Anti-spoiling belt terminator.

[BlakeMW]

On Gleba there's this issue, where inserters refuse to take from the end of a belt, particularly exacerbated by using Stack Inserters, here's a screenshot:

spoilage makes me sad.jpg (185.13 KiB) Viewed 826 times

I've circled the nutrient stacks which the inserter prefers to take from and x'd the ones it refuses to take. Changing the orientation of the belt can help but I can't find any belt orientation where it'll grab the very last one and even if there is some very particular belt and inserter orientation, I don't want to be constrained in such a way (later edit: Found one: A Stack Inserter pulling from a corner can clear the belt).

Also inserters stubbornly ignore the "freshness" filter settings when grabbing from the belt, it seems that setting only applies to Chests.

The result: the last nutrients on the belt inevitably spoil as the cruel heartless inserter shuns them until they spoil and the nice spoilage inserter sends them on their way to a better place where they'll be appreciated (aka the Heating Tower).

Hence the anti-spoiling belt terminator:

illbeback.jpg (131.78 KiB) Viewed 826 times

It's literally just the belt wired to anything, here I use a small power pole but it doesn't matter what it's wired to, as it's reacting to its own signal, it could even be wired to another belt. It only allows one stack of nutrients into the belt giving the inserter no choice in the matter.

This means spoiling only happens when something goes wrong rather than it being an inevitability.

Very trivial, quite meaningless in terms of improving the performance of the build, but satisfying to not have that last piece of nutrients spoiling away and to enjoy perfect freshness management. Also, it's a zero cost fix, the automation wire is free and if the belt is wired to something that is going to be there anyway, it takes up no more space.

This issue seems to affect any situation where an inserter grabs from the end of a belt but particularly when stacks are involved: the genericized version uses "Everything = 0", it doesn't need to be specific.

[dragon_gawain]

Huh, that's a fascinating tidbit of inserter trivia, and a pretty elegant (and very simple!) to the problem!
Now excuse me for a moment as I put this in a few places in my Gleba base...

[LCStark]

Very interesting. I've used a similar setup in my last modded run before 2.0 for a different thing, but I didn't think to try it for the nutrient anti-spoilage. I've been wiring the belt to the inserter that takes from it, since it's gonna be there anyway. Made me wish we could just have a connect button for the belt to connect it to itself, kinda like we can connect it to the logistics network.

[MBas]

Could you explain why you want to do that? What is the issue with having two instances of spoilage at the end of the belt? Or is it just an aesthetic thing? For example, I am not using inserters for this at all. I always prioritize splitters, as they consistently operate at full belt speed. And its free of energy, free of entity calculation (in case you are worring about cpu). All win.

I actually have very few places where nutrients "just end." The Gleba philosophy is all about keeping everything flowing and ensuring nothing goes to stuck—burning everything unused . With a higher fresh input, you get a higher fresh output. You should aim for science packs with an output freshness of 94% or more.

[BlakeMW]

Could you explain why you want to do that? What is the issue with having two instances of spoilage at the end of the belt? Or is it just an aesthetic thing?

Yes.

I actually have very few places where nutrients "just end." The Gleba philosophy is all about keeping everything flowing and ensuring nothing goes to stuck—burning everything unused . With a higher fresh input, you get a higher fresh output. You should aim for science packs with an output freshness of 94% or more.

There are zero recipes where the freshness of nutrients impact the freshness of the output. Pentapod eggs and fish both come out 0% spoiled, while Biochambers and artificial soil aren't subject to spoilage.

[Narc]

[...]if there is some very particular belt and inserter orientation, I don't want to be constrained in such a way (later edit: Found one: A Stack Inserter pulling from a corner can clear the belt).

I just use a looping belt for my nutrients. All the contents of the belt will (eventually) go past all the inserters taking from the belt, I can output spoilage onto the same belt, and a filtered splitter takes spoilage away off the belt. It seemed like a simpler option, especially since freshness of nutrients doesn't matter.