Boiler

A boiler consumes fuel steadily, so its practical throughput depends on the fuel type and on the fuel delivery method. With coal, a single boiler uses roughly one piece every 2.2 seconds, which is about 0.45 coal per second. Different fuels scale from that baseline by their fuel value: wood is consumed twice as fast, while solid fuel lasts about three times longer.

This consumption rate is useful for sizing fuel supply. A full yellow belt of coal, which carries 15 coal per second, can support about 60 MW of power generation and feed roughly 33.3 boilers. When planning early steam power, this makes belt throughput the limiting factor rather than the boiler count itself.

Fuel density also matters for buffering and logistics. A single stack of coal stores 200 MJ, while a full steam storage tank stores 750 MJ, so chests provide a much denser energy buffer than a steam tank. That makes solid fuel handling and compact fuel storage especially useful when building up steam systems or keeping them running through supply interruptions.

• Coal: about 0.45 coal/s per boiler
• Wood: consumed 2× faster than coal
• Solid fuel: lasts about 3× longer than coal
• One yellow belt of coal: enough for about 33.3 boilers
• Coal stack energy: 200 MJ
• Full steam storage tank energy: 750 MJ

Because boiler demand scales directly with fuel value, the same fuel stream can support very different numbers of boilers depending on the material used. Solid fuel stretches supply further, while wood is suitable only where low efficiency is acceptable.