why the hell can a steam engine barely even power a boiler
like it's literally 1 to 1, what's the fucking point of this mod if you cant even use it to replace boilers for power generation

I think it was designed for places that need steam, but have no burnable things. Ie no coal nearby. Probably aimed for modded play. It used to be interesting for things like https://mods.factorio.com/mod/Transport_Drones?from=search when its used with a mod that makes it use steam for power. But you also don't want to create an endless, self powering forever engine...

thats the thing, i want to make the power generation exclusively on electric boilers, but when i try, it runs for a bit but then suddenly cuts out, even though i have more then enough steam engines to power everything, wich i find wierd, would be nice if there was some way to make the boilers the primary users of electricity, because maybe that is the reason for this, i currently have 24 electric boilers and 48 steam engines, ill try to make more in case that is the reason, but not sure

i dont mid the boilers using so much power for heating steam, i think it balances out the place and forget idea

thats the thing, i want to make the power generation exclusively on electric boilers, but when i try, it runs for a bit but then suddenly cuts out, even though i have more then enough steam engines to power everything, wich i find wierd, would be nice if there was some way to make the boilers the primary users of electricity, because maybe that is the reason for this, i currently have 24 electric boilers and 48 steam engines, ill try to make more in case that is the reason, but not sure

ok,k forget this, i just noticed that it produces only 30 steam ( enough for one steam engine ) guess that im gonna go back to coal boilers T-T

The purpose of the electric boiler is just for making steam for recipes, and to build up steam storage with excess electricity. It cannot be used to generate power on its own, since it puts out exactly as much steam power as it takes in electric power.

You're supposed to use it in tandem with solar panels to make steam for your base at night when the panels aren't active, or for coal liquefaction. That's it. Electric boilers aren't perpetual energy machines.

What you're trying to do is make electricity from electricity - which is not how power works. If you want to use it for power generation, you'll have to combine it with a mod that has steam engines with over 100% efficiency, like Yuoki Industry's Tech Power Turbine (when that mod updates).

While I haven't done the math, in a real-world situation, with losses, due to inefficiencies, you couldn't generate more electricity than was consumed to generate the steam that powered the generator.

However, one application that the electric boilers really works well with is as a steam battery. You can use solar panels to generate electricity during daylight hours, store the steam, then using it at night to generate the electricity.

There is another mod, 'Time Tools' that I've used to accomplish this setup.

You can easily modify this mod to alter the steam, or power consumption to match your own play style.

While I haven't done the math, in a real-world situation, with losses, due to inefficiencies, you couldn't generate more electricity than was consumed to generate the steam that powered the generator.

However, one application that the electric boilers really works well with is as a steam battery. You can use solar panels to generate electricity during daylight hours, store the steam, then using it at night to generate the electricity.

There is another mod, 'Time Tools' that I've used to accomplish this setup.

You can easily modify this mod to alter the steam, or power consumption to match your own play style.

i tried extracting the zip file to do just that, but i couldnt find a way to increase the steam output, could probably decrease power consumption though, but then, if this mod gets an update i will have to edit it again. Also, yes, in real life it is impossible, but this is a game, i dont want to use a cheat mod that just gives free electricity, ( for example. no resource input to make, or no pollution ) thats why i was gonna use it, but, a solar and electric boiler setup could be interesting to set up, though, im not that familiar with circuit networks, well, a reason to learn i guess

then again, everyone has a different play style, so it doesnt bother me too much, and i hope that i dont offend anyone with this :-)

@Cosette If you want, I can add mod options for tweaking the electric boiler and its efficiency to my in-progress tweak mod, and I can message back when I upload it.

sure, i would love that :-)

Will do, then.

Update, still working on it. I haven't had luck increasing the efficiency of the electric boiler itself. Seems the effectivity attribute only works on things that burn physical fuels. That said, I've added an option to tweak steam engine efficiency. If you set steam engines above 100% efficiency, it still allows you to power an electric boiler indefinitely, as the steam engine will produce all the power the boiler needs to work and a little extra. Will that work for you?

seems good to me