Liquid Volume Regulator

The liquid volume regulator is the counterpart of the Pressure Regulator for liquid pipes. It has a liquid input and a liquid output plus one shared port for power and data. You control it with On, Lock and Setting; also readable are Maximum, Ratio, Power, Error and RequiredPower. Base draw is 100 W.

The English name Liquid Volume Regulator describes it well (the German name says “pressure”): in the game code it regulates by fill level. Setting (0 to 100, factory value 50) is the target fill level of the output network in percent – that is VolumeOfLiquid divided by Volume, times 100. If the output network is below it, liquid follows from the input; once the value is reached, it stops. Per tick it moves at least 0.25 litres, more when the input is clearly fuller than the output. Whenever it has moved liquid, it also lets gas flow from input to output if the input has the higher gas pressure.

Why that is useful: with liquids, pressure is no good as a fill gauge. As long as there is still gas in the line, it only shows that gas. Only shortly before brim-full does it jump – in a 200-litre network to about 20,000 kPa, far beyond the 6,079.5 kPa limit. With Setting 90, on the other hand, the regulator keeps the output network safely at 90 %. An example: with 400 litres of line behind it, it stops at 360 litres of liquid.

On the device you change Setting in steps of ten, holding the key for small increments in steps of one; with a switched-on labeller you type the value in directly. The same kit, the Kit (Liquid Regulator), also builds the Liquid Back Volume Regulator. It does the reverse: it holds the fill level at its input and only lets through the part above it. More on liquid lines in Pipes and lines: gas, liquid, insulated.