Alright, so: MOX reactor designs.

  • i had noticed that wrong power tiers doesnt cause explosions. im just going to put that in the e-net wip folder. component heat vents "heal" lzh-condensators.


    *snip*


    if anyone has any suggestions on how to make this more efficient please let me know!


    Since build #303, machine explosions by too much power have been disabled since people were griping about it and the e-net is unfinished and they didn't want to give the wrong impression.


    Interesting observation with the component vents. That shouldn't happen. Gonna have to bug report that.


    As for how to make it more efficient - you can bump the heat up to 9,990, at which point you get the full x5 multiplier instead of the ca. x4.2 you're currently getting. Of course, you're setting yourself up with a major explosion hazard. In fact, I am surprised that the design you posted as is didn't end up as a giant crater in short order.


    See, condensator replacement isn't instant. It takes at least one tick, i.e. 1/20th of a second. If the reactor happens to execute a reactor tick during that exact world tick (the chance for this to happen is 5%, since the reactor ticks once a second), then one of the fuel rods won't have a condensator next to it while generating heat. That means the heat goes straight into the hull. Normally, condensator reactors pack a few overclocked heat vents in spare slots, which take care of such random heat spikes and bring the reactor hull down to 0. But this is a MOX reactor, so you 1.) do not want the hull to go down to 0, and 2.) cannot use overclocked vents in the first place as they will simply destroy themselves.


    AE in particular makes this issue worse, since it sometimes takes a few ticks before noticing there is space to insert a repaired condensator. If I were you, I would not try to automate a MOX condensator reactor. It is absolutely not safe and stable, regardless of which solution you use. It will blow up sooner or later.



    First off, you can't get that much EU out of a reactor anymore, almost half of your EU output is completely wasted. The highest output is 2048, anything more than that and it won't work.


    That is STILL wrong, Shneekey. I have explained this to you like four times already over the past three months. Power is split between all available output faces, so you can easily pull more than 2k. In fact, you can pull 40k from a 1-chamber if you really want/need to, and more from a multi-chamber. It's your own decision if you wish to insist on ignoring the truth with all your might, but please don't spread false 'facts' around to others.



    What if I use lapis bees?


    If you have a renewable source of lapis that doesn't consume EU to run, then you can easily use condensators (just be prepared to need a lot of lapis bees to supply a single reactor). However, because of the reasons I outlined above, you still don't want to make a fully automated MOX lapis reactor. It will never be stable.

  • Tried to do SpwnX's design from a few pages back, turns out Iridium Neutron Reflectors don't work! I'll have to stick with IC2 reflectors for the time being. Can I just attach a hopper + chest of normal reflectors to every reactor, or do I have to use GT's machines to insert them into specific slots?


    And in a related note, anyone want to try and design the most efficient zero-automation MOX reactor possible? Initial investment is no issue.


    EDIT> c4commando made a slimmer eff 5 design. 4 chambers, so you can put reactors side-by-side or even stack them.

  • There are two different efficiency 20 designs available, here and here. That's the best I've been able to do without relying either on condensators or coolant cells + CRCS.


    The problem is mostly the fact that any high efficiency design will run into issues with fitting enough heat spreading components next to all the cells. Without even thinking about cooling yet, it becomes incredibly difficult just to move the heat outwards quickly enough to keep the inner components from simply being overwhelmed.

    • Official Post

    For the second one of those, how about this for the diamond strapped peoples?

    145 Mods isn't too many. 9 types of copper and 8 types of tin aren't too many. 3 types of coffee though?

    I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you read was not what I meant.


    ---- Minecraft Crash Report ----
    // I just don't know what went wrong :(


    I see this too much.

  • There are two different efficiency 20 designs available.


    Those are base efficiency 4. Since you can't get 100% reactor heat for the 5x multiplier and blocks melt above 85%, it's not really accurate to call them "efficiency 20". For the sake of standardization, can we please refer to MOX reactor efficiencies using the base, 0-heat values? I've seen some people mention efficiencies at ~70% heat, some at ~85% heat, and some at 100% heat, and it's confusing without adequate context.


    Good setups, though. Nice high EU/t out of those reactors as well.


    For the second one of those, how about this for the diamond strapped peoples?


    That will cool down by itself when fuel rods run out, and even if you automate fuel switching you will probably miss a reactor tick somewhere and lose heat. There's a pretty solid reason why most MOX setups employ large numbers of advanced heat vents.

  • Those are base efficiency 4. Since you can't get 100% reactor heat for the 5x multiplier and blocks melt above 85%, it's not really accurate to call them "efficiency 20". For the sake of standardization, can we please refer to MOX reactor efficiencies using the base, 0-heat values? I've seen some people mention efficiencies at ~70% heat, some at ~85% heat, and some at 100% heat, and it's confusing without adequate context.


    That's what I thought when I originally started this thread, too.


