Steam Boiler (Railcraft)

The Steam Boiler is a multiblock structure from the Railcraft mod. This structure is used to turn water and fuels into Steam, for powering engines and other machines that require it. There are four types of Steam Boilers, High Pressure Liquid Fueled, High Pressure Solid Fueled, Low Pressure Liquid Fueled, and Low Pressure Solid Fueled.

High Pressure Liquid Fueled boilers require at least one High Pressure Boiler Tank and at least one Liquid Fueled Firebox. These will run off of the various liquid fuels (besides Lava) that are offered. High Pressure Solid Fueled boilers require at least one High Pressure Boiler Tank and at least one Solid Fueled Firebox. These will run off of almost anything that can burn in a furnace; solid fuels. High Pressure boilers will take much longer to get to maximum efficiency than Low Pressure, but will produce twice as much steam when fully warmed up. More resources are consumed when a boiler is warming up than when it is already warmed up. High Pressure boilers are recommended for 24/7 boiler setups. Boilers will use 8x as much fuel as they should when they are warming up.

Low Pressure Liquid Fueled boilers require at least one Low Pressure Boiler Tank and at least one Liquid Fueled Firebox. These will run off of the various liquid fuels (besides Lava) that are offered. Low Pressure Solid Fueled boilers require at least one Low Pressure Boiler Tank and at least one Solid Fueled Firebox. These will run off of almost anything that can burn in a furnace; solid fuels. Low Pressure boilers will take much shorter to get to maximum efficiency than High Pressure, but will produce less steam when fully warmed up than a High Pressure boiler. More resources are consumed when a boiler is warming up than when it is already warmed up. Low Pressure boilers are recommended for non-24/7 boiler setups. Boilers will use 8x as much fuel as they should when they are warming up.

There are 3 sizes for Steam Boiler Fireboxes, 1x1, 2x2, and 3x3. These are used as the base of the Steam Boiler, and are what allow certain types of fuel in, and certain types of fuel not in. There are certain sizes of Boiler Tanks that can be used for each size of Firebox. A 1x1 Firebox can only use a 1x1x1 of Boiler Tanks. A 2x2 of Fireboxes can use a 2x2x2 or a 2x2x3 of Boiler Tanks. A 3x3 of Fireboxes can use a 3x3x2, a 3x3x3, or a 3x3x4 of Boiler Tanks.

Each High Pressure Boiler Tank added to a Steam Boiler will add 20 Steam/tick to the maximum output. Each Low Pressure Boiler Tank added to a Steam Boiler will add 10 Steam/tick to the maximum output.

A Steam Boiler will need a constant supply of Water and fuels. If there is no water, the boiler will still burn the fuels, it will simply not produce any Steam, therefore wasting your resources. Additionally, you are risking a gigantic boiler explosion by not supplying sufficient water. That said, a boiler is safe as long as it has a constant source of water, and since water is infinite, this is not a difficult task.

Construction
To build a boiler, you are going to need 1, 4, or 9 Fireboxes. There are two types of Fireboxes, Solid Fueled Firebox and Liquid Fueled Firebox, these will determine what you want to use to power your boiler. Fireboxes always have to be in a flat square, 1x1, 2x2, or 3x3.

Next you will need an amount of High Pressure Boiler Tanks or Low Pressure Boiler Tanks determined by the amount of Fireboxes you have chosen to use. As stated before, a 1x1 Firebox can only use a 1x1x1 of Boiler Tanks. A 2x2 of Fireboxes can use a 2x2x2 or a 2x2x3 of Boiler Tanks. A 3x3 of Fireboxes can use a 3x3x2, a 3x3x3, or a 3x3x4 of Boiler Tanks.

Water has to be piped in to the Firebox to work properly, as well as any fuels that you want to power your Steam Boiler. Steam can be piped out from any side, and from any Steam Boiler block.