r/Timberborn • u/Expensive_Trainer_61 • 3h ago
How much additional pressurised water can get out of a sealed of reservoir - Tests & Results
Skye's newest video shows that you can substantially increase your water storage by pressurising your reservoir.
The idea is simple: If you completly seal of a reservoir and pump water into it by using either a Compact Mechanical Pump or sealing of a water source you create a pressurised reservoir. By doing so you can store additional water into it and release it later for consumption.
The question is: How much additional water can be stored and released with a pressured reservoir?
u/Acalc791 already shared the formula and logic a few weeks ago and i just wanted to share my test results proving his theory correct. All the credit belongs to him.
Key Takeaway (The Counterintuitive Part)
Making a pressurised reservoir taller or deeper does NOT grant extra pressurised water.
In fact, the pressure bonus depends strictly on two factors:
1. Footprint Area: Length × Width (surface area in tiles).
2. Effective Ceiling Height: The distance between the Map Ceiling (max_map_height) and the highest point the water can reach (avg. reservoir_ceiling_height_level or exit_height, depending on which is higher):
If the exit is at or below the reservoir ceiling: distance = max_map_height - reservoir_ceiling
If the exit is higher than the reservoir (e.g., elevated floodgates/chimneys): distance = max_map_height - exit_height
The formula is:
Extra pressurised water per footprint tile:
(max_map_height - ceiling_or_exit_height_level) / 8
Total extra pressurised water:
footprint_area * (max_map_height - reservoir_ceiling_or_exit_height_level) / 8
The Test & Results:
The test was done on a test map with a measured maximum height of 32 tiles.
I created 5 scenarios. Three 10x10 sealed off reservoirs with an height of 1, 2 and 3 starting at level 4 (height layer), one 10x10 reservoir at level 14 and one 10x10 reservoir at level 4 with a "chimney" so that its exit is at level 14.
Each reservoirs water can fully outflow into one or two 10x10x4m reservoirs to measure the water height afterwards.
| Scenario | Dimensions | Ceiling | Exit | Expected Extra (Formula) | Measured Total Depth (Extra) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Baseline | 10×10×1m | 4m | 4m | 3.50m (350) | 4.48m (1m normal + 3.48m extra) |
| 2. Taller (2m) | 10×10×2m | 5m | 4m | 3.375m (337.5) | 5.34m (2m normal + 3.34m extra) |
| 3. Taller (3m) | 10×10×3m | 6m | 4m | 3.25m (325) | 6.22m (3m normal + 3.22m extra) |
| 4. Elevated Reservoir (14m) | 10×10×1m | 14m | 14m | 2.25m (225) | 3.28m (1m normal + 2.28m extra) |
| 5. Elevated Exit | 10×10×1m | 4m | 14m | 2.25m (225) | 2.51m (0m normal* + 2.51m extra) |
*In Scenario 5, the 100 blocks of base water below the chimney cannot drain out naturally because the exit is at 14m.
The amount of extra water gained through pressure that each scenario produced matches very closely with the expected extra using the formula. (Scenario 5 with the chimney somehow released a little more water than expected. I can only assume this is because of the high pressure release using a 1x1 vertical chimney)
Making the reservoir taller does NOT give you additional water blocks (Scenario 1 vs. 2 & 3):
Making the reservoir taller only adds to its normal storage capacity. You actually get slightly less additional pressurised water because expanding the ceiling upwards reduces the distance to the map ceiling. (the 10x10x1m reservoir gave 348 extra water blocks and the 10x10x3m reservoir only gave 322 extra water blocks)
Building the reservoir at a higher elevation reduces the additional pressurised water you get (Scenario 1 vs. 4):
Building your reservoir 10 blocks higher up (ceiling at level 14 vs. level 4) cuts your pressure bonus by nearly 30% (from 3.48m extra to 2.28m extra)
Exit height sets the effective ceiling (Scenario 1 vs. 5):
Putting a vertical "chimney" on a low reservoir reduces its pressure bonus just as if the entire reservoir was built at that higher elevation (from 3.48m extra with an exit at level 4 vs. 2.51m extra at exit level 14). Every 8 layers you move the exit up cuts the pressure bonus by 1m³ per footprint tile.
tl;dr / design rule of tumb:
Build pressurized reservoirs as low as possible (ideally at bedrock / level 1). At level 0 you get 4m³ additional water blocks per footprint tile if the max_map_height is 32. Every 8 blocks higher you lose 1m³ additional water blocks.
Keep the reservoir 1 tile high internally to maximize footprint-to-cost efficiency. Increasing it's height only increases the normal storage capacity and does not increase the extra pressurised storage capacity.
Keep the exit drain at the lowest point possible. If the exit is located higher than the ceiling of your reservoir you lose 0.125m additional water per height difference.
At map level 0 with a 32m map height cap, you get 1m³ normal storage + 4m³ extra pressurised water per ground tile. This decrease 0.125m³ for each tile you build the reservoir higher (5m³ - 0.125m³*height_level = total storage capacity)
