Chemfuel in RimWorld: Production, Safe Storage, and Burn Rates

Chemfuel keeps a lot of toys running in RimWorld. Jump Packs, Passenger Shuttles, Pod Launchers, Chemfuel Generators, if it moves or shoots, there is a good chance it drinks Chemfuel. Demand only grows as a colony expands, so a steady supply matters more than most early-game players expect.

This guide covers the five reliable ways to get Chemfuel, how to store the stuff without setting your base on fire, and exactly how much each device burns through.

Five Ways to Produce or Acquire Chemfuel

Some sources scale better than others. Mixing two or three of them keeps the pantry full.

1. Biofuel Refinery

The bread and butter of Chemfuel production. Build a Biofuel Refinery in RimWorld, assign a colonist with the Crafting skill, and convert Wood or Raw Food into fuel.

Refinery cost: 150 Steel and 3 Components.

Conversion rates:

• 70 Wood Logs produce 35 Chemfuel.
• Raw Food worth 3.5 nutrition produces 35 Chemfuel.

A couple of catches on the food side. Hay and prepared Meals are off the menu. Anything else flagged as raw food works, including Human Meat, Insect Meat, and Twisted Meat. Useful to know when the freezer is full of questionable cuts and the colony is squeamish about eating them.

2. Boomalopes

These walking propane tanks are surprisingly productive. Tame one, assign an Animal Handler, and the colonist will milk 11 Chemfuel per Boomalope per day.

The yield drops when the animal is hungry, so keep them fed if you want a full harvest. Worth noting that they remain Boomalopes, meaning a stray bullet or stray fire near the pen can end badly.

3. Infinite Chemreactor

Passive income at its finest. Hook an Infinite Chemreactor up to 300W of constant power and it produces 75 Chemfuel every 10 in-game days with zero colonist labor.

The catch is that you cannot craft one. They drop as quest rewards only, so accept every odd request from random faction members and hope the loot table feels generous.

4. Boomshrooms

When scouting the map, look for Boomshrooms in glowforest biomes. Each harvest yields 8 Chemfuel. Not a primary source, but free fuel is free fuel.

5. Trade

Faction Bases and travelling Merchants occasionally stock Chemfuel. Fine in an emergency. As a long-term plan it ranks somewhere between tedious and expensive, since carrying capacity and silver tend to disappear fast.

If your campaign is running on a RimWorld Together dedicated server, splitting production duties across friends turns barely enough into a real stockpile.

Storage Without Explosions

Chemfuel is extremely flammable. A poorly placed barrel next to a sparking power conduit can flatten a workshop and incinerate the colonist who built it. Treat the stockpile like the powder room of an old fortress.

A few habits that pay off:

• Use small, non-flammable rooms. Stone walls, stone floors, no exceptions.
• Split your supply across multiple rooms. If one ignites, the rest survives.
• Never store Chemfuel with Mortar Shells. Two disasters for the price of one.
• Watch for mental breaks. A sad colonist can decide that punching a fuel pile is a fine use of an afternoon.
• Keep power conduits and heat sources out of the storage area.

Tanks and Shelves

Density matters when space and stone walls are at a premium. Two purpose-built containers carry the bulk of any stockpile:

• Small Chemfuel Tank: 120 Steel, 2x2 footprint, holds 250 Chemfuel.
• Large Chemfuel Tank: 200 Steel, 3x3 footprint, holds 750 Chemfuel.

Shelves are the third option. Crafted from 20 Stuff, a single Shelf holds six stacks. With a maximum stack size of 150 Chemfuel, that puts 900 Chemfuel into a 2x1 tile space. Hard to beat that ratio.

Refilling Devices

Hauling moves fuel from the stockpile to whatever needs it. Right-click on the target, choose Prioritize Refilling, and a colonist with Hauling enabled will top it off. Set Hauling priority high on at least one pawn, otherwise a jug of fuel might sit unused while a Jump Pack quietly runs dry mid-combat.

Chemfuel Consumption by Device

Each tool drinks Chemfuel at its own rate. Knowing the numbers helps when sizing storage and planning long trips:

• Pod Launchers: 2.25 per tile travelled.
• Chemfuel Generators: 4.5 per day.
• Jump Packs: 20 per charge.
• Rocketswarm Launchers: 180 per reload.
• Smokepop Packs: 10 per use, regardless of charges consumed.
• Firefoam Pop Packs: 30 per charge.
• Locust Armor: 20 per charge.
• Phoenix Armor: 40 per charge.
• Graveships: 10 per tile travelled, or 50 per trip, whichever is greater.
• Passenger Shuttles: 3 per tile travelled, or 50 per trip, whichever is greater.

A single Rocketswarm reload alone burns more than sixteen days of Boomalope milk. Plan accordingly before launching long Pod or Shuttle trips across the map.

Quick Recap

Refineries handle the steady output, Boomalopes add a passive trickle, Chemreactors reward patience and good RNG, and Boomshrooms plus trade fill in gaps. Store everything in stone-walled bunkers, prefer Tanks or stacked Shelves for density, and check burn rates before committing fuel to a long trip.