Alchemy Factory Steam Boiler: How the Heating Works

Quick answer

The Steam Boiler is the source device of Alchemy Factory's steam heating mechanic, added in version 0.4.4.4298. It produces steam that Steam Heating Pads then deliver to consumers placed on them. It is a two-part system distinct from the classic furnace-and-stack heat model, and its exact P values were not measured in the source.

Furnace heat vs steam heat

Standard heating puts a consumer directly on a furnace. The furnace burns fuel for heat measured in P per second, and the consumer on top draws a fixed amount — a crucible always takes 4 P/s. The boiler changes the delivery: it makes steam, and pads carry that steam to consumers elsewhere on the floor.

This separation is the point of the mechanic. You are no longer forced to stack every heat-consuming machine in one column above a single furnace; steam can be routed to consumers spread across a wider area.

The boiler's role

The Steam Boiler is the generator. Where a Stone Furnace or Blast Furnace burns fuel in place, the boiler's job is to create steam as a transportable heating medium. The companion Steam Heating Pad is what actually exposes that steam to a consumer.

Together they form a "boiler makes steam → pad delivers steam → consumer draws it" chain. The base draw behaviour follows the same 1.0 rule as other heating devices: version 1.0 removed the base heat cost of all heating devices.

Sizing and uptime

As with furnaces, the fuel you feed the system controls how long it runs, not how fast consumers work. The open question is whether the boiler's steam output maps cleanly onto the P-per-second model used for furnaces, or uses a different unit — that is 待确认.

Until those values are confirmed, size a steam setup conservatively: place a heating pad per consumer group and verify draw against the in-game tooltip rather than assuming furnace-equivalent numbers.

When steam makes sense

Steam becomes attractive when a furnace stack would be too cramped or when you want heat distributed across a floor. For the well-trodden early and mid-game path, the coke-powder furnace route (coal ore through a stone crusher) stays the simpler, documented choice.

What is still unconfirmed

The Steam Boiler's steam output rate and the Steam Heating Pad's delivery values per consumer type were not listed in the source transcript, so they are 待确认. How steam interacts with catalyst-driven Advanced Athanor recipes is also unconfirmed. Verify against current patch notes and tooltips before committing to a large steam build.