PC Suggestions needed for a lava pumping issue

Metalloman

Metalloman

Steampunker
Well, hello all!

I need your help with an issue I'm having with lava pumping.

  • I'll say in advance that I know the general behavior of liquids and pumping liquids in Terraria, also I've read each and every guide I have found about these topics and I've used the search feature in this forum, but with no help in understanding the cause of my problem.
  • I'll also say that the resolution of my issue itself is not vital but it has become a matter of principle, other than my attempt to not to let become useless my first real mechanics-featuring building. ~:sigh:


My problem so far:

While building an hellevator I encountered many lava pools so, as bucketing it away is a real pain, I decided to pump them in a dedicated Lava Containment Unit (LCU), featuring big containment pools, already considering the contingent liquid moltiplication that the Terraria engine makes possible (and somewhat unavoidable) and also looking forward for a possible obsidian farm.

After draining some pools with pumps I encountered this last one (not so big) which never drains out! I have my LCU almost full and I couldn't believe the amount of lava created with such a small pool...

Then I took in consideration some possible causes:

  1. The inlet pump is in the wrong position - I tried moving it in different positions but with no avail;
  2. The inlet pump has not to be completely submerged - I tried setting it up to be half submerged, but with no avail;
  3. Stairs naturally found in the pool could generate more lava than the quantity I pump out - I squared out the whole pool to avoid stairs but the issue stands still;
  4. I may need more than one inlet pumps - I tried to wire more inlet pumps to the outlet pump but it looks like only one is working (I can tell it by the occasional intermittence of only one of the pumps);
  5. I may have wired more than 2000 wires - this is not the case as I remember in using less than a full 999 stack of wires (but I may be WRONG);

Options that I still haven't tried:

  1. making separate pump set-ups , with differet inlet pumps separately wired to different outlet pumps;
  2. building intermediate pools, each connected with an outlet and an inlet pump (to do only if I surpassed the wire/block limit)

Other considerations/speculations:

  1. Is Underworld lava drainable? I haven't found any proof for it but also I haven't found anything against it so I really don't know;
  2. If the answer to the precedent question is "no", then: could it be possible that I can't drain that pool because it is on the border between the Cavern layer and the Underworld layer?

Screenshots of the current situation:

Sorry, I had to put dropbox links as those screeshots are too big

Current Situation

Current Situation - Wiring

Close up - for those who enjoy some wirings


My world so far:

(link to dropbox folder)



Thats all: look at the screenshots and, if you can, give me enlightment on this situation.~:D
As I've said before, this issue is not gamebreaking nor blocking, as I've beaten the WoF and I'm well into Hardmode: this is more a matter of principle, as I want to solve the issue itself and I want to see my building useful, after all.

Thank you in advance for any help you could give me, and if you know someone who could have the knowledge to help me, don't hesitate to tag them here! ~:p

EDIT: typo
 
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One thing there is to note and you may or may not have read this or mentioned is there is a particular depth at which the inlet will cease to function normally (at least in my past experience with pumping) This may be the issue and the only issue. You could perhaps try playing around with the inlet at various shallow depths and see what happens.

Alternatively you could use an old-school method of using contained water (more so a small water gen) to flood the pool and simply mine the obsidian. I can easily show you a very efficient water gen which is so small and only requires holding the mouse button to work. Seeing as you would like to keep some lava there are two things if you choose the flooding option.
1, use your current lava supply to cycle and generate more.
2, use a similar small lava gen to that of water but requires to hold the mouse button.
 
Hi Tulula!

Thanks for your reply, after which I need to clarify a thing and to ask you a clarification:

  1. I want to move all the lava in one single automated way from that little pool to my LCU (I want to pull a lever and see that lava draining away with pumps, if possible);
  2. the particular depth that I have to take into consideration is between the outlet and the inlet or is in regard of the inlet pump being too below the surface zero?
 
1, I can understand that, pull a lever and let it work ^-^
2, Im referring to the depth of the inlet pump in the lava, I found that if placed in too deep in lava the has a large width prevented me from pumping it out.
 
Tulula said:
2, Im referring to the depth of the inlet pump in the lava, I found that if placed in too deep in lava the has a large width prevented me from pumping it out.
Click to expand...

Oh... that is really annoying...(and enlighting, if true in all cases)

Inlet Pump Position

As you can see the greater point of depth in this pool is 14 blocks (I hoped I could have taken the mechanical ruler lines with the F1 shapshot, but I failed), and the inlet pump is only half submerged (you can see it): is the condition you're talking about still applied in this case?
 
It is the problem I found when trying to do a similar thing in my world to no success and is the only thing I can potentially see wrong. Though if this is not the case Im sure someone else will say so, for now Im gonna run a few tests.
 
Ok, I'm starting to make a copy of the files in another folder on the cloud, they're 11 MB each, so I need some minutes. Have I the need to post the two of them (*.wld AND *.wld.bak) or just one of them?
 
Great, thanks!

I've added the link to a folder in dropbox with my *.wld inside in the OP, feel free to check it and to try the LCU. ~:p
 
Not quite, its for of duplication by the liquid engine, upon a specific size the pools generate themselves thus giving you somewhat of an endless supply. Using sand to make makeshift bulkheads to divide the pool up to smaller portions makes it work just fine.
[DOUBLEPOST=1440772581,1440772458][/DOUBLEPOST]Picture, shows it draining
 
Its somewhat of similar feature to how Minecraft have endless water although it take a much larger size for Terraria. Though I am not entirely sure if 1, the engine is supposed to do that and 2, if it was meant on purpose to prevent emptying hell or what. But it works no less :]
 
@Tulula you gave me a good workaround that works without a great effort, many thanks! :D

I'm sad that I can't drain a small pool like that in one shot and that I have to rely on workarounds but it's ok anyway. Let's hope that the devs will improve the engine sooner or leater; meanwhile I'll use your suggestion.


Thanks again! :D
 
Yeah its not quite a hit and run automatic way but its the constraints of the engine Im afraid. At least it requires minimal effort to just drop some sand down ^-^ Also coincidentally sand placed in any liquid will delete the liquid block when you log out and back in again. ^-^ always something to remember :] Glad I could help out.
 
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