Windmills in 1.22.x, and mechanical power in general

[Xplosionist]

This is a question, but with some answers can reformat into a Guide so starting it here.  If inappropriate let me know.

I started VS in 1.21, and built windmills there.  I've build a heavy windmill in 1.22.  But, I definitely am light on a full understanding of all of the effects of power and speed and gearing in the system.  I'll start with general questions leading to what I plan to soon build:

1. I have a new homestead on/near a hill, and want a very powerful system to run a forge complex.  I figure two windmills, but I know there needs to be distance in 1.22 to avoid negative impacts.  If there are good guides for multi-windmill setup into one system in 1.22, let me know. 

2. I built a heavy windmill in my first forge in 1.22, but it's not clear to me what the heavy windmill buys over a normal windmill.  It doesn't _seem_ much more powerful than the tall 5-sail windmill I built in 1.21.  Does it provide more power?  More top speed?  How/where does one notice the differences between the two?

Finer details about how to maximize speed and still maintain power are needed too.  I know I fought with that a lot when learning this in 1.21 and redesigned that windmill and its mechanical interconnects many times to try to understand it.  I understand the concepts fairly well, but still have trouble picturing the effects and options of different connections.

Looking forward to making a guide here to answer these questions for others!  Thanks for input, all.

[Professor Dragon]

Hello @Xplosionist,

Start here for Mechanical Power in general and then follow the link on that page to Windmills in particular.

The main point of difference with a large heavy windmill is that it provides a lot more torque.
More torque means being able to have more connected devices, or longer axle runs, and so on. 
However, you need to be able to effectively gear up to turn that torque into speed for some applications.

Joining heavy windmills should be as simple as bringing the output of several (beyond wind disturbance distance) together via a large gear.
The power loss through the longer axle runs is not significant in comparison.

Finally, don't forget about water wheels. I searched until I found three rapids in my world, and joined them together to form my main power station, which runs all the time regardless of wind.
The largest Heavy Windmills are very expensive compared to regular windmills, and water wheels.
They are almost late game show-off items, rather than the technology that powers your future.

Professor Dragon.

 

 

 

Edited Monday at 08:57 PM by Professor Dragon

[Xplosionist]

Thank you.  I'll go through those in more detail later.

I did want to comment on water wheels though.  I spent a while looking for rapidly flowing water at one point, and built a home near it only to find that it wasn't the right kind of flowing water.  I've seen many complaints about this, trying to identify them is not as easy as it shoudl be.  But, I made a creative mode fix for that since I was already set on a plan, and moved on.
But more in general, I'm surprised to hear that you found multiple rapid flowing water.  I've wandered thousands of blocks and have seen like 3.  They seem to be very uncommon, at least in large areas of the world, and that's even _assuming_ I was able to successfully identify which of the falling streams of water on a hillside was the _right_ kind.
I like water wheels, but I think they just aren't fully baked yet, or are too uncommonly available.  So on the new house I'm going to be building, I'd decided on windmills.  Maybe I will be better off starting with a couple (or more?) regular windmills, then upgrade them if/as needed.  

Hopefully those guides you linked to above will give me the info I need to start planning a multi windmill power plant beside my new base.  Thanks again.

[Professor Dragon]

22 hours ago, Xplosionist said:

I'm surprised to hear that you found multiple rapid flowing water.  I've wandered thousands of blocks and have seen like 3.  They seem to be very uncommon, at least in large areas of the world, and that's even _assuming_ I was able to successfully identify which of the falling streams of water on a hillside was the _right_ kind.

Glad to have helped 

I agree that distinguishing rapids from regular water streams can be a little tricky. This could do with a game improvement.
They should not, however, be rare or hard to find. Most reasonable size mountains will have one or more.

• If you use the "Colour" map, they stand out by being a single line of water.  
• You'll need to get close to them to see the colour change.   
  If you have a bucket,  you can put a stream down NEAR and see if it is the same colour or not.  
• The colour change is not enough for me, but the SOUND is. I forget which slider, but Rapids are LOUD.  
• Treat them like finding bees - turn that slider all the way up and use your ears.  
  The final confirmation is to try and block the flow. Regular water spills everywhere, Rapids will stay in a single column if you try and divert them.  
• CAREFUL - Do not destroy the source block!

Please note that I travelled in my world from my starting point in the temperate zone, down past the equator to the next temperate zone, and back by a different route before I found my ideal base site, so that was several hundreds of thousands of blocks. I did not need to do this, I just wanted a big tour. It did however, let me find a base location in a default world setting with ideal temperature, plant mix, an ocean, flat area and three rapids together, near a good triple trader combination. The ocean, triple trader and climate combination was much harder to find than the rapids. I had enough height on the mountain to aqueduct them to a central location.

Finally, remember that Creative Mode is always an option. Have the PERFECT base location, but the rapids are not quite right, or missing? Boom! Add them in. Just imagine that one of the Traders sells a fresh water bore service.

Professor Dragon.

Edited Tuesday at 07:46 PM by Professor Dragon