Magma Blutricity Power Cell, not working as it should (mindcrack)

[Torigoma]

So I'm trying to design a Power Cell that offers flexibility between the 3 main Powers of FTB; Blutricity, MJ, and UE. I can convert Blutricity to MJ easy enough, just stick some Blutricity Engines up to the main power Grid, and from there, pump it into Conductive pipes.

Converting it into UE however, is a bit trickery. I've two main ideas to do so.

1: Using a Bio-fuel Factory linked Steam Boiler connected to a few Steam Turbines. This would also provide and alternative source of MJ, takes some stress off my Blutricity cell.

2: Using the Magma Crucible-Geothermal Combo. Good energy output, but takes a lot to startup.

For now, since the Steam Boiler+Biofuel factory is pretty extensive, I've decided to got with the Magma Crucible-Geothermal Combo. HOWEVER, I've hit a bit of a snag. The Magma Crucible SHOULD only need 30 MJ to work, however, even with 3 Blutricity Engines working, I can't seem to make the thing go as fast as say if I have Combustion Engines with Biofuel attached.

Am I missing something here? does the Magma Crucible need a long time to "heat up" or something?

 

[Enigmius1]

It might be worth your time to take another pass through the wiki. Magma Crucible takes thousands of MJ to convert most viable blocks to lava, and I have a feeling you might possibly be underestimating how much blutricity you need to produce any real quantity of MJ. Also, if you're going this far, ditch the conductive pipes and use redstone energy conduits. TE made conductive pipes obsolete in mid-late game.

 

[Bihlbo]

I'm guessing 'Nig is right - those blutric engines use as much power as they get up to a limit, so most of the time they aren't giving you 30 MJ/t.

It might be worth your time to take another pass through the wiki. Magma Crucible takes thousands of MJ to convert most viable blocks to lava, and I have a feeling you might possibly be underestimating how much blutricity you need to produce any real quantity of MJ. Also, if you're going this far, ditch the conductive pipes and use redstone energy conduits. TE made conductive pipes obsolete in mid-late game.

Not entirely obsolete. The conduits suffer a flat 5% energy loss, so if you only need to push the energy a couple of blocks it's more efficient to use the pipes.

 

[Omicron]

You might want to take a voltmeter to your blulectric engines and check their energy throughput. I'm expecting that you're simply not feeding them enough. How are you generating blutricity, and how are you transferring it? Ultimately the output of each engine is limited only by electric resistance. In an optimal setup, you can realistically push up to 25 kW into each engine, resulting in 25 MJ/t worth of buildcraft power (about 4-5 combustion engines, depending on fuel choice). You really need to plan your energy production system carefully though to reach that kind of throughput.

EDIT: also make sure the blulectric engine is attached to something that can accept the huge burst output. Just like other Buildcraft compatible engines, the blulectric engine outputs energy in singular bursts at the peak of each piston stroke. Now, it has a damn fast stroke rhythm, possibly the fastest of all Buildcraft compatible engines, but keep in mind: at 25 MJ/t, the engine will speed past 100 MJ in just four ticks, and the stroke pace isn't nearly that quick. Maybe 8 ticks, 7 at the lowest, but certainly not 4. As a result, most machines - and most importantly, redstone energy cells - will not be able to accept bursts that big, and the engine will throttle itself to a lower speed even if energy for more is available.

For optimum output, point the engines towards conduits. No more than two engines per conduit. Then you're guaranteed to get all the energy they can produce. (Of course, you also need something on the other side of the conduits that can accept or use up enough MJ/t.)