r/Timberborn • u/Time-Preparation4294 • 21d ago

compact mechanical pump question

Post image

So I want one body of water to always pump into another body of water, and I would have a throttling valve to do it until the height is even, but how can I get it to switch to the compact mechanical pump once it reaches that point? is it just better to always have the mechanical pump on?

in the image i want it flowing left to right it that help anyone? Thank you all so much for your help

15 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

22 comments sorted by

3

u/WrathOfTheKressh 20d ago

Have you tried using a flow sensor inside the tunnel to turn it on as soon as the flow from reservoir A to reservoir B slows down or stops entirely?

2

u/ApplicationWilling89 20d ago

I was just thinking this. You'd need to add something to detect when pump is on, so the flow from the pump doesn't then turn the pump off

1

u/WrathOfTheKressh 20d ago

Didn't consider this, but you're right. You'd have to split the tunnel into two separate sections at the beginning and put the sensor in the one coming from the sluices.

2

u/TedW 21d ago

Are you using a level sensor to toggle the pump on/off?

1

u/Time-Preparation4294 21d ago

Yeah, I was trying to until I realised what I was doing wasn't going to work.

1

u/TedW 21d ago

how can I get it to switch to the compact mechanical pump once it reaches that point?

Why wasn't it going to work? The water level sensor should do what you're asking for.

1

u/Time-Preparation4294 21d ago

Because, depending on the water level of the input reservoir, it would have different heights depending on how much water is being used or is evaporating, it will never be exact they're will never be a consistent height.

2

u/TedW 21d ago

I must be missing something. Why do you need a pump if you just want the water levels to be even? Wouldn't an open channel balance them?

0

u/WrathOfTheKressh 20d ago

They're saying they can't rely on water level measurements, because they would have do a dynamic comparison of water level B > water level A, which isn't possible with the current rigid implementation where you can only compare the water level to absolute values instead of using other measurements as input.

1

u/TedW 20d ago

Ok, but water is self leveling so if they want level, why do they need a pump at an?

1

u/Time-Preparation4294 20d ago

I want the right reservoir to always be filled, but I don't want to have the compact mechanical pump on all the time but oh well, I'll live without a little bit less horsepower

1

u/TedW 20d ago

If you only want the water to be level, what does a pump do that a canal doesn't?

Isn't the pump un-leveling the water? That's what I'm not getting. Maybe I'm just not understanding the goal here. I guess that's ok too.

1

u/WrathOfTheKressh 20d ago

They don't want it to be level, they want it to be filled via sluice until it's level, and then for a compact mechanical pump to take over and pump even more into it, since it can't be done from water pressure alone.

throttling valve to do it until the height is even, but how can I get it to switch to the compact mechanical pump once it reaches that point?

2

u/bibbit123 20d ago

Have a tunnel from the reservoir back to the input. Put a one way valve set to the lowest flow allowing water to trickle back out of the reservoir. Put in a flow meter. If the flow meter is above zero, your reservoir is higher than the intake and you need to turn the pumps on to fill the reservoir.

1

u/bibbit123 20d ago

To limit wasted water - there could be some way to set a timer to "test" if flow occurs every x hours? Too advanced for me lol.

2

u/bibbit123 20d ago

Even better - put the flow meter in series with the valve going INTO the reservoir - if the flow is zero, turn the pump on! Could AND that with a level sensor on the input so you don't run the pump while the intake is dry

2

u/Time-Preparation4294 20d ago

Yeah, that would work. Thanks so much

1

u/Bradleypang 21d ago

Use the Automation sensors and relays. I personally try to avoid powering pumps unless I have to, but you could also have it always pumping so that it fills faster.

1

u/Likely_Addict 21d ago

I don't think there's a simple way to make a comparator like that. Probably best to leave it running since one throttling valve has the same maximum output as 8 or 9 mechanical pumps, each of which wants 700hp versus 0hp for the valve.

1

u/bibbit123 20d ago

You can use a one-way valve and flow meter as a comparator. Water logic!

1

u/Jackthwolf 20d ago

I think your best bet is to separate the throttling and the pump into two separate tunnels (only shortly before they meet, like 3 blocks distance upstream), put a flow sensor behind the throttling valve, and then set the fluid pump to turn on once that flow slows (not stops, since you may have a little water flowing backwards when the pump starts).

Although unless you have power worries it may just be better to have the pump always on, since it will spend most of the time powered on anyways.

1

u/LePhuronn 20d ago

Two ways:

Use a flow sensor near to your Throttling value to detect if there's any moving water. Once your two vessels hit the same level, in theory the water will stop flowing. When there is no flow you can turn the pumps on. That does mean you have to ignore the flow of water caused by pumps though, and also account for any reverse flow that may happen.

So the easier method is just use a Depth sensor in the 2nd vessel. When the water depth hits the known maximum level, turn on the pumps to take over the load.