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Author Topic: Freezing Water  (Read 2256 times)

Leonidas

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Freezing Water
« on: November 02, 2008, 02:13:12 am »

I just learned that the little brook near my fortress freezes solid in the winter, and I really have my heart set on putting a series of waterfalls through my fortress.  So I'm looking for ways to avoid the freeze.

1.  Can I avoid the freeze by filling a reservoir, cutting it off from the river, and then running the reservoir river in a loop underground?

2.  If #1 works, then will it still work if I'm pumping reservoir water up to the surface as part of the loop?
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Tanelorn

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2008, 03:35:34 am »

1.Water in reservoirs will not freeze if the reservoir is underground (subterranean tag when you use 'k' to look at the tile). Water in reservoirs above ground will freeze.
Do note than tiles under a ceiling (i.e. with a constructed floor above them) are still considered to be above ground and will freeze.

2.Water leaving a subterranean reservoir and getting exposed to "above ground" conditions will freeze instantly. Frozen water can damage constructions (hatches, grates and so on)

I hope this helps.
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Leonidas

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #2 on: November 02, 2008, 05:56:09 am »

Thanks for the tips.  How often does that damage to constructions happen?
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Untelligent

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #3 on: November 02, 2008, 01:32:59 pm »

Every time. If water freezes, it instantly destroys any building (or kitten) inside it. No exceptions.

Well, maybe fortifications and stairs. Not sure how that would work. Constructed floors are almost certainly safe.
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Magua

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #4 on: November 02, 2008, 01:48:29 pm »

I've got no firsthand experience with freezing water into ice, but if it works like water+magma=obsidian, then it destroys anything in that square -- constructed floors, fortifications, stairs, etc.
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Leonidas

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #5 on: November 02, 2008, 04:15:17 pm »

OK, so the ice destroys anything inside of it.  What about adjacent to it?  Suppose that the floodgates are closed instead of open, the pumps are disconnected instead of operating, and the hatches are closed instead of open.  Will that protect them from the ice?

And do you have any idea what depth of water will do this?  I'm planning to shut off my waterfall (floodgates, pumps, and hatches) at the start of winter, but it's possible that some water could still be puddling around when the first storm hits.
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Warlord255

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #6 on: November 02, 2008, 04:31:05 pm »

In my experience water as shallow as 1/7 will instantly freeze and create a wall. So if you want to engineer a massive ice-wall operation, fill the entire area first before punching skylights.
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Magua

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #7 on: November 02, 2008, 08:27:27 pm »

Since you want this for indoor waterfalls only, you shouldn't have to worry about ice.  Just ensure that once it's let inside, the water doesn't travel through any areas that have been exposed to the sun.  That is, to answer your original questions, yes, you can divert water underground and then run it in a loop, no, it won't work if part of that loop is on the surface.
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Leonidas

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Re: Freezing Water
« Reply #8 on: November 02, 2008, 10:39:41 pm »

Since you want this for indoor waterfalls only, you shouldn't have to worry about ice.  Just ensure that once it's let inside, the water doesn't travel through any areas that have been exposed to the sun.  That is, to answer your original questions, yes, you can divert water underground and then run it in a loop, no, it won't work if part of that loop is on the surface.

Yeah, and that's where I'm stuck.  The waterfall shafts have already been exposed to sunlight, all the way down.  Oh well.  I'm going to try just shutting everything down at the start of winter and opening it back up in the spring.  Like a water park.
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