Tutorial / Combustion Engine Clocks

Combustion Engine Clocks are timing mechanisms that allow you to run a Combustion Engine without a water cooling system and without the risk of explosions. The clocks are designed to provide a Redstone signal to the Engine just long enough to run it and to turn that signal off just long enough to cool the Engine.

There are three clocks, one for each of the different Combustion Engine heat levels: The Red Clock, Orange Clock and Green Clock. A Blue Clock can be made with a Redstone 4/5 Clock as outlined on the Combustion Engine page. Each clock can maintain the Engine's heat at a stable level to ensure that it continually operates at that speed.

It Should Be Noted
As this is all new and experiments were conducted on an SSP PC in creative mode, it is unknown if these results can be reproduced by other players yet. It is advised that you build a test operation before setting up in your base or next to a Quarry. Most likely you will be able to successfully make working Engine Clocks, but with such a buggy game and different player modes I cannot gaurantee positive results until people start to build them and report success or failure. That said, please build the clocks and report back if it works or does not work.

Getting Started
The components for these clocks are few; two Timers and one RS Latch from the RedPower2 Logic mod. If you're put off by the sound of Redstone Logic Gates, don't be. It's easy.

For the layout, you can use either Redstone Dust or Red Alloy Wire to connect the Engine, at least one is needed, and a couple of Redstone Torches. And you'll need all of these for crafting.

Below are the crafting recipes for the Logic components. You will need Smooth Stone, Redstone Dust, Redstone Torches and Iron or Copper for these components. You will need a Furnace for making Stone Wafers and an Alloy Furnace for making the Red Alloy Ingots. A Project Table is very useful when making the Logic Gates because of the added inventory space.

Recipes
Alloy Furnace

Project Table

Red Alloy Ingots

Red Alloy Wire

Stone Wafer

Stone Wire

Stone Anode

Stone Cathode

Stone Pointer

Timer

RS Latch

Making the Engine Clocks
The Red Clock, Orange Clock and Green Clock are all the same thing as far as components and layout. The difference is the time settings (See Table Below) for the Timers and during which color phase the Engine is in when you start the clock. Here is the basic layout:

1) Place a single Wooden Conductive Pipe.

2) Place the Combustion Engine next to the pipe.

3) Place a Redstone Torch next to the Engine.

4) Put Fuel into the Engine (not Oil, Fuel). One bucket is good for now, add more as necessary. The Engine is now running and building up heat. It takes several minutes for the Engine to change colors which gives you plenty of time to finish the Clock circuit.

5) Face the back of the Engine and place the RS Latch two blocks from the Engine.

Note: From now on, right and left are mentioned assuming you are facing the BACK of the Engine.

6) Place one Timer on each side of the RS Latch while still facing the direction of the Engine. This is important.

7) Place a Redstone Torch to the right of the Right Timer.

8) Place Red Alloy Wire (or Dust) from the RS Latch to the Engine.

9) The Red Alloy Wire should be powered so now remove the first Redstone Torch you placed, next to the Engine, and leave the one next to the Right Timer.

10) Place a Redstone Torch next to the Left Timer.

The Clock layout is finished. Now determine which clock you want to use. For example, if you want an Orange Clock, you would refer to the table below for the time settings for the Orange clock, set those Timers and then wait until the Combustion Engine reaches it's Orange phase (obvious, I know). There is still plenty of time to set the Timers so you might as well do it right away. In this case, Orange is 1 second and 0.4 seconds.

Which Timer that you enter those numbers into is important so make sure you do it correctly. The Timer on the Right gets the larger number, this is the On Timer. The Timer on the Left gets the smaller number, this is the Off Timer. For this example, input 0.4 seconds into the left Timer and 1.0 into the right Timer. The settings in the photos to the right are for the Red Clock.

Now the Timers should not be moving because of the Redstone Torches next to them, this is good because we are waiting for the Engine to get to speed. When that happens, all that is required to start the clock is to remove the Torches, first the right one, then the left one. If you remove the right one last there is a good chance the timing will be off, so don't do that. Right Torch first, then the Left Torch.

That's it. Complete. Remember, when setting up the clock for the color you want, wait for the Engine to reach that level before you start it and use the timing settings in the table. The settings for one color will not work for another color.

Have fun and let us know how it goes.

Troubleshooting
You will know that all is working fine when you see the piston of the Engine reach the original, back position just as the Redstone Wire goes off. The Off Timer is quick but you can see the Engine delay for that split second. This is good.

If you can tell that the piston is out of sync with the Off timer, there is a simple fix. Place a Redstone Torch next to the Off Timer (Left) until the Engine stops, and then remove it again. That's the foolproof way to get it working properly.