Satisfactory: Transport liquids and gases efficiently

With Tier 3 you’ll start extracting water and oil and have your first contact with Satisfactory’s fluid system. That can get quite complex, as several mechanics interact in ways you probably haven’t considered yet. Managing fluids, and later gases, is essential for many late‑game items and to get the most out of the game. Use the real world as a guide: aspects such as gravity affect how your pipes behave. Even then, not everything is obvious, so let’s take a closer look at transporting liquids and gases.

Satisfactory liquids and gases: overview and uses

In the first few hours you only handle solid items and conveyor belts; with Tier 3, pipes and the first fluids enter the picture. This opens up many new possibilities, especially for fuel production.

Subsequent milestones expand this aspect further, meaning you’ll juggle more fluids at once. First, here’s which liquids await you and how to extract or produce them, plus what you’ll need them for.

Tier 3:

• Water (extracted with a Water Extractor) is essential for producing many resources.

Tier 5:

• Crude Oil (extracted with an Oil Extractor) is used for Fuel, Rubber, and Plastic.
• Heavy Oil Residue (produced in a Refinery) is a by‑product and can be converted into Fuel.
• Fuel (produced in a Refinery) is a fuel type.
• Turbo Fuel (produced in a Refinery) is a fuel type.
• Liquid Biofuel (produced in a Refinery) is a fuel type.

Tier 7:

• Alumina Solution (produced in a Refinery) is used to make Aluminium and Batteries.
• Sulfuric Acid (produced in a Refinery) is important for nuclear power.

Tier 8:

• Dissolved Silica (produced in a Refinery) is required for certain alternate recipes only.
• Nitric Acid (produced in a Blender) is used for Fuel and Uranium.

Gases arrive later and are especially important in the late game. These include very potent fuels and resources for Tier 9 recipes.

Tier 8:

• Nitrogen Gas (extracted with a Resource Well Extractor) is needed for some later aluminium parts.
• Rocket Fuel (produced in a Blender) is a fuel type.

Tier 9:

• Ionised Fuel (produced in a Refinery) is a fuel type.
• Excited Photonic Matter (produced in a Converter) is used by the Quantum Encoder.
• Dark Matter Residue (produced in a Converter or Quantum Encoder) is important for Ficsonium.

Satisfactory pipes and pumps: transporting liquids and gases

Now you know which fluids and gases exist. How do you move them from A to B and process them? Unlike normal resources, you must use pipes, which can transport both liquids and gases.

You unlock Mk.1 Pipes with Tier 3 and Water Extraction. From then on, you can lay them and start transport. They allow 300 m³ per minute and remain useful until Tier 6, where you unlock Mk.2 Pipes with double the throughput. In the AWESOME Shop you can also unlock cosmetic pipes that are completely solid‑colour. We recommend colour‑coding your pipes to match the fluid so you can tell them apart. When you click a pipe, you’ll see its throughput and utilisation.

In general, liquids in Satisfactory are affected by gravity; gases are not. Liquids cannot move upwards unaided and will preferentially flow downhill. They also flow with a certain pressure and prefer empty pipe sections.

Standard pipes and machine outputs can push liquids up to around 10 metres before the pressure head runs out. To lift liquids higher, install a pump. The Mk.1 Pump can add 20 metres of head; the Mk.2 Pump adds 50 metres. Pumps do not make liquids flow faster; they only provide pressure head.

You can make gravity work for you. When liquids flow straight downhill, they pick up velocity and can later climb higher sections. How this plays out depends heavily on your layout. Often the best approach is to experiment and test how far the fluid really travels. When in doubt, add an extra pump to guarantee full throughput.

Packaging liquids and gases: transport via conveyor belts

With a few exceptions, you can package nearly all liquids and gases and move them on conveyor belts. This can be a good alternative if you produce enough canisters or tanks to feed the Packager. You unlock the Packager at Tier 5 and can put it straight to work in oil production. The advantage is avoiding pipe setups entirely. You can also move packaged fluids by trains or drones, and you can feed them into the AWESOME Sink.

Buffers and valves: using tanks effectively

Just like solid items, you can buffer liquids so you don’t run out. There are small and large tanks holding 400 m³ and 2400 m³ respectively. Buffers are perfect for avoiding or minimising pipe “sloshing”. This occurs because machines don’t consume fluid at a perfectly constant rate, which can cause backflow. Liquids always flow towards available space; tanks help smooth this out.

Another solution is valves installed on pipes. They limit flow and can reduce sloshing. However, results aren’t always perfect. Again, try different approaches to move your fluids efficiently.

Conclusion: manage liquids and gases effectively

Transporting liquids and gases is a discipline of its own in Satisfactory. The basics are easy to grasp, but gravity, pressure, and sloshing can complicate things. We recommend testing different setups—resources won’t be lost. If you’d rather not deal with pipes, pumps, or gravity, you can package liquids and gases and move them by conveyor belt.

If you want to dive deeper into fluids in Satisfactory, why not hire one of our servers for the game and experiment to your heart’s content (https://www.4netplayers.com/en-gb/gameserver-hosting/satisfactory/). Once you understand the system, you can share these tips with your friends straight away.