Redstone Engine
Redstone Engines (block ID: 161) are the cheapest and the weakest of the engines you can build, but they will only overload if they are not connected to an output such as a Wooden Pipe or a Pump. They will require some time to warm up and run on peak efficiency, this can be seen by the color of this device. There are three stages, blue meaning off or on low, green is second stage and is medium efficiency, when it either flashes yellow and red (taking up to 10 minutes to reach) it is at it's peak of 1 MJ per second. Removing any of these types of engines (Redstone Engines, Steam Engines and Combustion Engines) requires a wooden pickaxe or higher. It's orientation can be changed by right-clicking using a Wrench (BuildCraft). See Engines - In Depth for more details.
The approximate EMC value of a redstone engine is 405.
Contents
Explosion Possibility
A redstone engine can explode, but only if it is fed too much power from another engine or conductive piping. If you're not sure if it will explode, simply apply redstone and wait one "revolution." If it stays blue, then it will not explode. If it immediately turns green, shut it off immediately and remove it to prevent explosion.
A redstone engine will not blow up if left powered by redstone but not pumping into a block. i.e. if you left it powered and it's just sitting there, bright red but not moving, it will not explode. This was confirmed by leaving several redstone engines red but not moving for excess of an hour.
Recipe
Power Source
Redstone Engines will only operate if they are powered by a redstone power source, such as a lever or redstone torch. These will not be powered by redstone dust running past them on the same level, it must be powered by redstone facing the engine, or on the adjacent block on the level above (level with the top of the engine). Redpower's Red Alloy Wire can run past them and still power them normally.
Energy Production
| Max Energy (MJ) | Energy Generated | Max Input (MJ) | Max Output (MJ) | Piston Speed/Ticks to Extract | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue | Green | Yellow | Red | ||||
| 1000 | 1 MJ/s | 50 | 1 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 0.04 | 0.08 |
| 102 | 52 | 26 | 14 | ||||
Uses
Redstone engines can be used for a number of different things, the most common are powering pipes and powering pumps.
Pipes
Redstone engines can be used for powering Wooden Pipes, to transfer items from chests (including those from the Iron Chests mod) and machinery e.g. a pump or a macerator . Since they don't overheat when they supply power to a wooden pipe or machinery and don't require fuel they are the cheapest but slowest engine you can use to power wooden transport pipes . They can also be used to power rails.
Pumps
Redstone engines are perfectly suitable to power pumps since it only requires one fully running engine to get pumping at roughly 1 unit per 15 seconds. Each additional redstone engine will add 2 units per 15 seconds to a max of 7 units per 15 seconds making your tanks fill up at a rate of just under half a unit per second.
"Stacking" engines (that is, powering one engine with another engine to increase throughput) is not an effective strategy. (video)
Generators
5 Redstone engines all powering a Engine Generator can be used, when linked with other Engine Generators, to power a whole Quarry day and night, costing nothing.
