On Vulcan and Venus, heat is the problem. Steam Power (Dampfkraft) turns it into a power source: the Steam Drill pulls steam up from the depths, the Steam Tank stores it, and the Steam Generator turns it into power and water. All three have their own 3D models, a display with four pages, LEDs, a work light above the control panel and full IC10 control. Model labels, displays and device names appear in German or English, depending on the game language.
Overview
| Device | Job | Key data |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Drill | extracts steam into the gas pipe | 5 mol/s at full speed, 500 W, hot planets only |
| Steam Tank | stores steam | 20,000 L, insulated, max. 5000 kPa |
| Steam Generator 10 kW | steam in, power and water out | 30% of the released heat becomes power |
Typical layout in a line: drill → tank → generator, each connected with one straight pipe section.
Requirements
- Stationeers 0.2.6428, BepInEx 5.4.23.5, StationeersLaunchPad 1.0, see Installation
- Mod in the active mod pack
- A hot planet for the drill: night temperature of 100 °C or more, or lava. That means Vulcan, Venus and hot modded planets. Tank and generator work anywhere, as long as steam arrives.
Building and recipes
Everything is tier 1:
| Kit | Machine | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kit (Steam Generator) | Electronics Printer | 30 steel, 20 copper, 10 constantan, 5 electrum |
| Kit (Steam Drill) | Autolathe | 50 steel, 10 copper, 10 invar, 5 constantan, 5 electrum |
| Kit (Steam Tank) | Hydraulic Pipe Bender | 30 silicon, 25 steel, 10 copper, 2 gold |
Pipes
- Steam connections only take gas pipes.
- Water and condensate connections only take liquid pipes.
The wrong pipe can't even be built onto these connections.
Steam Drill
Setup
The derrick has the same footprint as the Deep Miner. Two options:
- On a frame platform: one frame each under the derrick and the machine house. It drills through the frame into the terrain.
- Directly on the terrain.
The connections sit in a row at the front, on its base, i.e. level with the top of the frame, same as on the tank and generator: steam, power, data.
Operation
- Connect power and the gas pipe, turn the main switch on.
- The drill bores down to bedrock. After that it extracts steam until the pipe reaches the target pressure.
- Set the target pressure with - and +. Default is 120 kPa. The upper limit is 90% of the vapor pressure at night temperature, so nothing condenses in the pipe. On Vulcan that's 126 kPa.
- The FÖRDERUNG (extraction) button opens and closes extraction, LICHT (light) switches the work light.
Steam comes up at 177 °C on Vulcan and at 350 °C on Venus. The drill does not mine ore.
LEDs
Betrieb (running), Bohrt (drilling), Fördert (extracting), Soll erreicht (setpoint reached), Störung (fault), Kalter Planet (cold planet), Daten (data).
Steam Tank
Setup
Fits on one frame (1.5 × 1.5 m). It works as a flow-through tank: in on the left, out on the right along the same line. The condensate drain (liquid pipe) is at the back, power and data side by side at the front.
Charging
- The inlet has a check valve. Steam flows in, but not back out.
- With power, the charging compressor (500 W) also pushes steam in, up to the charge limit. That's the lowest of the fill limit, the 5000 kPa maximum pressure and 95% of the vapor pressure, so nothing condenses in the tank. On Vulcan that's about 330 kPa.
Output
- A pressure regulator holds the outlet at the set output pressure (- and +).
- The ABGABE (output) button opens and closes the outlet. If you want, the output can be limited in mol/s (IC10).
- Condensate drains out the back. Above the maximum pressure the safety valve vents in small steps until the pressure is below it again. The tank never bursts.
- On Venus the outside air (464 °C) heats the steam in the tank, the pressure rises and the valve vents now and then. That is normal. All steam devices are fireproof.
Reserve
A full tank runs 10 kW for about 5 minutes on Vulcan and a good 2 hours on Venus. The sight glass with 10 segments shows the fill level, the display the time until empty or full. Valves and gauge work without power too.
Steam Generator 10 kW
Setup
Turbine, condenser and alternator in one housing, fits on one frame. Rear: steam in (gas pipe), water out (liquid pipe), power. Front: data.
How much power?
Each mol of steam releases c · (T in − T out) + 8000 J, using the game's values. 30% of that becomes power. Only 10% of the steam leaves as water (60 °C), the rest evaporates in the cooler – adjustable with WasserAnteilProzent (100 = every mol of steam becomes a mol of water). Power output does not depend on it. For 10 kW it needs about 4 mol/s on Vulcan and about 2.3 mol/s on Venus.
Operation
- AUTO controller: supplies on demand. MANUELL (manual): limit with - and +.
- DAMPF AUF/ZU (steam open/close) opens and closes the steam valve, LICHT switches the work light.
- The generator offers 2% more than its limit, so that a load of exactly 10 kW is fully supplied. It never puts out more than the weakest cable in the network can carry.
