Pump

A Pump is a directional fluid-handling building that moves liquids through pipes and can act as a controllable valve in a Factorio factory. It transfers fluid only in the direction it faces and requires power to operate; when unpowered it blocks flow entirely. Pumps are used to boost fluid throughput, reset how far fluid can travel through the pipe network, and to load or unload fluid wagons at train stops.

Pumps move up to 20 units per tick (1200 units per second) under ideal conditions. Achieving the maximum throughput depends on the fill levels of the connected pipe segments: if the source segment level drops below 20% or the destination segment level rises above 80%, the pump cannot reach its 1200 UPS capacity. Multiple pumps placed in parallel on the same connection can combine throughput; placing up to five regular pumps in parallel is sufficient to approach the theoretical single-connection ceiling of 6000 fluid/sec. Placing pumps in series does not stack their distance-extension effects; only the last pump in a series resets the travel distance.

Pumps reset the fluid travel distance counter for that fluid, allowing fluid to travel up to another 320 tiles from the pump before it requires another pump. This makes them essential when routing fluids over long distances to avoid "pipe overextended" warnings and to maintain flow to remote facilities.

When placed adjacent to a rail track with its inlet/outlet oriented toward the track, a pump will visually attach to the top of a stopped fluid wagon and can load or unload fluid wagons at train stops. The pump will not connect to the wagon if it is unpowered or if a circuit condition prevents it from operating.

Pumps integrate with the circuit network and can be used as logic-controlled valves. When powered normally, a pump allows flow only in its facing direction. When a circuit condition is set on the pump, it will only pass fluid while that condition is satisfied; if the pump loses power it blocks flow regardless of circuit signals. This capability is commonly used to prioritize or interlock resource flows (for example, disabling heavy oil cracking while lubricant levels are low).

Practical notes and tactics:

• Orient pumps to ensure the flow direction matches the desired pipeline routing; pumps never pass fluid backwards.
• Use pumps to break long pipe runs into 320-tile segments; place a pump near the end of a run to extend reach.
• Parallel pumps increase throughput; space and pipe layout permitting, add pumps in parallel rather than series to raise transfer capacity.
• Monitor source and destination segment fill levels when designing near-capacity lines, since low source or high destination fill reduces per-pump throughput.
• Use circuit-controlled pumps to implement conditional fluid routing, resource prioritization, or safety interlocks (e.g., halt a refinery train unload when storage is full).
• Ensure pumps are powered and not subject to a false circuit lock when expecting wagon loading/unloading at train stops.