Thermal Expansion: Basics (Power, Machine Menus, Automation) | Modded Minecraft Tutorial

[@gdragonlord749]

I really appreciate these small channels. Sure many people have already done a mod review/tutorial but they are years out of date. These small channels keep me updated on these old staple mods and sometimes even introduce me to cool mods that work well with eachother thay I either overlooked or never heard of before. Keep up the good work.

[@slyfox2372]

really helpful guide man, i could not for the life of me find a wiki for this

[@ZennsWorld]

Glad I could help; mod wikis are always hit or miss for me too.

[@Ran-xq6xl]

your explanation is one of the bests ive seen

[@ZennsWorld]

Thanks!

[@Royq666]

I always forget that you have to configure it to work

[@dogedog2447]

Thanks for this dude

[@ZennsWorld]

No problem

[@orange_turtle3412]

Im gonna start a world with this once I finish my current vanilla survival world

[@ZennsWorld]

I highly recommend! If you're new to mods, I would also recommend getting Just Enough Items as well (the item menu on the right) to help navigate recipes (you can press 'r' while mousing over the items to get the recipes like I was doing). Modpacks are also very fun if you're the type to want endless stuff to do, though they can be overwhelming / finicky so your millage may very

[@orange_turtle3412]

@@ZennsWorld Im not really new to mods, but ive never really done a modded survival playthrough. Most of the time I just find one that looks cool on forge and screw around with the new stuff in creative. And I like to make super complicated automated bases in vanilla that do all my resource collection for me, so I thought I may as well try a run with a mod that adds more automation features.

[@ZennsWorld]

Ah ya thats similar to what I like doing. Thermal Expansion is definitely good for that. I like using Applied Energistics 2 for storage when I make factory-type things since I dislike having a large storage system of chests and stuff. That can take out some of the fun of the item logistics though. I have a world using Minecraft Eternal (modpack on forge I think) and it has a decent amount of factory-like mods, as well as allows different mods to play well together which is nice

[@NicolasDudek-y6v]

i wish you made more tutorials of thermal mods and maybe also updated since they changed it a little

[@ZennsWorld]

It was changed before I made the video I think, I just made it with a modpack which uses an old version. I plan on making more of them (ones more specific to certain parts of the mod). I should have done more research with this video to point out differences from the newest version to this version though

[@NicolasDudek-y6v]

@@ZennsWorld​​⁠i would love for you to make more videos around thermal series as people say its a god mod and i really would love to get into it but have no idea how... I looked at some other tutorials but yours was the best so far although aquateus accumulator was not needed for the dynamo to run??

[@ZennsWorld]

In my version at least the dynamo needed water so needed that somehow (idk what it is for newer versions). I have plans to do more with thermal expansion, I just need to figure what to do specifically. Is there something specific you wanted to do with the mod? I think I usually use it for ore / metal processing, fluids, and farming; usually concurrently with other mods rather than by itself

[@NicolasDudek-y6v]

@ in the newer versions the dynamo you used in the video is nowhere to be found, but there is one that only burns things and makes energy by itself (its weird they removed what i assume was cooling the machine or maybe just not added it yet) I would love to see what the mod has offer as i am new to it. I only really played ic2, buildcraft and galacticraft and i loved them and when i saw that thermal series has similair looking systems compared to immersive engineering i wanted to try it out. I am not sure what you can really do with this mod and as you mentioned before its mostly used to be combined with different ones. I would love to hear some recommendations from you on what mods to use beside it (preferably ones that are available on newer versions like 1.20.1 that i currently play on. But by itself i would love to see how to farm and maybe some different basic stuff? Like a small foundation i can start building on myself from?

[@ZennsWorld]

That makes sense. Its definitely more like ic2 than the other mods. For doing things by itself, I think the photogenic insolator is good for farming purposes, and the other machines are good for vanilla processing. Mods I think that are good with it are Applied Energistics 2, Nuclear Craft (not sure about a newer version here though), Tech Reborn (pretty much ic2), Advanced Rocketry, and some other mods for building and stuff. Just enough items (and if you can find them, the integrations with the mods above) is almost a necessity for figuring things out as well I feel. Videos take me a while to get out which is why I'm trying to give something to go off of now; I might do the photogenic insolator next since that one is pretty convoluted and useful by itself for tree / crop farming

[@나는시아]

Hello, Zenn! I am a player from Korea trying to enjoy this mod. Your explanation was very helpful and informative. After watching a video, I got inspired to try the Thermal Expansion mod and started playing on version 1.20.1, mining and smelting ores. However, I ran into an issue where I can’t craft any items from the mod! The crafting recipes don’t appear in the crafting grid or the recipe book next to the inventory. I checked in Creative Mode, and I can confirm that the mod items exist there. Could you help me figure out why this is happening? I used a translator, so I apologize for any awkward phrasing. Thank you for your understanding.

