help with idle machines

[thistledownsname]

I've got blenders fully stocked on their inputs with plenty of line for output, and they're turned on with power, but they're not making anything. How do I kick start them?

[Warlord]

Do you have a picture (screenshot) of the machine's interface? We can get a good idea what might be the issue from a picture.

[SpannerMonkey]

Hi while as above a pic might help. there's not a lot that can go amiss, kick starting shouldn't be required. Power connection , product feed/s, Recipe's set( for all machines, catches me out every now and then) Product out , and that's it. The only time I see machines go idle is when the output is full, or i messed up somewhere

[marcusaddamsson]

My first guess (without more info) would be that you're making something that has a liquid output (like water that you don't really want) and that fluid is backed up. Select the fluid pipe, purge full system.

[Warlord]

Originally posted by SpannerMonkey:

Hi while as above a pic might help. there's not a lot that can go amiss, kick starting shouldn't be required. Power connection , product feed/s, Recipe's set( for all machines, catches me out every now and then) Product out , and that's it. The only time I see machines go idle is when the output is full, or i messed up somewhere

Right. There's only a few things that can be wrong, but we can determine which of them it is based on the interface.
1. No recipe set. I doubt this is it, as it's a very rookie mistake, not likely to happen if you are up to blenders. A screenshot will tell us if there is a recipe set.
2. You don't actually have enough items for a cycle. This seems unlikely because you claimed the input is fully stocked. But I don't know if you mean the belt going in is full, or the actual input slot in the interface. A screenshot will tell us if there are any items in the input slots
3. No place to put output items. Unlikely, as you claim there is plenty of line for output. But without seeing the interface, I cannot tell if maybe the output belt/pipe is perhaps not properly connected, which would cause the output to back up and the machine to pause. A screenshot will tell us if the output is clogged.
4. No power hookup. You claim it's powered, but double check that the wire to the machine is hooked up to a pole, not another machine (I do that every now and then when speed building). Then make sure that pole is hooked up to another pole, which should be hooked up to a generator somewhere (coal). Maybe you hooked the machine up to a power network that has no generators (missed a wire somewhere). A screenshot will tell us if there is not enough power to run.

In EVERY case, a single screenshot will be able to confirm the issue, and we can do that with less effort from the OP typing out a description of the problem, or perhaps providing the wrong info ("yes, the power is hooked up! Oh, it was do another machine, oops!").

[marcusaddamsson]

5. It's on Standby...?

BTW @Warlord, connecting two machines together is just awesome, isn't it?

[Warlord]

Don't think I've ever put a machine into standby. If my power sit' is so bad I need something off, I'd rather disconnect the line than have to physically approach the machine to flick a switch. But I did miss that as an option. And guess what, a screenshot would tell us that too! ;D

I don't manage to connect two machines together often. The way I build is with a pole on the border between a pair of machines. I never build a machine by itself, so there is always a pole to two machines. And I have pretty good muscle memory to quickly hook up the machines to it and click once more to start placing another pole for the next pair in a line of machines. But every now and then, the dreaded autosave sneaks up on me and I miss one click, BAM, machines tied to eachother. I think machines need to allow two connections - like lights - to allow a daisy chain of power lines. That, or powered foundations.

[marcusaddamsson]

Well, once you get mk2 wall sockets, power connection is much much easier/cleaner; drop a few walls, a two mk2 dual wall sockets, whack the walls, and you've got 7 * 4 connections (minus 3 to connect it in). But I get what you mean. Daisy-chaining them would be kinda nice.

[Grandaddypurple]

I've seen this issue half a dozen times on this forum now, I've never had it myself but it seems it's a pretty known bug

[DrNewcenstein]

Lack of power would say "No Power" on the machine display. Big orange box.
This would happen if the machine tripped a breaker or wasn't connected.

If it's in Standby, the big orange box would say Standby.

Did it run for a while then stop? If so, the output belt isn't actually snapped to the output.

Do the machine stock indicators say 50/50 (or whatever the given quantity/max quantity is)? If not, the input belt isn't snapped to the input.
This is still painfully easy to do; place a belt in front of something instead of snapping (due to a nerve twitch I have to deal with).

Recipe would have to be set before you could see the input load, or the power/standby status.

[Fanger]

If you have an inpure Input that can hose you up too.

[DrNewcenstein]

Impure nodes do not cause problems, they just take longer to mine than others.

[Warlord]

Originally posted by DrNewcenstein:

Impure nodes do not cause problems, they just take longer to mine than others.

I took it to mean that the contents of the belt might be mixed and clogged with the wrong item.

[marcusaddamsson]

I think he means if you get a random mat on a belt that's meant for a specific mat...

[Fanger]

Originally posted by marcusaddamsson:

I think he means if you get a random mat on a belt that's meant for a specific mat...

Yes that’s what I meant.

[marcusaddamsson]

My money's still on the 'output' water is full, 'cuz he's makin' Batteries.