How to Make Reactor Vessel in Minecraft

Reactor Vessel — Minecraft block

Reactor Vessel

Reactor Vessel is the Industrial Craft 2 shell block of the Pressure Vessel Reactor, the 5x5x5 multiblock that converts a Nuclear Reactor into Hot Coolant output.

Block ID ic2:reactor-vessel
Mod Industrial Craft 2
Game versions
1.19.2 1.12.2

Description

Reactor Vessel is the structural shell block of the Industrial Craft 2 Pressure Vessel Reactor (Fluid Reactor), a multiblock that converts a six-chamber Nuclear Reactor from direct EU output into Coolant-heating mode. Industrial Craft 2 crafts Reactor Vessel on a 3x3 grid from 5 Lead plus 4 Stone in a checkerboard pattern. One craft yields 4 blocks, and the same Reactor Vessel block also serves as the crafting ingredient for the three multiblock interface blocks. Each interface recipe wraps one inner block in 8 Reactor Vessel blocks: an Oak Trapdoor becomes a Reactor Access Hatch, a Universal Fluid Cell becomes a Reactor Fluid Port, and a Redstone becomes a Reactor Redstone Port. Reactor Vessel is not renewable, because Lead comes from finite lead ore, and the block stacks to 64 with a pickaxe as the harvest tool.

The Pressure Vessel Reactor assembles as a 5x5x5 cube of Reactor Vessel blocks wrapping a 3x3x3 hollow core that contains 1 Nuclear Reactor block surrounded by 6 Reactor Chambers. A full shell uses roughly 95 to 98 shell blocks plus at least one Access Hatch and one Fluid Port. When the shell forms around a running six-chamber Nuclear Reactor, the reactor stops emitting Energy Units (EU) directly and instead heats Coolant into Hot Coolant, which is piped through a Fluid Port to a Liquid Heat Exchanger, Steam Generator, and Kinetic Steam Generator chain for more EU per uranium rod than direct EU mode. Reactor Vessel is blast-resistant, but at 85 percent core heat the shell blocks themselves melt into lava source blocks and a meltdown begins. Removing even one Reactor Vessel block while the reactor runs breaks the multiblock and shuts the reactor down until the shell is reformed.

Block properties

Item ID ic2:reactor-vessel
/give command /give @p ic2:reactor-vessel
Stackable Yes (64)
Best tool Pickaxe
Renewable No

Guide

How to build a Pressure Vessel Reactor with Reactor Vessel in Industrial Craft 2

  1. 1

    Assemble the 3x3x3 core

    Place 1 Nuclear Reactor block and surround it with Reactor Chamber on all six faces to form a 3x3x3 core, which is the inner engine of the Pressure Vessel Reactor.

  2. 2

    Wrap the core in Reactor Vessel

    Build a 5x5x5 shell of Reactor Vessel blocks around the 3x3x3 core, using roughly 95 to 98 Reactor Vessel blocks total, leaving the six Reactor Chamber faces poking through the shell.

  3. 3

    Insert the interface blocks

    Swap at least one Reactor Vessel on the shell for a Reactor Access Hatch so the UI opens, and swap another for a Reactor Fluid Port so Hot Coolant can exit and Coolant can enter.

  4. 4

    Pipe the coolant loop

    Route Coolant into the Reactor Fluid Port and route Hot Coolant out to a Liquid Heat Exchanger, Steam Generator, and Kinetic Steam Generator chain, which is what converts the heat into EU at a higher yield per uranium rod than direct EU mode.

  5. 5

    Hold the core under 85% heat

    Watch the heat gauge on the Nuclear Reactor, because at 85 percent core heat the Reactor Vessel shell itself starts melting into lava source blocks and a meltdown begins.

Shell integrity

Removing even one Reactor Vessel block from a running Pressure Vessel Reactor breaks the multiblock instantly and the Nuclear Reactor shuts down until the full shell is reformed.

How to craft this block

Frequently asked questions

What is Reactor Vessel in Industrial Craft 2?

Reactor Vessel is the structural shell block of the Industrial Craft 2 Pressure Vessel Reactor, the 5x5x5 multiblock that wraps a six-chamber Nuclear Reactor and switches it from direct EU output into Hot Coolant heating mode.

How do you craft Reactor Vessel?

Industrial Craft 2 crafts Reactor Vessel on a 3x3 grid by placing 5 Lead and 4 Stone in a checkerboard pattern, which yields 4 Reactor Vessel blocks per craft.

What does the Pressure Vessel Reactor multiblock do?

The Pressure Vessel Reactor wraps a six-chamber Nuclear Reactor in a 5x5x5 shell of Reactor Vessel blocks and converts the reactor from direct EU output into a Coolant-to-Hot Coolant heater that feeds a Liquid Heat Exchanger, Steam Generator, and Kinetic Steam Generator chain for more EU per uranium rod.

Why build a Pressure Vessel Reactor instead of using the Nuclear Reactor directly?

A correctly designed Pressure Vessel Reactor produces more total EU per uranium rod than the direct EU output mode, because piping Hot Coolant to a Liquid Heat Exchanger, Steam Generator, and Kinetic Steam Generator chain extracts extra energy from the same fuel.

What happens when the Pressure Vessel Reactor core reaches 85% heat?

At 85 percent core heat the Reactor Vessel shell blocks themselves start melting into lava source blocks, the blast-resistant containment fails, and a meltdown begins.

Is Reactor Vessel renewable?

Reactor Vessel is not renewable, because Lead comes from finite lead ore even though Stone is renewable from a cobblestone generator, so the recipe depends on a non-renewable ore.