by Matthew J Peters - Published 2 months ago

Satisfactory: Fluids Guide - Production & Usage

Satisfactory offers a wide range of resources, and one of the key resources you will encounter early on is fluids. These resources are different from the usual solid objects you are accustomed to dealing with and can be tricky to produce and manage efficiently at first. Here's a comprehensive guide to understanding fluids in Satisfactory.

Fundamentals of Fluids

Fluids differ from solid objects in their mode of transportation. Solids are transported using conveyor belts, while fluids require pipes, which have their own set of rules that we will explore further.

Static Head

Due to gravity, fluids cannot travel very far vertically on their own. The Water Extractor, for example, has a head lift of 10 meters, meaning it can pump water up to 10 meters before it stops. For higher elevations, you need to use a Pipeline Pump.

A powered Pipeline Pump provides an additional 20 meters of head lift, allowing the fluid in the pipe to travel up to 20 more meters vertically. To maximize vertical distance, subsequent Pumps should be placed near the end of the 20-meter head lift of the previous Pump.

Discharge Rate

The flow rate of a fluid is determined by the amount of fluid currently in the pipe. As the pipe fills, the internal pressure increases, leading to a higher flow rate as the fluid is pushed into the next segment of the pipe. Flow rate can also fluctuate as machines along the pipeline use the fluid or as it travels further down the line.

The same principle applies when using a Pipeline Junction to split the flow of a fluid. A Pipeline Junction is essentially a combination of a conveyor belt splitter and merger for fluids. Fluids passing through the Pipeline Junction will be split evenly among all connected sides, ensuring equal distribution where possible.

You don't need to worry about balancing fluid flow in pipes, as it will always try to spread equally across all pipes. This means you only need to focus on providing the right amount of fluid for your machines.

For example, eight Coal-Powered Generators each need 45 cubic meters of water per minute, totaling 360 cubic meters per minute. Three Water Extractors, which produce 120 cubic meters per minute each, provide enough water.

However, a Mk.1 Pipe's flow rate of 300 cubic meters is insufficient for 360 cubic meters. To solve this, place one Water Extractor at the other end of the pipe, ensuring all 360 cubic meters of water are within the pipes but not flowing in the same place.

Valves allow you to limit the flow rate of a pipeline. With Mk.2 Pipes that have a flow rate of 600 cubic meters, but only needing 360 cubic meters, a Valve at the start can limit the flow, allowing you to use the remaining water elsewhere.

Ultimately, you don't need to optimize a pipe's flow rate. As long as there is enough fluid within the pipeline to provide for each connected machine, the flow rate is irrelevant.