There is always a device between two pipe networks. Which one you choose decides whether gas is pushed against the pressure, limited to a target or merely let through. This article sorts the parts and shows where their limits are.
The parts at a glance
| Part | What it does | Power | Logic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume Pump | pushes a volume per tick from input to output, even against pressure | 200 W | On, Setting 0–10 |
| Turbo Volume Pump (Gas) | as above, ten times the amount, switchable direction | 600 W | Setting 0–100, Mode |
| Liquid Volume Pump / Turbo Volume Pump (Liquid) | the same for liquid | 200 / 600 W | like the gas pumps |
| Pressure Regulator | fills the output up to the target pressure | 100 W | Setting = target pressure, up to 60,795 kPa |
| Back Pressure Regulator | only lets through once the input exceeds the set value | 100 W | Setting = opening pressure, up to 60,795 kPa |
| Digital Valve | equalises both networks while it is on | 5 W | On |
| Valve (Gas) | manual valve without power | – | no data port |
| One Way Valve (Gas) | only lets gas from input to output while its lever is on | – | no data port |
| Purge Valve | moves gas from a liquid line into a gas pipe | 100 W | Setting |
| Expansion Valve | pushes liquid into a gas line, up to 10 L per tick | – | no data port, switch on the valve |
| Gas Mixer | mixes two gas streams by amount of substance | 100 W | Setting = share of Input in % |
The vents are the boundary between pipe and room: the passive vent equalises instantly, the active vent moves up to 10 kPa per tick, the powered vent 20 and the large powered vent 40 kPa.
Pumps: volume, not amount
A pump moves a volume per tick. How much gas is in it depends on the input:
- volume pump at 10, input at 100 kPa and 20 °C: n = 100 · 10 / (8.3144 · 293) ≈ 0.41 mol per tick.
- The same input at 1,000 kPa: ten times as much.
That is why every pump slows down as its input empties. A second limit is the network volume at the input: in one tick the pump cannot draw more than is in there. A turbo pump at 100 on a single 10-litre pipe piece therefore gets 10 litres, not 100. An in-line tank in front of the input acts as a reserve.
Regulators: target, not amount
A regulator works towards a pressure. The pressure regulator fills its output network up to the target and then stops. Per tick it manages at most what fits into the output network between the actual and the target pressure:
- n = (target − actual) · V / (R · T)
An example: a single pipe piece (10 L) at 0 kPa, target 120 kPa, 20 °C gives 120 · 10 / (8.3144 · 293) ≈ 0.49 mol per tick. With five vents behind it, that is too little. With 110 litres of pipe or a small in-line tank at the output it becomes 5.4 mol.
The back pressure regulator, by contrast, looks at its input: it stays shut until the input pressure exceeds the set value, and then only lets the surplus through.
Two things from the game code apply to both regulators:
- They accept set values up to 60,795 kPa, the upper limit of a gas pipe. That is exactly what
Maximumreports. They ship at 50 kPa; on the device you adjust in steps of 100 kPa, holding the key for small increments in steps of 1 kPa, or directly as a number with the labeller. - They do not check whether the input has more pressure than the output. Each tick they push at least the amount of 101.325 kPa in 10 litres, about 0.42 mol at 20 °C – even against the pressure. A pressure regulator behind an almost empty supply therefore acts like a small pump with a cut-off pressure.
For liquids, the Liquid Volume Regulator does not regulate by pressure but by fill level: Setting 90 keeps the output network at 90 % of its volume.
Valves: let through, block, separate
- The digital valve does not pump. When it is on, the game mixes both sides every tick until they are equal. Two networks of 1,000 litres each at 500 and 100 kPa both sit at 300 kPa afterwards.
- The one way valve stops backflow, for example where two pumps feed the same store. With its lever on, it fully equalises every tick – but only from input to output.
- Purge valve and pressurant valve connect liquid and gas lines: one takes gas out of a liquid line, the other pushes gas into it.
- Expansion valve and condensation valve only move liquid, up to 10 litres per tick: one pushes it from a liquid line into a gas pipe, where it can evaporate; the other takes condensate out of a gas pipe into a liquid line. On the one way, expansion and condensation valves
Settingonly appears in the logic list and is not used.
Typical layouts
- Supplying a room: supply tank → pressure regulator (for example at 200 kPa) → network of active vents → room. The vents limit the room pressure via
PressureExternal. - Emptying a room: active vent in Inward mode → pipe → pump → store.
- Overpressure protection: back pressure regulator from the network at risk into a relief line.
- Merging: a one way valve behind each source before the lines meet.
IC10: transferring gas with protection on both sides
A pump should neither suck its input empty nor overfill its output. This program reads both networks through two pipe analyzers and only switches the pump on when both are fine.
# Transfer gas with protection on both sides
define PUMP 1310794736 # Turbo Volume Pump (StructureTurboVolumePump)
define ANALYZER 435685051 # Pipe Analyzer (StructurePipeAnalysizer)
define NPUMP HASH("Store Pump")
define NSOURCE HASH("Source Analyzer")
define NSTORE HASH("Store Analyzer")
define SOURCEMIN 20 # kPa, do not empty the source further
define STOREMAX 40000 # kPa, do not fill the store further
define AMOUNT 50 # pump setting (0 to 100)
alias source r0
alias store r1
alias run r2
alias tmp r3
start:
yield
lbn source ANALYZER NSOURCE Pressure 0
bnan source start # source analyzer missing
lbn store ANALYZER NSTORE Pressure 0
bnan store start # store analyzer missing
sgt run source SOURCEMIN # source still has gas
slt tmp store STOREMAX # store still has room
and run run tmp # both must be true
sbn PUMP NPUMP Setting AMOUNT
sbn PUMP NPUMP On run
j startBoth analyzers are the same device type and are told apart by name only. If you need hysteresis so the pump does not flutter at the limit, you will find the pattern in the academy: pump control and in Gases and mixtures: breathing air, gas mixer, partial pressure.
Common mistakes
- Pump the wrong way round: with the normal volume pump only rebuilding helps; the turbo pump you switch via
Mode. - Regulator delivers too little: the output network is too small, see above.
- Digital valve “does not pump”: it only equalises. Against pressure you need a pump.
- Everything stops when the turbo pump starts: 600 W base draw – check the power network, see Power grid basics.
Where next
- The volume pump in depth – the volume pump in depth
- Pipes and lines: gas, liquid, insulated – networks, limits and liquid lines
- Tanks and gas storage: sizes, insulation, safe filling – filling stores safely
- IC10 basics: IC10 academy