Electric Blast Furnace
The Electric Blast Furnace (EBF) is a critical multiblock machine that must be made in late LV in order to progress, as it is the only way to process Aluminium at that tier. It smelts metal dusts into ingots at higher temperatures than can be attained in simpler furnaces, at the cost of significant electricity usage.
The EBF is often the first GT multiblock new players make, and as such is a common source of frustration and issues. Unlike single block machines, the Electric Blast Furnace has multiple valid configurations and if incorrectly built will void its recipe ingredients, wasting resources and power. Its recipe capabilities are determined by both the Coil block used and Energy Hatch(es) it's built with.
How to Build
The Electric Blast Furnace is a multiblock structure, requiring specifically placed component parts to form a single machine. The EBF is 3x3x4 in size; four blocks tall with a 3x3 footprint. While not affected by rain, any Generators or Battery Buffers connected to it can catch fire and explode if exposed, so it's best covered or placed indoors. Use F9 to check chunk borders and ensure the EBF is contained in a single chunk. Partially loaded multiblocks are prone to deforming or exploding.
Requires:
- Electric Blast Furnace (controller)
- x16 Cupronickel+ Coil Block
- x1+ Input Bus (LV+)
- x1 Output Bus (LV+)
- x1+ Input Hatch (LV+)
- x1 Output Hatch (LV+, optional)
- x1 Maintenance Hatch
- x2+ Energy Hatch (LV+), or x1+ Energy Hatch (MV+)
- x1 Muffler Hatch (LV+)
- x9-11 Heat Proof Machine Casing (minimum 0)
- x2-4+ Amps of power supply, tier determined by Energy Hatch(es)
Bottom Layer
- Place the controller in front center of the bottom layer.
- The Input Hatch, Input Bus, Output Bus, Maintenance Hatch, and Energy Hatches can go anywhere on the bottom layer.
- Fill the rest of the 3x3 with Heat Proof Machine Casings.
Middle Layers
- The second and third layers of the EBF are rings of x8 Cupronickel Coil Blocks, each.
- The center of both layers should be empty.
Top Layer
- The muffler goes in the center of the top layer, facing upwards. Wrench to rotate if needed.
- It 'must' have an empty air block above it.
- The Output Hatch, if used, goes in any of the other eight positions.
- Fill the rest of the 3x3 with Heat Proof Machine Casings.
Component Explanation
LV is the minimum tier for hatches and busses, but they can be upgraded later for more capacity or greater effect. The Input Bus is for supplying solid items and setting a control circuit or ghost circuit, while the Input Hatch holds liquids or gasses. The EBF cannot be supplied with Fluid Cells in the Input Bus; liquids and gasses must go into the Input Hatch's tank. The Input Hatch can hold a reserve of fluid cells and will automatically empty them as it drains, capacity permitting. It cannot empty cells that have more fluid in them than it can hold at once.
The Output Bus is where finished items will be deposited after processing. If a valid inventory is placed adjacent to the Output Bus's output face (dark grey square with orange triangles), it will automatically push items into the inventory, no Conveyor needed. Otherwise items will accumulate in the Output Bus until emptied. If the Output Bus is full, the EBF will continue to work and destroy any new outputs. Ensure there is sufficient inventory space or the bus to empty at all times. It checks each slot of an inventory so later on this may produce some lag.
The Output Hatch is optional and will collect waste gasses for some recipes (C02/CO/SO2, mostly ore dusts. The amount collected is based on the tier of the Muffler Hatch and at LV it will get nothing (0%); a MV Muffler recovers 13% of the possible total. The quantities shown in NEI are for the 'best' Output Hatch (UHV).
The Muffler Hatch gives a bonus reduction to pollution output and determines the percentage of waste gas recovered for some recipes. By default an LV Muffler Hatch has no reduction or gas recovery, but is still required to successfully form the multiblock. A Portable Scanner will show the current pollution reduction afforded by the Muffler, or look at the tooltip in NEI.
The Maintenance Hatch is where any maintenance issues need to be addressed. There are no tiers for this block.
