Plumbing in Oxygen Not Included Oxygen Not Included Guide
Last update: 09 August 2019
Managing gases and liquid substances is one the main problems you will have to handle after the first few cycles in your base. In this tab you will find all that is connected to transport of these resources. You will not only need to clean the rooms from gases or liquids, but also to transport them to appropriate machinery and facilities.
First, we start with the sanitary category. The outhouse is the first structure you should build from all of the available objects in the game. This will ensure that duplicates will meet one of their most basic needs. The improved version of the outhouse is the lavatory. It requires connection to a sewer, that is a pipe that supplies clean water and a drain pipe. The shower uses a similar system, and will allow you to meet the sanitary requirements of your duplicates and improve their mood. It mostly serves as a means of relieving stress, and is not as essential as the toilets.
The second category of facilities are the systems for transporting liquids and gases through the suitable pipes. The following pipes are used as means of transportation: liquid/gas pipe, insulated liquid/gas pipe (an insulated pipe, resistant to external temperatures) and liquid/gas pipe bridge (a special pipe, which is used as a bridge over other pipes, in order to avoid creating an "intersection"). Like wires, you can place pipes in empty spaces and under ladders or segments. They have a bad influence on the decor, so it is worth hiding them under the tiles.
Objects with fairly obvious names are used for the purposes of pumping - the liquid/gas pumps. They require connections to the power grid and pipes which will lead the resources to their destination. For water or other liquids, install the pump as low as possible. You should also build tanks for liquids similarly to a stairway pattern, so that the remnants of liquids do not spread over large areas. The gas pump is a bit more tricky, since different gases rise up to specific heights. This is not a problem if there is only one kind of gas in a specific room.
The liquid/gas vent is a small structure from which a given gas or liquid will emerge after being transported through pipes. These outlets can be used, e.g. to supply cool air or to supply water from distant reservoirs. The distribution system is cleverly done, so if you have a few outlets, the game will distribute an equal portion of resources to each one. This is where two other items also become handy: the liquid/gas valve, which is a valve that determines the amount/concentration of the substance inside the pipe, and the liquid/gas filter. Filters allow you to route a specific substance to another pipe. When used wisely they can be the most valuable tool in the whole system, e.g. when selecting only the oxygen from a pump working in a contaminated room.