Steam Engine

A steam engine.

The steam engine is an early game (and pre-polymer) method of turning steam into energy, similar to the steam turbine.

Usage

Steam engine setup requiring a boiler, heating box with fuel, and steam condenser.

The steam engine requires an external source to provide steam and a way to dump or reprocess the low-pressure steam it produces. Heating water in a boiler on top of a heat generating machine will produce the steam required, although any source (like a solar boiler) works as well. Meanwhile, the low-pressure steam can be fed into a steam condenser to regain water, which allows for a closed loop without any water loss. An example of the described process can be seen in the image on the right.

The engine has an energy efficiency of 85%, making it better than the stirling engine. However, it still has a throughput limit as it can only hold up to 2000 mB of steam; its maximum processing rate is 2000 mB/t, producing a considerable 3400 HE/t or 68 kHE/s. It is therefore the best generator available before steam turbines.

Crafting

It can be crafted in a tier 2 anvil:

16

12

2

4