    Then I put a reactor to 9,996 of 10,000 heat just for the heck of it, and observed it complete multiple full cycles without melting a single block anywhere. Other people independently arrived at the same conclusion. I cannot tell you when this changed or why, but the current situation is that above 85% heat, the reactor randomly starts setting nearby blocks on fire instead of melting them into lava. Since the reactor itself cannot be harmed by fire, and neither can cables, this has absolutely no effect on the safe operation of the reactor. Additionally, if you encase the reactor in something nonflammable, for example glass blocks, you will not even get the fire effect at all. Thus, you can easily reach the x5 multiplier, unless you need to leave a safety buffer for automation reasons (CRCS etc).


    Additionally, Thunderdark has stated in this thread that getting MOX up to x5 is intended by design.


    So, for the sake of standardization, all values are given at the theoretical maximum, which is base efficiency x5. For further reading, have a look at post 13 on page 1 of this thread, which describes a formula to accurately calculate the efficiency of any reactor (uranium or MOX at any heat) from nothing but the EU/t value you see ingame. (Just keep in mind that the numbers used in the examples are pre-bugfix and way too high for the design in question.)

  • http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/v3/reactorplanner.html?21p53itdk3jjouzn7evddp2vo3lb9rirrv2xhiqbdq31t726t2286uk9prjumtraibaq5t53gsxrh1c
    My design 4 chambers so stack-able
    5 is the max without cooling the reactors,
    The heat from a 4 rod + 3 reflector will melt anything beside it. no way to pull enough heat from it fast enough even with all component heat ex-changer
    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…n49frq1j0tp8o156zr395wirk



    and you just can't stuff anymore advanced heat vent to cool anything more than 2 double rod passively, even coolant cells have problems cooling more than 3

  • Nice design! We didn't have a good 4-chamber yet. That will run at efficiency 25 too, which is outstanding. (Link-clicking is broken, you need to copy&paste from the post)


    Of course, it only works if you have excess copper, tin and coal lying around, because as soon as you start fabricating them out of UU-matter, your efficiency will take a sharp nosedive towards 0. :P

  • Nice design! We didn't have a good 4-chamber yet. That will run at efficiency 25 too, which is outstanding. (Link-clicking is broken, you need to copy&paste from the post)


    Of course, it only works if you have excess copper, tin and coal lying around, because as soon as you start fabricating them out of UU-matter, your efficiency will take a sharp nosedive towards 0. :P


    GregTech crops can replenish the copper, tin and coal!

  • In 1.5 versions of GregTech and IC2, they also cost like 400-500 UU-matter worth of materials. That probably won't change much with the update - if anything I expect the price to triple or quadruple. The fact doesn't change that unless you can make it from materials you already have, it's going to kill your efficiency dead.

  • The point is, you need to properly compare a reactor who manages to reach performance metric X without incurring running costs, to another reactor who also manages to reach performance metric X while incurring running costs. Maybe the first one is more expensive to build, or it is just the better design, who knows. The difference needs to be expressed somehow.


    People can still decide that the running cost is acceptable to them. Not mentioning them at all, however, will annoy those for who the cost turns out to be not acceptable.


    In the meantime, I threw together an excel sheet to calculate the material cost of components in IC2 experimental (as of build 298 at least), since the reactor planner has been completely inaccurate on that front for ages. These may still change as development progresses but even then this list is more accurate than the planner will ever be again. Unless it updates, of course.


    Gonna draft up a list of the best MOX designs we have and give them some cost ratings, similar to the official design thread.

  • MOX Reactor Design List


    Does not contain all designs, just some of the best currently known ones in their respective size categories. Will be updated as new designs are discovered. Got something that beats a design here? Something that fills a niche not currently covered? Post it in this thread!


    Does not include CRCS reactors - they are for advanced users, and their performance and price depends too much on the automation setup as a whole.


    Does also not include hull exchange reactors that are not heat stable while off or out of fuel, as they require automation to offset the severely degraded ease of use. If you are still interested in that kind of MOX reactor, you can find a sample list here. Note that I have not doublechecked the math on them.


    Prices are calculated by hand with a spreadsheet. The reactor planner is NOT accurate!



    0-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…x7j5p4au109wrzmwzd6a6trsw

    • EU/tick: 450
    • Efficiency: 15
    • Building cost: 130 copper, 43 tin, 266 iron, 12 lead, 10 diamond, 8 redstone, 2 lapis, 2 glowstone, 7 rubber
    • Running cost: 36 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt
    • Safely tileable: Yes, 3 chambers


    1-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…kc2wncenwdbxyo2bdoaa6v6dc

    • EU/tick: 425
    • Efficiency: 17
    • Building cost: 160 copper. 61 tin, 270 iron, 16 lead, 20 gold, 9 diamond, 18 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 37 rubber
    • Running cost: 30 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt
    • Safely tileable: Yes, 5 chambers


