Factorio Forums

See https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =6&t=10161

It would be really really handy if a Valve could be added for the liquids that you could place between or over a pipe to cut off the flow of liquid through pipes. That way you can better control what is going through pipes and if you need to rearrange things and so you can clear pipes easier by cutting off the input (Without having to straight remove the pipe).

+100!

I have to remove sections of the pipe to disable the flow.
Adding a valve would really come in handy!

Even better, make it a smart valve so you can link it to the logistics network.

That's a genial concept I think (Meaning - addition that looks small and simple, but with many non-obvious upsides)
I guess I would attempt to make my steam engine shutoff control way more precise, not just having them all on or all off

Just to follow up, after having tested a bit more. A valve is necessarily not needed, you can actually use a pump in place of the 'valve'. It essentially functions the same way with the added bonus that not only can it stop the flow, it can also reverse it. So if you pump x into something you can actually reverse it back into it's source to drain the chemical plant of the liquid provided it has somewhere to go. As long as you are using storage this seems to be doable. So basically all you need to do is place the pump at the entry point of the plant or on that section. Then use 'r' to change the direction of the pump to control the flow/direction. If you use 'r' to change it sideways it should stop the flow, if you turn it around fully it reverses it. It'll save those 'big losses' once you get used to it. They are extremely handy.

The one exception that I seem to be having is with lubricant. That seems not to pump properly. Not sure why. Though it could just be the way I have it setup. Or it might be a bug with just that one.

The pump:

- is one directional only
- when it has the electricity it takes the water from its "back" and pushes it to the front (front is indicated by a blue arrow when you hover over the pump)
- when there is no electricity it stops the flow of water

Actually we intend to extend the pump so you can "stop it" - same as "closing the valve". And yes when the circuit network is revisited it will be possible to do it with a signal.

slpwnd wrote:The pump:

- is one directional only
- when it has the electricity it takes the water from its "back" and pushes it to the front (front is indicated by a blue arrow when you hover over the pump)
- when there is no electricity it stops the flow of water

Actually we intend to extend the pump so you can "stop it" - same as "closing the valve". And yes when the circuit network is revisited it will be possible to do it with a signal.

Yeah. A 'on/off' or rather open/close would be really good. But for now it does exactly what the initial suggestion was if put in the right place. You can suck liquid back from a chemical plant back into its storage/source (provided the room) using 'r' also stopping the plant from taking anymore of that liquid. It solves the "Omfg I lost 200 xxx liquid" comments people have been making lol. Seems like save for lubricant, you can reverse the flow of any liquid. It's quite cool actually.

What I'd like is a valve that opens based on pressure. So you set the valve to 5 units, and if either side fills up to that amount it opens automatically.

What about pressure sensors that connect to circuit network, and count the amount of liquid in the pipe the same way smart chests count items...
as well as circuit-controlled valves?

when there is no electricity it stops the flow of water

Can we do an open or closed pump? I like pumps that create pressure, but then it's annoying to have power run out and they stop all flow (especially when used with water & steam power)

Actually we intend to extend the pump so you can "stop it" - same as "closing the valve". And yes when the circuit network is revisited it will be possible to do it with a signal.

I like... I reverse my pump manually at the moment, but a signal would be ideal....

TGS wrote:Just to follow up, after having tested a bit more. A valve is necessarily not needed, you can actually use a pump in place of the 'valve'. It essentially functions the same way with the added bonus that not only can it stop the flow, it can also reverse it. So if you pump x into something you can actually reverse it back into it's source to drain the chemical plant of the liquid provided it has somewhere to go. As long as you are using storage this seems to be doable. So basically all you need to do is place the pump at the entry point of the plant or on that section. Then use 'r' to change the direction of the pump to control the flow/direction. If you use 'r' to change it sideways it should stop the flow, if you turn it around fully it reverses it. It'll save those 'big losses' once you get used to it. They are extremely handy.

The one exception that I seem to be having is with lubricant. That seems not to pump properly. Not sure why. Though it could just be the way I have it setup. Or it might be a bug with just that one.

