Sandustry Reactions Chart: Water, Steam, Ice, Lava & Heat
Quick answer
Treat reactions as factory inputs: heat can melt ice or turn water into steam, steam rises and can become rain, and Cryoblaster snow can freeze water or solidify lava.
Quick reaction chart
| Starting material | Condition | Result | Practical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ice | Heat | Water, then Steam if heated further | Water recovery and thermal setups |
| Water | Heat | Steam | Feed vertical routes or a Steam Turbine |
| Steam | Reaches the upper environment | Rain | Recycle water into a basin |
| Water | Cryoblaster cold | Snow / frozen water interaction | Cooling and controlled storage |
| Lava | Cryoblaster cold | Solidified lava | Safer handling and terrain control |
| Residue | Flamethrower / heat | Burnt Residue | Prepare input for the Kinetic Press |
The exact timing and geometry depend on the current Early Access build. Build a small test chamber first, because a reaction can move through adjacent pixels and overflow into a machine or storage area.
How to build a safe reaction chamber
- Use Foundation or another deliberate boundary to contain the first test.
- Keep the heat source separate from the input drop point.
- Put an empty collection basin below the reaction so overflow has somewhere to go.
- Add a route for the result before adding more input.
- Test one material at a time, then connect the chamber to the main production line.
Water and steam loop
Water is not just a resource to pipe into Wet Sand. Heating Water produces Steam; Steam rises and can return as Rain. A useful loop is:
Water basin → heat source → Steam rise → Rain collection → Water route
Keep the collection area wider than the heat column and avoid placing valuable machines directly under the expected rain path. For long-distance transport, use the Pipes and Pumps route once Fluids research is available.
Lava and Cryoblaster
The Cryoblaster is listed in the current Research reference as a way to produce Snow and interact with Water and Lava. Use it as a controlled utility, not as an assumption of infinite production: confirm the power input and the local reaction before scaling the chamber.
Common mistakes
- Heating a liquid without leaving headroom for rising Steam.
- Building a reaction next to an unfiltered Conveyor.
- Treating a Demo-era water or lava trick as guaranteed in Early Access.
- Connecting a large reservoir before the small test chamber is stable.
Related guides
Sources
Reaction behavior is based on the official Sandustry overview, the Research reference, and the game's Steam description. This page intentionally labels build-sensitive details instead of presenting Demo behavior as permanent.
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