# Rainwater Catch & Funnels

**URL:** <https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312>\
**Category:** The Drawing Board\
**Created:** [August 11, 2015, 9:09am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312 "2015-08-11T09:09:07Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 20\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 9:09am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/1 "2015-08-11T09:09:07Z")

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Ok, I have a question about these. I don’t really understand the current implementation of them. I understand they are a funnel setup in the rain… This would catch very little. A raincoat/poncho would work. Sheet Metal would work. It’s all about surface area. Heck, in a pinch you could use tight fitted wood. But plastic bottles to make a funnel…? This seems a bit ridiculous to me. If you were trying to use the least efficient method, sure go for it. You should fill an entire tile with buckets and all that.  
Hell, a sheet would work (though much less efficiently) better then just a funnel. Spread it out at a 45 degree angel and there you go. Most of the water it catches could be directed into a container.

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 3:22pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/2 "2015-08-11T15:22:12Z")

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If we had constructed funnels of some sort, that would be a useful feature. But multi-tile rain-catchers condensing into a single collection point, I’m unsure how practical that’d be to code.

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 6:53pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/3 "2015-08-11T18:53:34Z")

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Shouldn’t be difficult. But I’m not even talking about that. Just the point that raincatchers are about area and not a single funnel.

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 6:57pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/4 "2015-08-11T18:57:23Z")

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Granted, the makeshift funnels are absolutely awful at rain-catching, but I have had the proper funnels rapidly fill entire steel jerrycans. \>.\>

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/5 "2015-08-11T20:23:03Z")

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Well imagine IRL. You stick a Jerrycan with a funnel out in the rain. How fast do you really think it’d fill?  
Compare this will a sheet of sheet metal and a Jerry can.

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:29pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/6 "2015-08-11T20:29:36Z")

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Understandable. Personally, I think makeshift funnels don’t need tweaking, but regular funnels might. They have a collection radius of 380, whereas leather and makeshift funnels only have 85.

I could maybe see if I can implement constructable funnels using sheet metal, tarps, or such, possibly as an addition to More Survival Tools…

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:33pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/7 "2015-08-11T20:33:50Z")

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I say funnels should catch what makeshift do now. Makeshift should catch about the same. Having a construction Menu item that sets up a raincatch to catch what regular funnels do now.  
Three kinds me thinks…  
Rain Coat catch - Chance of being disabled in high winds.  
Wooden Catch - Less efficient as wood is porous and tends to leak.  
Sheet Metal Catch - Requires a welding torch to setup well. (maybe a makeshift one that doesn’t as the fourth kind?)

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/8 "2015-08-11T20:42:16Z")

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Hmm. Either way I’m working out the details of a rain catch as terrain. Will have to see how doable it is. If it is we can then implement it, either as mainline or mod content, then re-balance the trap funnels accordingly.

I wish Kevin or whoever statted the funnels could give us reasoning behind WHY the funnels have these specific catch rates. Rebalancing would be easier if we knew how the funnel radius stat correlated to catch rates of real-world equivalents.

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:43pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/9 "2015-08-11T20:43:23Z")

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Alright, awesome. Thanks Random. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/10 "2015-08-11T20:55:16Z")

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Looks promising so far, can make a terrain also produce a trap, which is how pits work. Mucking about with trap properties to try and get it to stop prompting me if I want to take it down, only for it to not take itself down because I removed the drop option. XD

“That funnel looks too dangerous to mess with. Best leave it alone.”

EDIT: Well…shit. So many bug fixings and now I’m stumped by an inability to get the fucking thing to collect water. ;\_;

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**Author:** ![Coolthulhu](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/coolthulhu/32/2446_2.png) [@Coolthulhu](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Coolthulhu)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:22am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/11 "2015-08-12T00:22:42Z")

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> [@Random\_dragon](#):
>
> EDIT: Well…shit. So many bug fixings and now I’m stumped by an inability to get the fucking thing to collect water. ;\_;

Looks like it’s in map.cpp:  
map::actualize checks existence of traps with submap::get\_trap, which only returns actual traps as opposed to “terrain traps”.  
The trap is then set in traplocs. Entry traplocs is necessary for funnels to work. No other trap uses traplocs, I think.

To fix it, you’d have to add a check for “terrain trap” in map::actualize. Terrain trap is checked with something like `current_submap->get_ter( x, y ).obj().trap`

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/12 "2015-08-12T00:25:59Z")

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Oh. HAHAHAH. Right as I posted it in the Toolbox forum. I guess I could PR that?

EDIT: I’d need to figure out how without breaking it though.

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**Author:** ![Belteshazzar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Belteshazzar](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Belteshazzar)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:17am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/13 "2015-08-12T02:17:59Z")

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One might try using the vehicular framework for a large raincatch rather than the trap system (just considering that solar panels already use a tile or multiple tiles collect sunlight/energy for batteries.)

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 2:21am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/14 "2015-08-12T02:21:59Z")

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Hmm. So what, add vehicle parts for other funnel types?

I like the idea of a constructed raincatcher though. We just need to lay the foundation for terrain-deployed traps to do that, and I have no idea how.

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**Author:** ![kevin.granade](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/kevin.granade/32/1316_2.png) [@kevin.granade](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/kevin.granade)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 3:57am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/15 "2015-08-12T03:57:44Z")

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The funnel is a LARGE plastic funnel, 380mm in radius, or 760mm across, OR 0.76 meters wide, in other words it fills most of the tile it’s on. This isn’t a random kitchen or automotive funnel you stick in a can, it’s purpose-built for catching rain.  
The makeshift funnel OTOH is exactly that, a small plastic funnel made by cutting and unrolling a plastic bottle.  
All the pertinent calculations are spelled out in detail in weather.cpp in funnel\_charges\_per\_turn() and funnel\_turns\_per\_charge.

Now that I take a look at the stats, the funnel item is very misleading, it should be pretty light, but I hadn’t noticed that the volume is massively off, it should be 10+, not 2.

Feel free to add more funnel-type items or clarify the descriptions, but I don’t see any issues with the existing items. If you want to add a chance of things blowing away though, the funnel is a great candidate for that due to it’s surface area and low weight.

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 12, 2015, 4:00am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/16 "2015-08-12T04:00:36Z")

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Hmm. Still, it would be nice if we had a way to construct alternatives.

Can anyone gimme more info on what I’ve have to do to allow funneling to work with terrain-traps? ;A;

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**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 14, 2015, 5:41am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/17 "2015-08-14T05:41:41Z")

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Well. Tarp-based constructed funnel is now a thing, as Series 14 of More Survival Tools ( [https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/13271](https://github.com/CleverRaven/Cataclysm-DDA/pull/13271) ) has been merged.

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**Author:** ![Miloch](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/discourse.cataclysmdda.org/miloch/32/1339_2.png) [@Miloch](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Miloch)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 2:30am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/18 "2015-08-17T02:30:49Z")

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Nice!

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Random\_dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4da419/32.png) [@Random\_dragon](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Random_dragon)\
**Post date:** [August 17, 2015, 2:37am UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/19 "2015-08-17T02:37:31Z")

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Also gives you free reign to PR mainline versions using other materials if you so wish, and are able to. X3

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**Author:** ![Invalid\_Username](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/4bbf92/32.png) [@Invalid\_Username](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/u/Invalid_Username)\
**Post date:** [February 15, 2019, 5:09pm UTC](https://discourse.cataclysmdda.org/t/rainwater-catch-funnels/10312/21 "2019-02-15T17:09:39Z")

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The idea, or the thread necromancy?

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