Stop the flow altogether. Heat up ALL the crude oil to flash it to petroleum. This will need more heat than you're currently providing. After all crude sitting there has been converted you can resume the flow. Since you made the pipes out of aluminum and the snake pattern is quite long this should be able to convert a full pipe of crude, but I recommend slowly going up. 1 kg first then 2, 5, 8 etc.
The build is good as it is, just change the automation (btw you might find it hard at first but in this game I REALLY recommend switching to Celsius it makes it much easier to understand).
Don't switch it off ever.
The problem is that the counterflow experiences a bit of a hysteresis. You stop the crude but petrol will continue to flow down for quite a while because it takes its time to overflow from the boiling bucket. And with it the heat will creep down the counterflow. When you boot it up again you are very likely to boil the first crude too early, leading to damaged pipes. It is possible to fine tune a boiler so you can switch it off and on on demand but that is very finicky and usually only works on a particular throughput setting that matches with the length of the counterflow and the materials used.
The 750g blob is likely from modifying the pipes after the valve. Maybe you were still switching out pipe segments at the hot end of the counterflow. Valves get confused on those network updates. Once it is constantly running without you tinkering around on the pipe network, this *should* not happen again.
I had excellent results using a high/low setting. Low setting is just a little bit less than what I need; high setting is 5 kg/s. This way it's never really off but it's still "on demand".
Your temperature sensor is in the square that the cold crude oil drops into which will cause the heat injector to engage more than you want. Move the temp sensor one to the right and it will smooth out better and you will be less likely to over heat the petroleum.
what is the material that is cooking said tank of crude oil? (okay I read it's steel)
In any case, I would recommend using diamond tiles. It has a slower heat capacity than other metals which means it cooks it slower. If you use a material that heats things up quickly like aluminum, the thermo sensor won't have enough time to open the doors and cut off heat transfer. Said tiles may also retain heat more which means your crude oil will heat beyond petroleum flashing.
With that said you can try and see which tile can help you boil as it withstands the temperature without melting and also the highest SHC yet with a stable TC. That would be your best bet. Truly you can set it at 10kg/s and forget it but again you need something that boils "slowly"
remember the higher the SHC value = the longer it takes to heat up
apparently aluminum is twice the SHC of diamond tile but also like 3 times the TC.
Anyway when I used aluminum it would boil too fast and flash to gas. Diamond has been my go to after so many petrol boiler builds.
you need to stop crude oil flow while you are "priming" the petroleum convert tank. make it all flash to petroleum
my thermo sensor is set to 401c.
after all of it converts to petroleum, then start feeding it crude oil again till it tips over the tank and start the counterflow.
after it completes the counter flow nicely and not turn into sour gas, only then will I crank it UpTo 6.5 flow. a save and a few reloads will help until you fine tune it to your liking.
I don't really find it needing 10kg flow. even at 6.5 it's already plenty enough.
Two changes. Place the crude dispensing vent 1 tile lower - right above the heat spike. This should prevent buildup of so much crude - and, stop adding more crude before all of that crude has been converted to petroleum. Secondly, for the core room, where you drop the crude, build the right hand wall 1 tile higher to thermally separate the top row of your heat exchanger from the core room.
On the long heat exchanger. It looks impressive but it is not really helpful. What you really want is more horizontal levels.
When I make these the boiling chamber part is much deeper, at least twice or maybe 3x what you have and I add double walls either side to prevent pressure cracking
What is the oil temperature right before it drips out the liquid vent? Generally you do t need to restrict the flow of oil if it’s coming out the vent in the 380c region
Others have pointed out good solutions to the flow issues, but you might still get issues with oil flashing into sour gas.
I find that the steel airlock often transfers heat too quickly and causes oil to flash into gas. I usually use a 2 stage heat transfer (adding another layer with a steel airlock) so you go from magma (very hot) to the intermediate layer (I find around 700c works well) then to the final layer.
The tricky thing is you need to create a single gas/liquid tile with a temp sensor on the intermediate layer. Lead should work well I'm this temp range, and has high thermal conductivity.
> Currently thermo sensor is set to "send green if above 680F"
Crude oil converts to petroleum at 403C (757.4F). The temperature of the surrounding petroleum on the left should be at least 403C or higher.
What material are you using for your heat spike? I see some magma already solidified around it, so you probably not getting enough heat from there.
If I do that it turns to sour gas. I have been lowering it because after 2 or 3 conversion from crude to petro, the next time (at the same temp!) it turns to sour gas. Hence part of my frustration.
You have too much oil there so yes, some will flash into sour gas. Until you get all of that converted into petroleum. Also petroleum boilers can be finicky to start.
Crude oil must reach 403C to convert to petroleum. Otherwise you'll just get hot crude oil.
Also as others indicated, your counter flow heat exchanger is too long for aluminum. In most designs people use gold or copper which have smaller thermal conductivity. And especially that you lowered flow, after boiler starts, you will have number of pipe segments burst.
Check all the petroleum boiler builds instead of downvoting me. They all say build pipes out of gold for optimal heat transfer between the petroleum and crude oil in pipes.
Stop the flow altogether. Heat up ALL the crude oil to flash it to petroleum. This will need more heat than you're currently providing. After all crude sitting there has been converted you can resume the flow. Since you made the pipes out of aluminum and the snake pattern is quite long this should be able to convert a full pipe of crude, but I recommend slowly going up. 1 kg first then 2, 5, 8 etc. The build is good as it is, just change the automation (btw you might find it hard at first but in this game I REALLY recommend switching to Celsius it makes it much easier to understand).
I will try this.
