User blog:Zoopster/Reactor Tips


 * All reactors have a power capacity, or "reservoir". This is the total power they have available for immediate use.
 * When that reservoir is reduced by equipment draining it, the reactor immediately starts to replenish it by consuming whatever fuel source it uses. The fuel will continue to be consumed until the reactor’s maximum capacity is reached again, or the fuel source runs out.
 * If the reactor's capacity is at maximum with nothing draining it, NO FUEL is consumed.


 * Things like Battery Charger, Power Cell Charger , Scanner Room , exterior light fixtures, and vehicles docked and charging in the Moonpool will draw from the reactor's power capacity. Using the Fabricator or Modification Station will as well. Also, be aware that the Water Filtration Machine runs constantly, and has one of the worst power drain rates of all.
 * Internal lights, oxygen production and the Medical Kit Fabricator DO NOT draw power from a reactor's capacity. They are essentially free.


 * If your reactor(s) recharge rate can't keep up with the energy drain and your base's total power gets below 3 units, any equipment in use will automatically stop consumption for 10 seconds, allowing the reactor(s) a little time to recover. That means any battery/power cell chargers/docked vehicles will stop charging. Exterior lights will shut off. Fabricators may not be available. After 10 seconds consumption will be allowed to resume, until (or unless) the base's power is low enough to trigger the shutdown again.
 * Internal lights and oxygen production should NOT shut off when the base's power gets too low.


 * Multiple reactors attached to a base are drained sequentially, not all at once. Once the first reactor in the “chain” is depleted, the next one starts draining and so on. The order that reactors are drained depends on which one(s) are detected first when loading the game, which might change each time.
 * This does not appear to be influenced by which one you built first. It is random each time you start the game.
 * For PC users there is a mod available that lets you specify the "load order" of your power source types, so that you can always control which one(s) are impacted first by usage.


 * If you wish to have external lighting at your base, consider using light sources that don't consume any of your base's power, especially if your reactor(s) need to constantly be refueled, or have a slow recharge rate. Examples include the Light Stick (hand-held but can also be placed on the ground, never runs out of power), and Creepvine planted in Exterior Growbed  (their bioluminescent seed clusters put out quite a bit of light when fully matured, and a growbed can hold up to 6 plants).


 * In Survival mode, rather than build a Water Filtration Machine (which runs all the time and consumes an enormous amount of power), consider growing plants like Chinese Potatoes, Bulbo Tree and Marblemelons in your habitat instead. Craft several Interior Growbeds for this purpose. These food items restore a good amount of both nutrition and water when eaten, and can be easily replenished.


 * If you must construct a Water Filtration Machine for whatever reason, build it inside a habitat module that isn't physically connected to the rest of your base, and hook it up to its own dedicated power source. If you can place one properly at the edge of a thermal geyser or vent (where the temperature is 65° C or above), a single Thermal Plant should be enough to keep a Water Filtration Machine constantly supplied with power. Any drinking water it generates can then be stored in lockers inside the structure until needed. Call it your "watershed", hehe.

If you plan properly, the only consistent drains on your base's overall power should come from using the Scanner Room, charging batteries , power cells or vehicles , and using the Fabricator or the Modification Station.

Click here for a list of reactor types you can build for your base.