Talk:Nuclear Reactor/@comment-67.177.159.247-20120823131843/@comment-5429934-20120823142139

Reactors do not "shut down" by themselves, however they do run out of fuel and stop producing energy. In most cases when you see a recommendation for a "cool down period" it's because the reactor design runs hot and cannot get enough cooling, and so after a period of time they have to be shut off for their "cool down period". In these cases you can shut it off yourself, but it would be best to get a thermal monitor which can send a  redstone signal to shut off your reactor when it gets too hot.