Each Energy Hatch accepts up to 2A of its tier. Since even the most basic EBF recipes require 120 EU/t, it needs to be supplied with 4A of LV to reach MV energy tier. If there's even a single maintenance issue, the EBF can still run but will need three LV Energy Hatches accepting a total of 5A of LV power. Fixing any maintenance issues promptly is far less costly in the long run.
Coils determine what recipes the EBF can do, and how well it does them. Some recipes will require more heat than Cupronickel coils provide. For instance, Energetic Alloy requires 2200K, while Cupronickel Coils only provide 1800K- thus, a EBF cannot smelt Energetic Alloy until its coils are upgraded. An EBF or group of wallsharing EBF's can only have one coil type.
Bonus Heating
An extra bonus value will be added to your EBF's heat capacity of 100K * (energy tier - 2), where LV is tier 1, MV is tier 2, etc. This will allow some items to be smelted more efficiently at certain tiers, as described below. The basic setup of two LV Energy Hatches @ 2A each is MV level energy, which simply wipes out the - 2 penalty. With an HV Energy Hatch or two MV Hatches, the EBF has a 100K heat bonus. The Portable Scanner can be used to read an EBF's heat capacity and energy tier.
Making Your EBF Work
Next, you will need to perform maintenance, set up the power supply, inputs and outputs, and then finally start it up. Use a Soft Mallet to turn the EBF on if it doesn't power up automatically. If it voids a recipe, the EBF will disable itself to avoid wasting more resources.
Circuits
Many recipes require a programmed Circuit or Ghost Circuit to be set. When using a programmed circuit item, place it in the Input Bus along with the other recipe ingredients. It is not consumed in the process. Make sure to have the right one for the recipe. To set a ghost circuit, right/left click on the box in the lower right corner of the Input Bus to change the number, or shift-right click to choose a circuit setting directly.
Maintenance
The controller will display messages if maintenance is required, along with **HAS PROBLEMS** in red when the Waila tooltip is checked. Five of the six maintenance tasks are done with basic tools, while the 6th requires a Soldering Iron. Alternatively, Duct Tape can be used to fix all of them at once. If you do not have a soldering iron, you can run the EBF with one maintenance problem not fixed, but will need 3 energy hatches.)
To maintain your EBF, tools must be used on the Maintenance Hatch. The controller's GUI will have a list of the maintenance problems. When first built, the EBF will require all maintenance to be done, and maintenance problems will periodically (but rarely) pop up after that. The "Better than Duct Tape" quest has a list of all the maintenance problems and what tools fix them. Open the Maintenance Hatch GUI and click on the slot in the center with the appropriate tool. The IC2 Tool Box can be used to hold multiple tools and use them all at once by right-clicking the Maintenance Hatch exterior.
The "Circuitry burned out" message is the hardest to deal with. It requires a charged Soldering Iron with at least 10k EU and soldering material; tin, lead, or soldering alloy fine wire or rod. Tin fine wire is recommended, as it's easy to produce and commonly available. The rest are easy, and only require a small amount of durability from an appropriate GT tool. Alternatively, duct tape can be used on the Maintenance Hatch to fix all 6 problems at once.
| Message | Tool to Fix |
|---|---|
| Pipe is loose. | Wrench |
| Screws are loose. | Screwdriver |
| Something is stuck. | Soft Mallet |
| Platings are dented. | Hammer |
| Circuitry burned out. | Soldering Iron |
| That doesn't belong there. | Crowbar |
Power
The EBF requires a constant 120 EU/t to make aluminium or steel, not accounting for losses from transmission. With the "Circuitry burnt out" maintenance issue, it will instead require 132 EU/t. Each Energy Hatch can accept a maximum of 2A, which is 64 EU/t. Thus two LV hatches are required for the basic Electric Blast Furnace, or three if it has a maintenance problem. Use as few cables as possible. More than two blocks of cabling will reduce each amp to 29 EU/t- 4 amps of that is only 116 EU/t, and the EBF won't run. 2x Tin Cable is the absolute minimum that should be used; copper cable has even worse energy loss.
Battery Buffers are another option. Each buffer needs at least two batteries to provide 2A, which means a four slot or bigger buffer. Buffers are HIGHLY recommended for use with unbuffered Steam Turbines, due to their inconsistent nature. They are not necessary for Combustion Generators or Gas Turbines, but can be useful. Buffers can also help where the current power infrastructure is insufficient to run the EBF constantly.