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…wpfjvebeyskgfbzirw8j4glc0

    • EU/tick: 600
    • Efficiency: 15
    • Building cost: 173 copper, 67 tin, 352 iron, 16 lead, 12 diamond, 8 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 7 rubber
    • Running cost: 48 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: xaix1990 / c4commando
    • Safely tileable: Yes, 5 chambers


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…ifzgxzhw3qljchl1qiefzjo5c

    • EU/tick: 700
    • Efficiency: 11.65
    • Building cost: 173 copper, 35 tin, 349 iron, 16 lead, 16 diamond, 8 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 2 rubber
    • Running cost: 72 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt
    • Safely tileable: No


    2-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…mldxfl6z4lyh39rfijmpdnfnk

    • EU/tick: 550
    • Efficiency: 18.35
    • Building cost: 206 copper, 81 tin, 331 iron, 20 lead, 28 gold, 8 diamond, 22 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 49 rubber
    • Running cost: 36 U-238, 2 copper, 1 iron per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…y62obg6286faom2d3wtys6qkg

    • EU/tick: 750
    • Efficiency: 15
    • Building cost: 216 copper, 75 tin, 437 iron, 20 lead, 16 diamond, 8 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 7 rubber
    • Running cost: 60 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    3-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…4xqiqvycrna05jvuoxfq4hr7k

    • EU/tick: 600
    • Efficiency: 20
    • Building cost: 280 copper, 100 tin, 445 iron, 24 lead, 40 gold, 16 diamond, 28 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 67 rubber
    • Running cost: 36 U-238, 2 copper, 1 iron per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…rvdi2z6nk071t9zuebsaczvuo

    • EU/tick: 675
    • Efficiency: 19.3
    • Building cost: 247 copper, 99 tin, 433 iron, 24 lead, 24 gold, 14 diamond, 20 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 43 rubber
    • Running cost: 42 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Omicron


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…f90m73kfrk8y4069lz2bz03cw

    • EU/tick: 800
    • Efficiency: 13.35
    • Building cost: 250 copper, 79 tin, 413 iron, 24 lead, 32 gold. 16 diamond, 24 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 55 rubber
    • Running cost: 72 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    4-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…eqnlrjz2c8ldpwk5rwe9z7if4

    • EU/tick: 500
    • Efficiency: 25
    • Building cost: 284 copper, 131 tin, 402 iron, 28 lead, 44 gold, 8 diamond, 32 coal, 30 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 73 rubber
    • Running cost: 24 U-238, 20 copper, 32 tin, 1 iron, 32 coal per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…ypiky177pgez7q4g5kyp8w2dc

    • EU/tick: 800
    • Efficiency: 20
    • Building cost: 318 copper, 119 tin, 522 iron, 28 lead. 40 gold, 18 diamond, 28 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 67 rubber
    • Running cost: 48 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    5-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…5qvym46y7aduzb5665bp965ts

    • EU/tick: 800
    • Efficiency: 20
    • Building cost: 293 copper, 119 tin, 491 iron, 32 lead, 32 gold, 8 diamond, 24 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 55 rubber
    • Running cost: 48 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…13eg2w8gota2ufl4wu90yu9z4

    • EU/tick: 1200
    • Efficiency: 15
    • Building cost: 378 copper, 135 tin, 663 iron, 32 lead, 32 gold, 24 diamond, 24 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 55 rubber
    • Running cost: 96 U-238, 8 copper, 4 iron per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    6-Chamber Reactors


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…zkp9ynvk4yranpdd9x31o2t4w

    • EU/tick: 1000
    • Efficiency: 20
    • Building cost: 396 copper, 153 tin, 657 iron, 36 lead, 48 gold, 22 diamond, 32 redstone, 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 79 rubber
    • Running cost: 60 U-238 per cycle
    • Designed by: Blackpalt


    http://www.talonfiremage.pwp.b…w549leokjo6vugzfk0dkt5vk0

    • EU/tick: 1500
    • Efficiency: 15
    • Building cost: 426 copper, 145 tin, 722 iron, 36 lead, 44 gold, 27 diamond, 30 redstone. 2 glowstone, 2 lapis, 73 rubber
    • Running cost: 120 U-238, 10 copper, 5 iron per cycle
    • Designed by: Zombie
  • ...Daaaamn that's a good one :o That's like, my previous 6-chamber design stuffed into 4 chambers. And it's cheaper to boot! Have my like, good sir. I will add this to the list and throw mine out.


    Note, I will apply the same tweak as I did to turkeygiblets' 5-chamber design: add two component vents, and drop two advanced vents down to basic. This basically requires you to spend 8 extra tin, but in return you save 2 iron and 2 diamonds. That's a fairly good trade-off IMHO, what with how diamond hungry IC2 has become.




    EDIT: No, we cannot. Reactor fuels received a duration buff in build 288, they last twice as long now as they did initially. MOX does 10k seconds (as much as Uranium did in classic, and shows in the reactor planner), and Uranium does 20k seconds.