Wheezewort

Wheezewort is a heat‑absorbing critter used as an unpowered cooler in Oxygen Not Included. Wild Wheezeworts occur in the world; they can be uprooted and replanted into a Planter Box, Farm Tile, or Hydroponic Farm for player use. A planted Wheezewort consumes 4 kg of Phosphorite per cycle as fertilizer.

A domestic (planted) Wheezewort actively cools the gas in the tile beneath it by ingesting gas and releasing it colder. A domestic Wheezewort processes 1000 g/s of gas (cooling roughly 1 kg/s), while a wild Wheezewort processes 250 g/s. The plant lowers the ingested gas temperature by 5 °C before releasing it. Because the cooling effect is applied as an absolute temperature change rather than an energy transfer, the effective DTU/s depends on the gas’s specific heat and density; Hydrogen yields the highest effective cooling (example: 2.4 DTU/gK × 5 K × 1000 g/s = 12000 DTU/s). Wheezeworts will never cool a gas below 5 °C above that gas’s condensation point, so they cannot directly liquefy the gas they cool. The Wheezewort itself weighs 400 kg and exchanges heat with surrounding gas, which can slow or limit net cooling if the plant’s body heats up.

Operational constraints: Wheezeworts require an ambient temperature between -60 °C and 95 °C and have no air pressure requirement for growth. Cooling only functions when there is gas in the bottom tile of the Wheezewort; in vacuum there is no heat capacity or conductivity for cooling, so they do not cool gas. The gas‑interaction mechanics can be exploited: a Wheezewort will create a partial vacuum in its bottom tile and can be used as an unpowered one‑tile airpump in narrow tunnels. Such pump behavior resets if the feed tile rises above 2 kg pressure or itself becomes vacuum.

Spaced Out! DLC changes: Wheezeworts emit radiation originating from their lower half. In vacuum a Wheezewort can emit about 480 rads per cycle; this radiation can be harvested by Radbolt Generators, so placing Wheezeworts adjacent to or above a generator is effective. Farm Tiles between the plant and the generator absorb some radiation, so choose Farm Tile types with low radiation absorption when positioning a Radbolt Generator beneath a planted Wheezewort. Wheezewort radiation is also useful for disinfecting and preserving food by keeping stored food frozen while killing Food Poisoning germs. Radiation output can vary slightly (a couple of rads per cycle) and has some positional dependence.

Practical notes and strategies:

• Replant Wheezeworts in Planter Boxes, Farm Tiles or Hydroponic Farms and supply 4 kg Phosphorite per cycle to maintain growth.
• For maximum cooling power, place Wheezeworts in atmospheres with high specific heat and density (Hydrogen and certain combustible gases are best); consult gas properties when designing industrial coolers.
• Avoid relying on Wheezeworts to cool gases below their condensation thresholds; they can self‑stifle if cooled gas causes the plant body to drop below operating temperatures.
• Use Wheezewort pump behavior for passive gas routing in one‑tile conduits, but ensure feed tiles don’t exceed 2 kg or become vacuum.
• In Spaced Out! playthroughs, consider pairing Wheezeworts with Radbolt Generators for power and use radiation for sterilization, while accounting for Farm Tile radiation absorption.
• The in‑game database classifies Wheezewort as an animal rather than a plant.