Actually, I'd reword your post as "technically not needed". Sure, can you achieve the same results with a pump? Yes. Are there advantages outside of a pump for a valve? Also yes. Just to name a few you got cost, size, and space. Not to mention Fossil's idea was good too. Valves based on pressure (that you can manually set as for how much pressure builds up before the valve automatically opens). Based off of those few extra benefits alone, a valve could be more advantageous than pump. So I would still keep this suggestion alive, as a valve would be a very useful addition to the game.

Duke Nukem wrote:

TGS wrote:Just to follow up, after having tested a bit more. A valve is necessarily not needed, you can actually use a pump in place of the 'valve'. It essentially functions the same way with the added bonus that not only can it stop the flow, it can also reverse it. So if you pump x into something you can actually reverse it back into it's source to drain the chemical plant of the liquid provided it has somewhere to go. As long as you are using storage this seems to be doable. So basically all you need to do is place the pump at the entry point of the plant or on that section. Then use 'r' to change the direction of the pump to control the flow/direction. If you use 'r' to change it sideways it should stop the flow, if you turn it around fully it reverses it. It'll save those 'big losses' once you get used to it. They are extremely handy.

The one exception that I seem to be having is with lubricant. That seems not to pump properly. Not sure why. Though it could just be the way I have it setup. Or it might be a bug with just that one.

Actually, I'd reword your post as "technically not needed". Sure, can you achieve the same results with a pump? Yes. Are there advantages outside of a pump for a valve? Also yes. Just to name a few you got cost, size, and space. Not to mention Fossil's idea was good too. Valves based on pressure (that you can manually set as for how much pressure builds up before the valve automatically opens). Based off of those few extra benefits alone, a valve could be more advantageous than pump. So I would still keep this suggestion alive, as a valve would be a very useful addition to the game.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with further possibilities for a Valve. But the reason I suggested it was mostly due to the issues people were having with not being able to stop the flow of liquid and chemical plants filling up thus causing them to lose a significant amount of liquid each time they wanted to change the purpose of the plant. Hence not necessarily needed anymore. That being said though, a valve would still be great. But if you could control the flow with a valve it would diminish the value of the pump quite a bit imo.

As i posted HERE, I'd like a "liquid inserter" or "water tap" that unloads the pipe 1 (or 2, 3 etc...) measures a time, so you can have a long pipe with lots of this "Taps", and they can feed chem plants without having an "obligatory imput point".
This can be usefull, it would make the factory a looot more efficient and aesthetically nice to watch (ALSO SIMETRY!!! I WANT SIMETRY!) If i have a crude oil pipe going South-north, I wish i could put chem plants either west and east of this pipe, and then make both chem plants unload (for ex) the lubricant by the north and both heavy and light oil from the south... this would be sooo much easy and nice to look at

What about a 2 way Valve. I know you could use 2 normal shutoff valves(2 Shut off valves at the 2 top ends of the "T") to create this but it would save some space. It would be like a spliter but for the pipes.

slpwnd wrote:The pump:

- is one directional only
- when it has the electricity it takes the water from its "back" and pushes it to the front (front is indicated by a blue arrow when you hover over the pump)
- when there is no electricity it stops the flow of water

Actually we intend to extend the pump so you can "stop it" - same as "closing the valve". And yes when the circuit network is revisited it will be possible to do it with a signal.

With this post are you ruling out the introduction of an unpowered valve?

I'll be frank, the easiest solution here, if you need to manually cut off the flow of fluids, is to remove a section of pipe (Ideally with a pump pushing fluid into storage). Minimal loss overall. It's not pretty, but without any kind of logistical cutoff valves, this will do the job.

I do, however, really like the idea of logistical cutoff valves. Certain pumps working under certain conditions, and an alternate set working otherwise. Smart Tanks would also bring fluid logistics into the circuit network fold as well.

A bit spamy, but...

+1

Nothing to add, but I totally support ideas of the above.

Cannot be used as suggestion, cause
- initial suggestion is too old, cause in the unstable phase of v0.9.
- a valve already exists as "pump", it even can be switched on and off by turning on/off power or rotating the pump
- a more intelligent pump (switching via circuits) is obviously planned for v0.11.
- ...

More detailed suggestions make sense after that release.

Right now I'm using Valve from Yuoki mod and they work perfect. Pump as valve is unpractical because she work actively, not passively. Valve allow to direct flow of liquid without forcing it.

I see this thread https://forums.factorio.com/forum/vie ... =6&t=10161 as follow-up.