Upgrading
The Electric Blast Furnace running at 120 EU/t is at its most efficient. Keep in mind that upgrading the voltage will quadruple the power requirement, but shorten processing time by half by base. The coils used for a recipe also affect how much power it consumes.
Redstone Alloy Cable
With a functional EBF, Redstone Alloy Cables can be made which are completely lossless. This is a priority upgrade for both any cables connecting the EBF to its power source(s), and makes for a fantastic backbone power distribution line for a LV machine room.
MV Generator
A MV generator can be used to power the EBF instead of 4A of LV power and two LV Energy Hatches. If choosing to do so, ensure there is only ONE MV Energy Hatch instead of two, otherwise it will not work. Multiple MV Energy Hatches will cause the EBF to expect overclocking to HV, the same way it did when initially set up with two LV Energy Hatches to achieve MV.
Upgrading the Voltage
120 EU/t is insufficient power to smelt many recipes, the most important one being stainless steel. The EBF must be supplied with 4 amps of MV into two MV Energy Hatches to achieve 480EU/t, the required power for stainless steel. Keep in mind that running 120 EU/t recipes (such as aluminium or steel) will consume TWICE as much power at 480 EU/t. It may be desirable to set up a second EBF dedicated to higher power recipes if resources allow.
Automation
Thankfully, automating an EBF is extremely easy. Input hatches accept fluids from any pipe, or manually in the GUI using cells. Input buses accept items from item pipes or hoppers. Output Hatches will auto-output fluids into pipes, but will void them automatically if the hatch is full. Output Buses will automatically output items into any container in front of them, or into an item pipe or hopper, but will void any new outputs if completely full.
Wallsharing
Multiple Electric Blast Furnaces can be built using less resources by Wallsharing. Like the Bricked Blast Furnace, a wallshared EBF can share one or two sides of blocks with another adjacent EBF. The same type of Coil must be used across all wallshared furnaces, and due to their high Pollution output consideration should be given to the build location. Maintenance Hatches cannot be shared and it's not recommended to share Energy Hatches due to the EBF's high power demands.
Troubleshooting
The EBF runs for a while, or for only a second, and then turns off, usually deleting inputs in the process
- Make sure you are giving it enough power. See "Powering your EBF" for details.
The EBF will not start, or flashes a green light but does nothing when turned on
- Hit the EBF with a Soft Mallet to enable it.
- Check the recipe using NEI. Many items/gasses/fluids look similar.
- The correct processing gas/fluid is in the Input Hatch.
- All the items are present in sufficient quantity in the Input Bus.
- Check the proper programmed circuit / ghost circuit is set in the Input Bus.
- Check the gas (or secondary ingredient) and item combination matches the set circuit.
- Make sure the Muffler Hatch is not blocked by another block.
- Make sure the Muffler Hatch is facing up.
- It could also be caused by the EBF not getting any power at all.
Structure Incomplete
- Try breaking the controller and replacing it.
- Check that nothing has occupied the interior of the EBF, such as invisible lighting blocks.
- If the EBF has never formed before, check that all the blocks are in the correct place and orientation. Muffler must face up, Controller must face forward.
Upgrading
Tips
- A full Output Bus will void any extra items produced.
- Insufficient energy supply will destroy the currently processed material.
- If you add an output hatch to the top layer, you can capture output gases for processing.
- Do NOT build a multiblock machine over chunk borders. Doing so can lead to unpredictable behavior.
- Before using the Electric Blast Furnace for the first time, maintenance must be performed.
- To activate or deactivate the Electric Blast Furnace, hit its control block with a Soft Mallet.
- EBFs can share walls, just like the BBF. They can also share input and output hatches. Energy hatches sometimes have issues if shared, so recommendation is to not share them.
- There can also be more than one input hatch or bus. This way you can dedicate one hatch per input gas.
- Filled large fluid cells (search for large*cell in NEI) can be used in the Input Hatches as buffers.
- Because of the high pollution levels, keep your muffler upgraded to the highest tier available.
- Do not mix different types of Heating Coils; the EBF will not work.