LEDs
Betrieb (running), Dampf ok (steam ok), Kondensat (condensate), Rückstau (backpressure), Störung (fault), AUTO, MAN (manual), Daten (data).
Work lights
Each device has a work light above the control panel, button LICHT, on by default. On the generator and tank it is lit when the main switch is on; on the drill, as soon as it has power.
IC10
| Device | Prefab | Hash |
|---|---|---|
| Steam Generator 10 kW | StructureDampfGenerator | -1656432761 |
| Steam Drill | StructureDampfBohrer | -951842411 |
| Steam Tank | StructureDampfTank | -2132747128 |
In the memory tables, writable addresses are marked (W). clr resets the statistics on all three devices.
Generator
| LogicType | Meaning |
|---|---|
| On | main switch |
| Open | steam valve |
| Mode | controller: 0 AUTO, 1 MANUELL |
| Setting | power limit in W |
| Maximum | rated output |
| PowerGeneration | delivered power |
| Ratio | load |
| PressureInput | pressure in the steam pipe |
| PressureOutput | pressure in the water pipe |
| Address | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 / 1 / 2 | steam / water / condensate in mol/s |
| 3 | energy per mol in J |
| 4 | waste heat in W |
| 5 | energy generated in kWh |
| 6 | operating hours |
| 7 | error: 0 ok, 1 off, 2 pipe missing, 3 no steam, 4 water pipe full, 5 valve closed |
| 8 | steam temperature in K |
| 9 | possible output in W |
| 10 | display page (W) |
| 11 | valve (W) |
| 12 | controller (W) |
| 13 | water in L |
| 14 | pipe fill in % |
| 15 | steam fraction in % |
| 16 | light (W) |
Drill
| LogicType | Meaning |
|---|---|
| On | main switch |
| Open | extraction |
| Setting | target pressure in kPa |
| Maximum | highest settable target pressure |
| Rpm | rotation speed |
| Temperature | steam temperature |
| Progress | drilling progress down to bedrock, 0–1 |
| PressureOutput | pressure in the steam pipe |
| Address | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | extraction in mol/s |
| 1 | steam temperature in K |
| 2 | remaining depth in m |
| 3 | planet temperature in K |
| 4 | state: 0 off, 1 drilling, 2 extracting, 3 setpoint reached, 4 no pipe, 5 too cold, 6 blocked, 7 no power, 8 extraction closed |
| 5 | total extracted in mol |
| 6 | pressure limit |
| 7 | planet hot (1/0) |
| 8 | display page (W) |
| 9 | extraction (W) |
| 10 | operating hours |
| 11 | progress in % |
| 12 | pipe pressure |
| 13 | ground: 1 terrain, 2 frame |
| 14 | light (W) |
Tank
| LogicType | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pressure, Temperature, TotalMoles, RatioSteam … | contents |
| Ratio | fill level 0–1 |
| Maximum | maximum pressure |
| Setting | output pressure |
| SettingInput | fill limit |
| Open | output |
| On | main switch |
| Mode | charging compressor |
| Error | fault |
| PressureInput, PressureOutput, PressureOutput2 | pressures at inlet, outlet and drain |
| Address | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 / 1 / 2 | inflow / outflow / condensate in mol/s |
| 3 | net in mol/s |
| 4 | seconds until empty |
| 5 | seconds until full |
| 6 | fill limit (W) |
| 7 | output pressure (W) |
| 8 | output limit in mol/s (W) |
| 9 | condensation limit |
| 10 | charge limit |
| 11 | state: 0 ready, 1 charging, 2 discharging, 3 both, 4 full, 5 empty, 6 overpressure, 7 compressor without power, 8 condensate without drain, 9 off |
| 12 | display page (W) |
| 13 | compressor (W) |
| 14 | output (W) |
| 15 / 16 | total in / total out in mol |
| 17 | condensate in L |
| 18 | total vented in mol |
| 19 | fill level in % |
| 20 | light (W) |
Example: show the fill level and protect the generator
The tank is named "Dampftank" (steam tank), the generator "Turbine", and an LED Display (Small) "Dampf" (steam). The display shows the fill level in percent. If the tank drops below 5%, the chip closes the generator's steam valve; above 20% it opens it again.
# Show steam tank level, close generator valve when tank is empty
define TANK -2132747128 # Steam Tank
define GENERATOR -1656432761 # Steam Generator 10 kW
define ANZEIGE -815193061 # LED Display (Small)
define LEER 0.05 # below 5% close valve
define WIEDER 0.20 # above 20% open valve
alias fuell r0
alias ventil r1
alias prozent r2
move ventil 1
start:
yield
lbn fuell TANK HASH("Dampftank") Ratio 0
bnan fuell start
blt fuell LEER zu
bgt fuell WIEDER auf
j schalten
zu:
move ventil 0
j schalten
auf:
move ventil 1
schalten:
sbn GENERATOR HASH("Turbine") Open ventil
mul prozent fuell 100
sbn ANZEIGE HASH("Dampf") Setting prozent
j startConsole commands
Open the console with F3. Each command acts on the nearest device. Except for status and planet, they only work on the host or server, or in single player.
