Water & Steam Balance Guide
Water & Steam Balance Guide
Enter water source, recovered condensate, process demand, and measured loss as separate rates. The planner reports the mathematical deficit or surplus without assuming steam converts to water or proving an infinite loop.
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Water Cycle Principles
Treat water and steam as two separate ledgers. For water, record only the external source, recovered condensate, process consumption, and waste rates visible in your current version. For steam, create a separate ledger with its own source and demand. Do not infer a cross-phase ratio from a pipe label, machine name, or community layout.
The calculator applies a public conservation equation to those user-entered rates. A zero net balance means the entered values cancel within the fixed 0.000001 tolerance. It does not prove “infinite water,” permanent boiler uptime, transport capacity, or any hidden game behavior.
Diagnostic Troubleshooting
The observed water level or input buffer decreases during a steady test window
The entered source plus recovery may be lower than the entered demand plus loss, or the observation window may include an unrecorded interruption.
Measure every visible rate over the same window, enter each line separately, and review the substituted formula before changing the layout.The water ledger balances but the running system still stops
Mathematical rate balance does not model transport limits, startup buffers, power interruptions, or unverified machine behavior.
Keep the balanced ledger as one test result, then verify transport and machine state separately in the current build.Recovered condensate appears lower than expected
The expected rate may come from a different patch, a different observation window, or an implicit steam-to-water assumption.
Remove the assumed value and enter only the recovery rate you can verify directly. Mark the field unknown when the current build does not expose it.Calculating Boiler Makeup Water
To find the exact makeup flow needed to prevent power blackouts:
- Sum the external water source streams you verified (
externalSource). - Sum only directly observed recovered condensate (
recovered). - Sum the measured process demand (
processConsumption) and explicit loss (waste). - Apply the linear balance formula:
netBalance = externalSource + recovered - processConsumption - waste. - If
netBalance < 0, the required makeup rate equals-netBalance.
Use the interactive Material Balance Planner to model the exact water and steam rates you can verify.
Water & Steam Balance FAQ
Can steam condensation loops run indefinitely without external water?
This guide cannot confirm an infinite water loop. Enter the recovery and loss rates you measured in your current build; a balanced ledger is a mathematical result, not proof that every in-game condition remains stable forever.
How do I know if my steam turbines have sufficient water recovery?
Record the visible recovery output and the visible demand over the same time window. Enter both without converting steam to water. A negative water ledger shows the additional external rate needed under those inputs.
Sources and verification
- Steam Store: Sandustry (Opens in a new tab)
Valve / Hooded Horse · Checked 2026-08-20 · Store page details, platform compatibility (Windows, macOS, Linux), and Early Access release date 2026-08-13.
- Material Balance Formula & Transparency Specification (Opens in a new tab)
Sandustry Guide Editorial · Checked 2026-08-20 · Repository document docs/material-balance-formulas.md: linear conservation equations for water/steam, residue, and generic chain throughput.