Just when I thought I understood pipes! (Oil Resource Nodes)

[Caver451]

There is an Oil Resource well in an area where I really don't need plastic or rubber; I prefer to get those from nodes. I decided I would try to use it to feed a nice, big triple fuel generator plant. The Resource Well Pressurizer fully overclocked gives 900m3, and the nodes are a mixture of impure, normal and one pure.

With some simple piping, I combined the nodes such that I should get 300m3 out of each. Three sets of four refineries clocked at 125% requires 75m3 of crude oil each, or exactly 300m3 total. Piping is split in two and then two again to feed them evenly. Each refinery generates 50m3 of fuel for a total of 200m3 of fuel, driving 20 fuel generators each.

In effect, I have three separate plants requiring 300m3 of crude to generate 5000MW each for a total of 15000MW combined.

This seemed like a simple job, but the crude oil can't keep up with the refineries. Even on the single pure resource well extractor, which should generate 300m3 of crude oil, it runs at around 50%. Checking other nodes, some run at 100% while others somewhere between 50% and 85%.

I simply have no idea what is going on, except perhaps I don't understand how resource wells and resource well extractors actually work!

I would say maybe these are fluctuating crude oil outputs, but my single 300m3 pure node is fluctuates between 49% and 50% output. Often it pauses, but I am getting no where near the full, calculated amount of crude, so the refineries have no chance of producing the calculated fuel; they are constantly idling.

I added some pumps, even though my lift is only around 8m, but that has had no effect: at the well extractor head, the flow is only around 150m3 on the 300m3 overclocked pure node.

I'm not new to piping, and I designed this plant just like any other another that I build on resource nodes. It just won't extract the oil.

So one of several things might be happening:
1. Overclocking doesn't work properly on resource well pressurizers.
2. Resource wells don't necessarily deliver their expected fluid volumes by design.
3. There is a bug.
4. I have no idea what I am doing, and I should go back to playing Minecraft.

Please, someone tell me it isn't option number four! ;-)

Should I be using Mk2 pipes? I wanted to avoid that since I am handling max 300m3, but maybe the pipes need "more space" for some reason? For example, is my node _trying_ to deliver 300m3 but is doing so by fluctuating above and below 300m3, but since I am only using Mk1 pipes, the extra gets truncated and the average ends up below 300m3?

[Sub-Nominal]

iirc pipes don't get full flow rate unless they are full. try turning off the refineries and power generators and wait until all the oil pipes are full. Then turn on the refineries and wait until the fuel is full and then turn on the generators.

[shoopy]

Because fluids spread out, your output is going to be divided into the empty volume of the pipe network, until the pipes are filled to at least the output level. If your machines are running during this time they will take up what little fluid gets to them, which keeps emptying the pipe and keeps your flow rate low. This makes filling up the pipe take a long time.

[Caver451]

Originally posted by shoopy:

Because fluids spread out, your output is going to be divided into the empty volume of the pipe network, until the pipes are filled to at least the output level. If your machines are running during this time they will take up what little fluid gets to them, which keeps emptying the pipe and keeps your flow rate low. This makes filling up the pipe take a long time.

I do know this, and let the refineries fill up, but as soon as I let the fuel out, they almost immediately cleared out and started struggling again.

I wonder if I just need to redo those pipes? I've seen a similar problem before, but for it to happen to three identical pipe layouts is weird.

Thank you for the suggestion, however. I will try it again, and if I can get the darn thing to work, I will certainly post the solution.

[Porked!]

Add a buffer tank with a pump on the input side somewhere close to your output zone to keep fluctuation low. That thing nicely fixed my refinery rows.

[NocheLuz]

There are some suggestions.

First is to make sure your Refinery really needs oil. It seems like you only check the Oil node and not the Refineries. If you pump more Oil than you are using, the Node will only produce what you are using.

Second, the mk2 pipe isn't needed if you don't use more than 300 m3 per minute. It only helps with the flow rate, anything other than that is working like mk1 pipe.

Third, placing buffer near your Refineries input and filling them up might help. You can look at them if your system has any issues. If your buffer is full all the time then is good. But if it is empty or lower than half that means you are using more than the node can produce, or there is something wrong with piping input.

As a side note, it seems like there can be a headlift issue. You should measure the height by placing 4 meter Foundation on the node. If your Factory is higher than 2 Foundations, then it can be a headlift issue.

[PhailRaptor]

Could also try redoing your pipes so you feed the manifold from the center, instead of one end. Sometimes that causes issues for no reason.

[Blue Wraith]

Resource wells can run at full rate. I just checked mine in game. I have probably the same oil well merging into 2 lines of 450 / min (for turbo blend fuel). All extractors running at 100%. The problem lies in the pipe sloshing, which prevent a pipe from running full rate when there are multiple T-junction consumers. I'd first upgrade to mk2 to see if that fixes it. Otherwise, send me a save file and I'll take a look.

[Grandaddypurple]

OP if you've not managed to fix the issue I'd be glad to jump into your save and try and fix this
You can add me if you're down with this

[RadioIesbian Fluid]

you never mentioned what you did with the resin byproduct, if thats not belted out properly that can slow down production.

Also something to keep in mind is that it can actually take multiple hours for a system to fully balance out and run at 100%. It not gonna be instant. Verify the math, verify they all can recieve the oil and that the product can be removed without blockages.
Then leave it for awhile and see if it'll balance out.

It took my rocket fuel plant putting 2400 rocketfuel into 240 fuel generators around 100 hours to fully balance out at run at 100%.