"Perfect" Smelter setups has a problem with buffering

[Miravlix]

Do you realize that your 48 belt yellow Stone Furnace, 48 Red belt Steel Furnace is broken?

Smelters buffer... a perfect smelter line can't output faster than the smelters can create output, so if for any reason you don't use the output at 100% all the time the smelters will buffer up to 100 plates that can never get output onto the belt, unless you cut off input.

Assemblers stop input if they start buffering output, so perfect ratios is fine for them.

I now link input and output inserter with a green wire, if the output inserter is holding items, the input inserter idles. This, in my test, stops the smelters from buffering plates, without any other negative effect. (I always use yellow inserters and haven't tested using blue)

Another option is only making yellow with red output lane, if you do want the buffer. You would have to do some double output lane for blue's, but that seems kinda wonky since the point is to create a full belt with the designs.

[impetus maximus]

i use the one wire to the input output inserters on furnaces. enable if *everything = 0
works great and saves ore for furnaces that need it.

[Nich]

Mines will eventually die out. then you will get the buffer to clear out.

I like the buffer build ups. Nice easy place to get 200 iron or copper for hand crafting. Belt running is for chumps lol j/k