 1.5 EU/t for each 2 HU/t: so you could reach a theoretical 1008EU/t with that design as a Fluid reactor.

Or you can stick with the 3x3x3 reactor and use that Plutonium you are getting to run a MOX reactor that, properly heated, provides an up to almost 5x power multiplier to your reactors base output - so a 5 Quad MOX reactor can reach a theoretical 1500 EU/t output - with a far simpler build than Fluid>Steam requires.
MOX reactors are the real way forwards, as the plutonium you collect from those you craft into Plutonium bricks that you can put into radioisotope generators that will then provide (Each) a completely passive unlimited supply of 32EU/t.

You can't really mix Fluid and MOX as the only way to build up heat in a Fluid reactor is to produce more heat than you are draining which is a recipe for disaster. There are people on the IC2 forums who build reactors that... achieve great efficiency with the complication that heat buildup occurs - and they manage this with the blast proof blocks, red stone timers to cycle the reactor on and off, and, presumably, the occasional rebuild.

Suffice it to say: stable designs are stable - if you implement a stable reactor design there is no need to build it away from your base, or to encase it in blast proof blocks.
 
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RadicalSilver

Guest
Damn, some verry interesting posts and ideas!! So just imagen making that much EU, just to power up my nano suit? I mean like is it even worth it to do it just to refill armor? Or is there another mod i should add that has EU items?
 

GreenZombie

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
2,402
-1
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Damn, some verry interesting posts and ideas!! So just imagen making that much EU, just to power up my nano suit? I mean like is it even worth it to do it just to refill armor? Or is there another mod i should add that has EU items?

So, yes, in the "pre-endgame" you need boatloads of power from IC2 to create UU Matter to create Iridium Plates used to craft end game items.

In the actual IC2 endgame you would be using a lower level of EU power to:

* Recharge your Quantum suit and other tools.
* Operate your base defences (Tesla coils)
* Operate your transportation network (IC2 teleporters).
* Operate your bases EU based active lighting.

These uses will all be sorted by the passive power gen of solar, or radio isotope generators. So the end-game (when your base it built and you have crafted all the end game items you need) doesn't need nuclear reactors anymore.
 
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SolManX

New Member
Jul 29, 2019
987
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There's at least one very nice machine too - the induction Furnace. Once it's heated up, it smelts very quickly.