Nuclear Reactor (DEPRECATED)

Notice
This feature has been modified beyond the capacity of a simple page rewrite. Its functionality is wholly different, refer to Research Reactor for the actual feature. This page will remain for archival purposes.

This page refers to the small nuclear reactor, for the multiblock structure please go here

A small nuclear reactor. It has 12 slots for rods. Rods decay faster the more packed together they are, and the more heat they produce.

Small nuclear reactors are a great choice for early nuclear power, because of the ease of setup and simple operation. However, due to the enormous amount of power late-game machines consume, they can be rendered inadequate in a short amount of time. Radiation is also not isolated when using a small reactor, so a large reactor containment building is required to make the nearby area inhabitable.

Usage
Fill it with Coolant and Water, then put any Fuel Rods of your choosing into it and press the red button to raise the rods.

Clicking on the E-shaped button next to the heat and steam gauges will switch the steam's compression.

It won't generate power on its own, but instead, produce Steam that can be pumped into Steam Turbines that do.

To completely fill it with quad rods, you'd need 32 nuclear fuel ingots. You can significantly increase the amount of heat a rod produces by placing them next to each other.

You can show the grid in the GUI by pressing ALT. This shows how rod placement affects heat distribuition throughout the reactor, and is very useful when planning to add more fuel rods.

External Modifiers
These values only apply for 1 side.

Danger
Make sure the reactor has a steady supply of coolant when active and water at the ready, otherwise it will overheat and violently explode in the meltdown. Coolant consumption depends on the strength of the fuel. The water cooled down by steam turbines may be pumped back inside, but it will eventually run out due to the reactor not converting at 100% efficiency. Using a remote reactor block and setting automatic shutdown to on will prevent meltdowns.

If the reactor runs out of Coolant, its core temperature will rise until it reaches its maximum capacity and melts down.

If the reactor runs out of water, its hull temperature will rise until it reaches its maximum capacity and subsequently causes the core to increase in temperature, making coolant ineffective, as it can no longer move heat to the hull. It will also meltdown if its core reaches its maximum temperature capacity.

Either of those scenarios can be caused by external modifier blocks, such as ones that have heat modifiers and the reactor itself is running high strength fuels also, such as Plutonium.

Pros and Cons
+ Starter for nuclear power.

+ Can take any type of fuel rod.

+ Can take in infinite water just by having water blocks next to it.

- Produces radiation when active, levels varying depending on the type of fuel rods inside, requires concrete brick covering to prevent radiation from coming out.

- Will violently explode when experiencing a meltdown.

- Does not directly produce electricity.

- Spent rods have to manually be removed and the other rods have to be rearranged.

Operating Instructions

 * 1) Make sure the reactor is connected to coolant pumps, or has enough stored coolant in the internal buffer for safe operation.
 * 2) Check that water is flowing and steam pipes are connected
 * 3) Using the reactor remote control block, make sure the automated safety system is on.
 * 4) Insert fuel rods. The amount and type of rods can vary. For testing out reactor designs, only use one Uranium Fuel Rod.  For sustained operation use 8 single rods, spread out through the reactor. Quad Rods can be used when a high amount of power is needed.
 * 5) Raise control rods remotely
 * 6) check steam turbines to make sure no backup of steam is detected. If a backup occurs, lower the control rods immediately
 * 7) Check radiation levels throughout the reactor area and outside the containment building using a geiger counter.
 * 8) After reactor operations are complete, craft the depleted fuel rods nuclear waste. Place these into a spent nuclear waste drum for cooling and further processing

Notice: does not function after mod-version X3991

 * Nuclear Reactor with infinite coolant: Nuclear Reactor Tutorial (infinite coolant)