Chapter 547, There are the Most Important Problems to Overcome

Translator: Silavin

 

“Indeed, this is something that requires attention,” Su Bai said earnestly. On Earth, quite a number of people have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

 

Therefore, this was rather dangerous, which was also the reason he wanted to create a heating system.

 

Apart from using a fire pit for warmth having limited usefulness, the next concern was the safety issue.

 

He certainly did not want everyone in the entire Yong’an Building to die from poisoning, or worse still, sparks from the fire pit jumping out and causing a fire.

 

Moreover, what he had in mind regarding using a boiler to generate heating was not an exceedingly difficult matter. On Earth, it was just like everyone boiling water at home.

 

It was simply that the steam from that boiled water was casually released, while the principle of heating was to transport all this steam into the rooms, thereby warming the rooms.

 

The device Su Bai had drawn would distribute thermal energy through those pipes to the rooms, after which those radiators would deliver the heating.

 

The reason Su Bai chose steam as the carrier for thermal energy was because its temperature ceiling was higher.

 

Most importantly, it was convenient for recycling. In this Primitive Era, things that could be recycled were paramount, because conditions here were not as favourable as on Earth, where one need not worry about many things.

 

In any case, as long as the boiler in that small room continued burning, the steam pressure generated would cause every tiny high-temperature water droplet to fill every part of the pipe system, continuously providing heating without interruption. This was what mattered most.

 

Naturally, using steam for heating was not without drawbacks. The disadvantages were the connections between pipes, or the durability of the pipes themselves.

 

If either of these two points encountered problems, the pressure generated by high temperatures would cause the pipes to explode.

 

One must understand that pipe explosions were no laughing matter. Those superheated water vapours would cause one’s skin to split instantly upon contact, with pain levels no less than an arrow piercing through flesh.

 

“Shaman, according to what you’ve just said, it relies on heating water, then having steam to provide warmth, but this weather will cause the water to freeze instead. So, we need to burn firewood continuously, which is very wasteful.” Yan Hua said.

 

“This problem has already been resolved. When the time comes, we’ll simply use Kerosene Fruit for burning. We won’t need much Kerosene Fruit for the entire snow season.” Su Bai said.

 

When the time came, this heating system could operate together with the hot water system, since the materials needed were all the same.

 

“Oh yes, there’s also Kerosene Fruits. Shaman, but how do we get that boiled steam into the rooms?” Yan Hua asked curiously.

 

Although the burning problem had been resolved, she could see from the blueprint that the boilers were all outside the Yong’an Building.

 

If they burned and produced steam, wouldn’t all that steam be outside the Yong’an Building? How would the rooms still be warm then? This was something Yan Hua could not understand.

 

“Do you see these lines? These lines are pipes. When the time comes, the steam produced will enter the rooms through these pipes.” Su Bai explained.

 

“Shaman, what materials should these pipes be made from? Should we use cement as before?” Yan Hua examined that blueprint carefully.

 

She did not know what materials would be best. She had considered many types of materials, but none were suitable.

 

“This is precisely the difficult problem that needs to be overcome. We currently have no mineral ores right now. If we had copper ore, these pipes could be made from copper,” Su Bai said.

 

When he was considering creating the heating system, he had also taken the pipe issue into account. This was currently the most difficult problem to overcome.

 

At present, the Flame Dragon Tribe did not have much copper ore, only a small amount, but that was nowhere near sufficient for making pipes.

 

He had considered many types of materials but had rejected them all himself, because many materials simply could not be manufactured.

 

Those materials either broke easily or could not transport steam completely into the rooms. In short, nothing was suitable.

 

“Copper ore? Shaman, are copper ores the same thing as iron ores?” Yan Hua heard another unfamiliar term.

 

“They are roughly similar things. Essentially, there is no great difference. They are both types of mineral ore,” Su Bai explained.

 

He was still thinking that if they had these ores now, then making weapons and making these pipes would not be a problem.

 

“Shaman, let us go and search for these ores. We might be able to find them.” Yan Hua suddenly became earnest.

 

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. Tomorrow we shall set off to search for those ores,” Su Bai also became serious.

 

He thought that rather than engaging in idle speculation here, it would be better to take action and search. Perhaps they might even find some.

 

“Shaman, then I shall set off tomorrow. I will definitely bring back these ores for you.” Yan Hua’s red eyes were filled with earnestness.

 

“Don’t rush into this yet. Let me plan properly tonight, and tomorrow I’ll arrange the personnel.” Su Bai said in a deep voice.

 

During the snow season, one could not be careless. Everything had to be planned carefully.

 

“Yes, I understand,” Yan Hua said with partial comprehension.

 

Sha Lan at the side had been thinking seriously all along. Looking at that blueprint, she suddenly asked with puzzlement, “Shaman, if the water in this boiler boils a lot, won’t there be problems?”

 

Sha Lan had previously seen water being boiled. At that time, she had seen the fire burning very intensely, with the boiling water constantly splashing out.

 

At that time, that water-boiling stove had nearly exploded. That scene was terrifying, and she had always remembered it.

 

Therefore, when looking at this blueprint, this thought had suddenly emerged in her mind.

 

“Your worry has already been accounted for.” Su Bai had not expected Sha Lan to think of this aspect as well. He continued explaining, “I will not allow such a situation to occur.”

 

“Shaman, so that could really happen?” Sha Lan was somewhat shocked. She had not expected her worry to actually be real.

 

“Of course. When the time comes, I’ll have someone create an automatic pressure reducer. That is, when the pressure inside the furnace becomes too high, there will be a high-speed rotating flywheel that will pull open a valve, releasing the pressure.”

 

Su Bai took a sip of water and continued explaining, “When there is no pressure inside the boiler, there will be no explosions.”

 

He had thought of this from the beginning, because the pressure issue would certainly require a pressure reducer.

 

“That’s good then. I was still worried about the same incident as last time when we boiled water.” Sha Lan said with relief.

 

However, Sha Lan also knew she had worried unnecessarily, because if she could think of such problems, how could the Shaman possibly not have thought of them.

 

“I now need to plan the search for ores. You can go and attend to your tasks first.” Su Bai said.

 

“Yes,” The girls replied in unison.