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
dampf status | overview of all devices |
dampf planet | base temperature, hot yes/no, steam temperature, pressure limit |
dampf fuellen [kPa] [°C] | fill the nearest generator's steam pipe with steam (default 120 kPa) |
dampf tank [kPa] [°C] | fill the nearest Steam Tank (default: charge limit) |
dampf fels | the nearest drill skips the drilling phase and starts extracting right away |
dampf ventil auf / zu | valve of the nearest device: generator steam, drill extraction, tank output |
dampf regler auto / man [kW] | controller of the nearest generator |
dampf licht an / aus | work light of the nearest device |
Configuration
File: BepInEx\config\dominik1199.dampfkraft.cfg, or through the mod settings in LaunchPad.
| Key | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| NennleistungKW | 10 | maximum output of the generator, applies after a restart |
| WirkungsgradProzent | 30 | share of the condensation heat that becomes power |
| WasserAustrittC | 60 | water temperature at the outlet |
| WasserAnteilProzent | 10 | percent of the steam that leaves as water, the rest evaporates |
| AbwaermeInLuftProzent | 20 | share of the waste heat that warms the air at the generator |
| MaxDampfMolJeTakt | 10 | at most this much steam per tick (0.5 s) |
| FoerderungMolJeTakt | 2.5 | drill extraction per tick at full speed |
| StromW | 500 | power draw of the drill, applies after a restart |
| SolldruckStandardKPa | 120 | target pressure of newly built drills |
| SolldruckMaxKPa | 5000 | highest settable target pressure (also capped at 90% of the vapor pressure) |
| DampfZuschlagK | 50 | how much hotter than the night temperature the steam comes up |
| DampfMaxC | 350 | maximum steam temperature |
| SchwelleC | 100 | from this night temperature on, a planet counts as hot |
| LavaZaehlt | on | worlds with lava always count as hot |
| ErlaubtePlaneten | empty | world IDs where the drill always extracts, comma-separated |
| GesperrtePlaneten | empty | world IDs where it never extracts |
| VolumenL | 20000 | tank volume, applies to newly built tanks after a restart |
| HoechstdruckKPa | 5000 | above this the safety valve vents |
| WaermeverlustProzent | 0 | heat exchange compared to the game's insulated tank (0 = perfectly insulated) |
| VerdichterW | 500 | power draw of the charging compressor |
| VerdichterMolJeTakt | 5 | how much the compressor pushes in per tick |
| AbgabeMolJeTakt | 20 | at most this much the pressure regulator releases per tick |
| AusgangStandardKPa | 120 | output pressure of newly built tanks |
| HoerweiteM | 15 | how far (m) generator, drill and tank can be heard, silent beyond that; applies after restart |
| LautstaerkeProzent | 100 | volume of the generator running sounds, 0 = mute |
World IDs of the stock planets: Vulcan, Vulcan2, Venus, Mars2, Europa3, Lunar, MimasHerschel. Case doesn't matter.
Multiplayer
New devices: the server and all players need the mod. See Multiplayer.
Known limitations
- The drill only extracts on hot planets. On Mars or Europa the LED "Kalter Planet" (cold planet) lights up. If you want it anyway, add the world to
ErlaubtePlaneten. - The vapor pressure limits the target pressure. On Vulcan, 126 kPa in the pipe is the ceiling, otherwise the steam would condense in the pipe.
- On Vulcan a full tank only lasts a few minutes at 10 kW. It's a buffer, not a power plant.
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Drill: LED "Kalter Planet" | night temperature below 100 °C and no lava | pick another planet or set ErlaubtePlaneten |
| Drill stays at "Soll erreicht" (setpoint reached) | the pipe is at target pressure | normal; steam is only extracted again once something draws from the pipe |
| Drill: state "no pipe" | no gas pipe on the steam connection | connect a gas pipe at the front of the base |
| Pipe can't be built | wrong pipe type | steam: gas pipe; water and condensate: liquid pipe |
| Generator: error "water pipe full" | the water isn't being taken away | pump the water off or route it into a tank |
| Generator: "no steam" | steam pipe empty or valve closed | check tank, drill and valve |
| Generator supplies less than 10 kW | not enough steam or a weak cable | increase the steam flow, heavier cable |
| Tank: "condensate without drain" | no liquid pipe at the back | connect the condensate drain |
| Tank won't charge past a few hundred kPa | charge limit reached (95% of the vapor pressure) | normal, prevents condensation |
| Steam device burns or takes damage on Venus | old version before 1.1.0 | update to 1.1.0 and rebuild the damaged device |
| Generators can still be heard far away | version before 1.1.1 | update to 1.1.1; set the range with HoerweiteM, the volume with LautstaerkeProzent |