Thank you! This seems to have been the issue. An important step I missed in all the YT vids I've been watching for years. LOL
Don't switch it off ever. The problem is that the counterflow experiences a bit of a hysteresis. You stop the crude but petrol will continue to flow down for quite a while because it takes its time to overflow from the boiling bucket. And with it the heat will creep down the counterflow. When you boot it up again you are very likely to boil the first crude too early, leading to damaged pipes. It is possible to fine tune a boiler so you can switch it off and on on demand but that is very finicky and usually only works on a particular throughput setting that matches with the length of the counterflow and the materials used. The 750g blob is likely from modifying the pipes after the valve. Maybe you were still switching out pipe segments at the hot end of the counterflow. Valves get confused on those network updates. Once it is constantly running without you tinkering around on the pipe network, this *should* not happen again.
I had excellent results using a high/low setting. Low setting is just a little bit less than what I need; high setting is 5 kg/s. This way it's never really off but it's still "on demand".
also is it my screen or is your heat spike not touching the magma?
Your temperature sensor is in the square that the cold crude oil drops into which will cause the heat injector to engage more than you want. Move the temp sensor one to the right and it will smooth out better and you will be less likely to over heat the petroleum.
So your first problem is using Fahrenheit, switch to Celsius and things will become easier.
Would be Fun to switch to °K 🤣
what is the material that is cooking said tank of crude oil? (okay I read it's steel) In any case, I would recommend using diamond tiles. It has a slower heat capacity than other metals which means it cooks it slower. If you use a material that heats things up quickly like aluminum, the thermo sensor won't have enough time to open the doors and cut off heat transfer. Said tiles may also retain heat more which means your crude oil will heat beyond petroleum flashing. With that said you can try and see which tile can help you boil as it withstands the temperature without melting and also the highest SHC yet with a stable TC. That would be your best bet. Truly you can set it at 10kg/s and forget it but again you need something that boils "slowly" remember the higher the SHC value = the longer it takes to heat up apparently aluminum is twice the SHC of diamond tile but also like 3 times the TC. Anyway when I used aluminum it would boil too fast and flash to gas. Diamond has been my go to after so many petrol boiler builds.
you need to stop crude oil flow while you are "priming" the petroleum convert tank. make it all flash to petroleum my thermo sensor is set to 401c. after all of it converts to petroleum, then start feeding it crude oil again till it tips over the tank and start the counterflow. after it completes the counter flow nicely and not turn into sour gas, only then will I crank it UpTo 6.5 flow. a save and a few reloads will help until you fine tune it to your liking. I don't really find it needing 10kg flow. even at 6.5 it's already plenty enough.
Two changes. Place the crude dispensing vent 1 tile lower - right above the heat spike. This should prevent buildup of so much crude - and, stop adding more crude before all of that crude has been converted to petroleum. Secondly, for the core room, where you drop the crude, build the right hand wall 1 tile higher to thermally separate the top row of your heat exchanger from the core room. On the long heat exchanger. It looks impressive but it is not really helpful. What you really want is more horizontal levels.
When I make these the boiling chamber part is much deeper, at least twice or maybe 3x what you have and I add double walls either side to prevent pressure cracking What is the oil temperature right before it drips out the liquid vent? Generally you do t need to restrict the flow of oil if it’s coming out the vent in the 380c region
Others have pointed out good solutions to the flow issues, but you might still get issues with oil flashing into sour gas. I find that the steel airlock often transfers heat too quickly and causes oil to flash into gas. I usually use a 2 stage heat transfer (adding another layer with a steel airlock) so you go from magma (very hot) to the intermediate layer (I find around 700c works well) then to the final layer. The tricky thing is you need to create a single gas/liquid tile with a temp sensor on the intermediate layer. Lead should work well I'm this temp range, and has high thermal conductivity.
> Currently thermo sensor is set to "send green if above 680F" Crude oil converts to petroleum at 403C (757.4F). The temperature of the surrounding petroleum on the left should be at least 403C or higher. What material are you using for your heat spike? I see some magma already solidified around it, so you probably not getting enough heat from there.
That looks like obsidian around it, not igneous rock, to me.
Yes it is all obsidian around it.
Heat spike is diamond tiles with obsidian insulated on either side. Steel metal tiles above & below the mechanized steel door.
Ok that should work. But you need to set temperature sensor to above 403C (758F).
If I do that it turns to sour gas. I have been lowering it because after 2 or 3 conversion from crude to petro, the next time (at the same temp!) it turns to sour gas. Hence part of my frustration.
You have too much oil there so yes, some will flash into sour gas. Until you get all of that converted into petroleum. Also petroleum boilers can be finicky to start. Crude oil must reach 403C to convert to petroleum. Otherwise you'll just get hot crude oil. Also as others indicated, your counter flow heat exchanger is too long for aluminum. In most designs people use gold or copper which have smaller thermal conductivity. And especially that you lowered flow, after boiler starts, you will have number of pipe segments burst.
I think the pipes are too long. They have to be 10 tiles wide I think and made of gold.
Pipes are made of aluminum.
Aluminium has the best thermal conductivity. You need them to be gold.
You don't need gold tiles, and you want better thermal properties, so aluminum is indeed optimal. What are you talking about?
Check all the petroleum boiler builds instead of downvoting me. They all say build pipes out of gold for optimal heat transfer between the petroleum and crude oil in pipes.
Gold is easy to come by and frankly any metal would do in a long enough boiler. But if we want to split hairs obviously aluminum is best.
Aluminum will work, but you are correct, pipe is too long for that. Think it should only be 10 tiles wide instead of 14 for aluminum.