[@ZennsWorld]

So my version was a much older version (1.12) so the 1.20.1 version will be a bit different, such as the machine configurations and some recipes. I believe there is a mod called "Just Enough Items Integration for Thermal Expansion" or something like that. So if you install that one as well, and Just Enough Items, you will get that item menu on the right, and can press "R" to pull up the recipes for some things. I think the 1.20.1 version of the mod is missing some things though too, such as item ducts and documentation, I would recommend a modpack with Thermal Expansion in it which will be more rounded, and will almost certainly have a way to see all the recipes for things. If you go that route, you can press "R" on the item menu on the right after mousing over an item to pull up its recipe. Sorry I can't be more help in this case.

[@나는시아]

Thank you for your kind reply. I'll have fun playing with recipe mode and extra mode. Love you​@@ZennsWorld

[@euphoricvibes5297]

I'm playing on the Seaopolis 1.20.1 modpack, and I'm not seeing an Aqueous Accumulator anywhere and I have no idea on how to get this working. Any ideas?

[@ZennsWorld]

Weird that it isn't there, maybe looking up thermal foundation / expansion and seeing if it is named something else in your modpack is worth a shot. I checked the mod list and you also dont have tech reborn, buildcraft, or nuclearcraft which are my alternative methods of pumping water. It looks like the modpack has a progression system, maybe check that for any clues. If all else fails the other main option is to start trying random stuff that looks like it could pump water (which is time consuming usually, but you can come across cool stuff this way). Sorry I cant be of more help

[@Redmirax]

Maybe the mod author removed it or your using a bugged version of thermal that removes all devices from JEI. Try to update the thermal foundation mod to the latest release

[@hayleynitschke8296]

You may be playing version 6.0 rather than 7.0

[@bendito3198]

Hey Zenn, I am looking for a long time now for a modpack which is like the OG modpacks with Industrial Craft 2, Buildcraft, etc. with the transport pipes, solar panels and quarry. And which is playable in the current minecraft versions like 1.20+... And I thought this one came close. But Ive just realised in the current versions of the Thermal Series there are transport pipes and a lot of other cool stuff missing. Or I just dont find them idk. what happend to them? how do I transport the items now? and do you have an Idea which modpacks comes close to the old ones with transport pipes etc. ?

[@ZennsWorld]

So I haven't seen one in a long time that have the old Buildcraft transport pipes (at least in the same form). The closest modpacks I've seen to the old modpacks are Eternal, Revelation, and Endeavour; but even with them there will always be something missing, and they are all Minecraft 1.12 (though there are mods in them that bring the >1.12 content in). As far as the thermal series pipes, I am not super knowledgeable about the older versions. As far as piping items around I either use the item ducts + servos, or if I need something complicated Ender IO conduits or Integrated Dynamics pipes are useful. I feel like I've seen the old transport pipes somewhere, I think it was in Eternal, but I am not 100% sure on that

[@ShawC_2k]

my version of this modpack is on tekkit, I don't have the auto output options?

[@ZennsWorld]

Interesting, do the machines still output to the outside or are the items stuck? If the servos exist you can use those but I feel like there would be a better way. I can maybe take a look at it later

[@Bobanah37]

If you have multiple machines hooked up to the same power source and you're not making enough power for all of them, does it prioritize some or does it split the power equally?

[@ZennsWorld]

I believe it will split the power evenly. The cables have power ratings so if the cable is maxed out it will do what it can

[@TK-zl8fu]

@@ZennsWorld What's the pack you used for this tutorial? Is it just something you threw together, or? I have zero questions about Thermal as I know pretty much all there is abt it, but I'm interested in the pack you used, thanks in advance.

[@ZennsWorld]

Its called Minecraft Eternal. Should be this one www.curseforge.com/minecraft/modpacks/minecraft-eternal if the link works in comments. Definitely not my own work Im not that skilled

[@TK-zl8fu]

@@ZennsWorld Ay, cheers. Thanks for the link! Have a good one!

[@eduaxlz1909]

its helping me but i dont think this is 1.20.1

[@ZennsWorld]

This is definitely not 1.20.1. The Minecraft version is 1.12.2, the thermal expansion version is 5.5.7.1. My dynamics and foundation versions are different than that. Its using the Minecraft Eternal Modpack overall

[@ClairvoyantSight]

My version does not have the steam dynamo 1.20.1

[@ZennsWorld]

I cant find anything about the dynamo changing between older and newer versions, but documentation is spotty. What version of thermal expansion are you using

[@EmeraldPencil46]

I think I’m a bit late, but the “Stirling Dynamo” does the same thing as the steam one, just without the need for water.

[@gtater112]

👍