v0.31: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 90 net power, which can be used for operating a pump or mill. You can use axles and gears to access the power produced by a water wheel, or connect machinery like a pump or millstone directly.

Waterwheels do not work with waterfalls, nor in magma - it takes water that is flowing according to the DF use of the term.

For a basic overview of how the different machine parts work and work together, see machinery.

Construction

The architecture and carpentry labors are needed for the construction.

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

Although you can build a stable water wheel on solid ground, this isn't going to do you any good. For this reason, water wheels are almost exclusively built in a hanging state with gaps in the floor below. To do this the water wheel must be attached to a nearby machine component on either side of its center tile. Do not hang it from a gear assembly you wish to control with a switch, a disconnected gear assembly can't support anything and will cause the waterwheel to deconstruct.

Power is generated from a water wheel as long as it has flowing water at a depth of 4/7 or greater under at least one of its tiles. The easiest way to achieve this is by placing the water wheel over a river or brook. With a brook you must first channel through the surface since brooks have a floor of sorts over them.

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 water wheel's center.

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.