40d:Water wheel

Water wheel

b-M-w
═ ═ ═ X X X
Construction
Materials	Jobs
3 Wood	Architecture Carpenter
Power
Needs 10 power. Generates 100 power. Net gain of 90 power.

A water wheel is a machine component that provides power via water flow. To build a water wheel, select build menu and choose Machine components. It requires 3 wood and generates 100 power, which can be used for operating a pump or mill. Use axles and gears to access the power produced by a water wheel.

Construction

The architecture and carpentry labor are needed for the construction.

A water wheel occupies 3 adjacent tiles (N-S or E-W axis, no diagonals).

The typical setup of a water wheel is adjacent to a machine, usually a gear assembly or axle built on a floor tile, but any other machinery will basically do. It is technically possible to place a water wheel on firm ground without adjacent machinery, but since you can not channel the tiles it occupies afterwards this is of no practical use. The game also does not require any channel tiles to be present below if you build the water wheel next to a machine. The water wheel does however need to touch the machinery with its middle tile if even one channel tile is present.

Power will be generated once a channel tile under the water wheel is filled with water at a depth of four or greater if there also is a water flow in one of the three tiles beneath it. The easiest way to achieve this is to place the water wheel in a river, channel with moving water^[Verify], or brook (see below).

You can transport the power wherever it is needed via horizontal and vertical axles and gear assemblies. It is possible to support a waterwheel by building its center next to a preexisting waterwheel's center.

Brook

Intuitively one would place a water wheel in a river, but they can also be powered if placed over brook tiles, but only if you first dig through the surface of the brook. Build a channel three tiles long, right on the brook. The water wheel will sit above this channel.

Designs

Basic watermill design

#	+	+	+	+	~	+
#	+	+	+	+	~	+
#	O	+	+	+	W	+
#	*	=	=	=	W	+
#	+	+	+	+	W	+
#	+	+	+	+	~	+
#	+	+	+	+	~	+

Dual watermill design

#	+	+	+	+	~	~
#	+	+	+	+	~	~
#	O	+	+	+	W	W
#	*	=	=	=	W	W
#	+	+	+	+	W	W
#	+	+	+	+	~	~
#	+	+	+	+	~	~

This is by no means the limit of water power from one location, depending on the width of your river/brook/channel you can stack many waterwheels side-by-side (really big assembles will need to be artificial as there's a limit to how wide the game created water flows get). Just remember to make sure there's a support structure in place before you place the next wheel.

Perpetual motion

Due to the low power draw of a screw pump, a self-powering assembly can be made with a water wheel that still leaves plenty of excess power for other uses. This is an exploit, and possibly a bug.

A simple design is available at this forum post.

*REMEMBER TO BUILD THE HORIZONTAL AXLE OR GEAR ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE WATER WHEEL*

Perpetual Motion Design #1 - Top Floor

█	`	█	╔	═	╗	█
█	█	╔	╝	+	╚	╗
.	█	║	▼	+	+	║
█	█	╠	=	╗	+	║
█	█	║	X	║	+	║
█	╔	╩	=	╝	+	║
╔	╝	+	+	+	+	║
║	+	X	X	_	╔	╝
║	W	=	║	╔	╝	█
║	W	=	*	║	█	`
║	W	╔	═	╝	█	█
╚	═	╝	█	█	%	█
█	█	█	█	█	█	█

Perpetual Motion Design #1 - Bottom Floor

█	█	█	█	█	█	█
█	█	╔	=	╗	█	%
█	█	║	▲	║	█	█
`	█	╠	=	╣	█	█
█	█	║	X	║	█	.
█	█	║	+	║	█	█
╔	=	╝	+	╚	╗	█
║	+	+	+	+	║	█
║	+	╔	╗	+	║	█
║	+	║	║	+	║	█
║	+	╚	╝	+	║	█
║	+	+	+	+	║	█
╚	═	=	=	=	╝	█

Perpetual Motion Design #2

█	╔	=	╗	█	█	█
╔	╝	▲	╚	=	=	╗
║	+	+	+	+	+	║
║	+	_	_	_	+	║
║	+	_	+	_	+	║
║	+	W	+	X	+	║
║	+	W	=	X	+	║
║	+	W	+	_	+	║
║	+	_	+	_	+	║
║	+	_	_	_	+	║
║	+	+	+	+	+	║
╚	═	=	=	=	=	╝

Key
Wall: ║ ═ ╠ ╝ ╚ ╔ ╗ ╣ ╩
Floor: +
Water Wheel: W
Gear Assembly: *
Axle E/W: ═
Axle N/S: ║
Pump from west: XX
Pump from south: XX
Channel: _ or if background color is white
Closed water source opening: X