machines
Sandustry Pump, Pipe and Liquid Vent Setup Guide
A liquid route can look connected while its Pump is not touching liquid, its Vent is submerged, or a Pipe crossing has merged two networks. The current Pump, Pipe, and Liquid Vent pages document those Early Access boundaries and endpoint capacity limits. This guide turns them into a contained commissioning sequence using those component pages as the current-version evidence basis.
Early Access · fluid capacity evidence checked 2026-09-05 · Checked 2026-09-05
Build the complete three-part chain
The current Pipe page defines the required roles: at least one Pump takes liquid into a contiguous Pipe network and at least one Liquid Vent releases it. A Pipe by itself neither collects nor releases liquid. Start with one Pump, one continuous route, and one Vent so every interface can be inspected. Keep the test away from production storage, label the intended source and destination, and avoid branches until this smallest chain moves liquid reliably.
Put supported liquid against the Pump
The current Pump page says liquid must touch the Pump and every Pump pixel can take it in. Use a small contained Water test and make every Pump pixel visible before burying the intake in a reservoir. Remove solid contamination from the intake area because non-liquid material inside the non-solid Pump can stop transport. Do not infer that a nearby but separated pool will be collected.
Exclude Lava before diagnosing anything else
The current Pump, Pipe, and Liquid Vent pages all exclude Lava from this transport chain. If the source contains Lava, stop and isolate it rather than rebuilding Pipes or testing a larger Pump bank. Use a currently supported non-Lava liquid for commissioning. This guide does not recommend a workaround for piping Lava because the reviewed component pages explicitly define it as too hot for the network.
Trace the Pipe as one network
Select the Pipe tool so routes hidden behind blocks or terrain become inspectable. The official Pipe page says Pipes occupy a separate layer and can run behind other material, but Pipe crossings do not remain independent: a crossing joins the networks. Trace every junction from Pump to Vent. If liquid appears at an unexpected destination, isolate all inputs, look for a crossing or shared segment, and split the routes physically before testing again. Do not assume one line passes over another.
Keep the Liquid Vent above the full line
The current Liquid Vent page says a Vent stops releasing liquid when it is submerged, defining that state as all but its top row beneath liquid. Mark a normal fill line comfortably below the outlet and provide visible overflow capacity. A route that works when empty but stops as the basin fills is usually a destination-state problem, not proof that the Pipe broke.
Use the documented endpoint capacities
The Pump page documents up to 16 pixels per tick when the Pump is fully submerged. The Liquid Vent page documents up to 4 pixels per tick and explicitly states that one Pump operating at capacity can support four Vents. Those are endpoint maxima, not a guarantee that every reservoir geometry delivers the maximum. If a line starves, inspect Pump contact; if a full Pump feeds too few outputs, add Vents before drawing more Pipe.
Do not treat parallel Pipe lines as extra volume
The Pipe page describes a contiguous network that shares every connected Pump and Vent, and says crossings join rather than pass independently. It does not publish a Pipe storage volume, per-line capacity, pressure loss, or length penalty. Two connected lines are therefore still one network, not documented capacity multipliers. Add independently observable Pump intake or Vent output only when the corresponding endpoint is the measured limit.
Separate mixed liquids using current component rules
The current Pump and Pipe pages agree that multiple non-Lava liquids can enter one network and will be evenly distributed across connected Vents. That behavior does not sort or preserve one liquid per destination. Use one liquid per network when output identity matters, quarantine mixed output, and keep crossings apart so an unrelated line cannot silently join the network.
Test empty, full, crossed and reloaded states
Run the branch with an empty destination, then approach the marked normal and full lines using a limited source. Next, add no new material, save, reload, and confirm the same visible interfaces still work. If the route joins another network, test that crossing separately. Record build, source liquid, Pump contact, Vent count, destination level, and Pipe path rather than assuming the documented maxima describe every layout.
Connect production through isolation
After the branch passes, connect the main reservoir and consumer through accessible isolation points. Open one side at a time and watch the source level, Pump contact, network path, Vent clearance, destination warning line, and overflow. If flow stops, close the source before excavating. Recommission after a patch or routing change. Measure delivered liquid at the receiving basin over a sustained run, and treat that number as a build-specific observation rather than an official guaranteed rate.
Document hydraulic branch acceptance
A branch is ready when it passes a written matrix: source low and normal, destination empty and near full, control running and stopped, route freshly built and reloaded. For each state, record whether liquid reaches the intended basin, remains contained, avoids backflow, and leaves controls accessible. Use limited volume so failure remains safe. If one state fails, label the branch conditional and redesign before connecting valuable supply. Do not combine a result from one layout with a rate from another. The acceptance matrix becomes especially useful after Early Access changes because you can repeat the same states on one isolated branch before reopening the whole network. Add the observed shutdown time, residual liquid location, and manual steps needed to restore flow. A branch that passes delivery but leaves an inaccessible trapped volume still needs a drain or maintenance path before production use.
Sources and evidence notes
- Pump — Sandustry Official Wiki ↗
Tier 1 · Publisher-hosted Early Access building page. Pump contact, Pipe connection, non-Lava liquids, shared-network behavior, and the documented fully submerged 16-pixel-per-tick maximum
- Pipe — Sandustry Official Wiki ↗
Tier 1 · Publisher-hosted Early Access building page. Pipe network requirements, placement layer, non-Lava boundary, crossing behavior, and shared/evenly distributed inputs and outputs; no separate Pipe volume is documented
- Liquid Vent — Sandustry Official Wiki ↗
Tier 1 · Publisher-hosted Early Access building page. Liquid Vent output role, non-Lava boundary, submerged-output condition, documented 4-pixel-per-tick maximum, and one-Pump-to-four-Vents capacity statement