I have 3 wheels in a channeled-out brook that freezes every winter.
I have a "bus" that links the wheels to a single axle, and a switchable gear atop that axle.
When the channeled-out brook freezes the system freezes. The 3 wheels all say "Frozen Here" and everything else shows "Frozen Elsewhere". Good so far.
When I switch off the main bus, though, 2 really weird things happen: first, the part of the system disconnected from the main bus stays on "Frozen Elsewhere". Every component. Second, the 3 "frozen" wheels start turning and generating power -- on ice!
If I disconnect at the next gearbox up the "Frozen Elsewhere" section stays in the middle and the wind farm spins up the rest of the system.
I have enough power from my wind farm to power everything with power to spare, so power deficit isn't an issue.
Here is a rough diagram of my power system:
code:
WWW
***
|
*--%--*--*-(M)
1 % 2 o
The "%%" is an underground pump to increase water flow to my fort. (I use a lot of water.) It is well away from outdoors and never comes into contact with ice.Point 1 is the Main Bus. It is switchable.
Point 2 is the Outdoor Systems Switch.
"o" is a down axle providing power to the fort.
"(M)" is the windmill farm.
If the wheels freeze and I disengage the Main Bus (1), everything else stays frozen and the wheels start turning in the ice.
If I disengage the Outdoor Systems Switch (2), everything after it turns freely but everything between points 1 and 2 stay "Frozen Elsewhere".