How to Cool a Reactor with Heat Pipes and Heat Pumps

Why Cooling Matters

Reactors generate heat as they burn Nuclear Fuel. That heat has to go somewhere, or the reactor overheats and produces Corium. The cooling loop is what keeps everything stable.

Setting Up the Loop

1. Place Reactor Heat Vents on the reactor casing. Each vent is a point where heat leaves the reactor.

2. Run Heat Pipes from each vent to a central manifold or directly to a Heat Pump.

3. Place the Heat Pump somewhere it can dump heat — typically into a large body of water, a dedicated radiator array, or an open area where it can dissipate.

4. If you have multiple reactors, you can share a cooling loop, but size the pump and pipe count to match total heat output.

Monitoring and Tuning

Watch the reactor's temperature readout (or the visual state of the rods) while it runs. If temperature climbs steadily, you need more vents, more pipes, or a bigger pump. If it stays flat, you have headroom.

A common mistake is running too few Heat Pipes for the number of vents — heat backs up at the vent and the reactor still overheats. Add pipes until temperature stabilizes. Also keep the pump's exhaust clear; a blocked pump cannot move heat and the whole loop stalls.