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Guswut

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Jul 29, 2019
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I have 8 geothermal generators hooked up together and connected via a single 2x insulated gold cable to an MFSU. Since they each generate 20 EU/t, is there any advantage to separately connecting each bank of 4 to the MFSU (to avoid overloading the gold cable). Nothing blows up, so I guess it's safe. But I'm wondering if it's the most efficient way.

IC2 rates things as a per-packet thing. Packets are how EU is sent out each tick. Because you'll never have a packet larger than 20eu/t, you could use copper cable (insulated) and it should be able to handle that entire system and anything else you could think to connect. It'd also likely end up losing less energy, too.

Same question on the other end of my system. I have my MFSU connected to an MV transformer, then to an LV transformer, then to a bank of 8 electric furnaces. Since each furnace takes 32 EU/t, am I overloading a single LV transformer by connecting them each to the same transformer? Again, nothing blows up, so it's safe. But I'm wondering if it's efficient.

If you use more than the LV transformer can output per tick, which is 32eu/t, then yes, that will cause an issue. More LV transformers would fix that, and after a bit of time, more MV transformers.

The wiki says that an LV transformer can only transform 128 EU per tick. So does this mean my furnaces are only receiving half the power they are capable of?

Electro furnaces only need, when not overclocked/etc, 32eu/t to run, so that should not be an issue in that regard. Make an EU-meter to check out EU is flowing through your system, though, to get a better idea.
 

gusmahler

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Jul 29, 2019
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I did a bit of testing and it seems that the LV transformer thing doesn't matter. The test: I put in 8 cobblestone blocks in each of 7 furnaces. Then I put 8 cobblestone into the last furnace and timed it. It took 37 seconds (with one overclocker). Since 8 furnaces working at once takes 256 EU/t, that should be more than the LV transformer is capable of handling.

So I did a second run. This time I connected one furnace to a separate LV transformer, the other 7 to the same transformer they were connected to before. With a separate transformer, this lone furnace shouldn't be effected by the other furnaces. Did the same test, 8 cobblestone in each furnace. It still took 37 seconds to smelt 8 cobblestone.
 
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Guswut

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Jul 29, 2019
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I did a bit of testing and it seems that the LV transformer thing doesn't matter. The test: I put in 8 cobblestone blocks in each of 7 furnaces. Then I put 8 cobblestone into the last furnace and timed it. It took 37 seconds (with one overclocker). Since 8 furnaces working at once takes 256 EU/t, that should be more than the LV transformer is capable of handling.

So I did a second run. This time I connected one furnace to a separate LV transformer, the other 7 to the same transformer they were connected to before. With a separate transformer, this lone furnace shouldn't be effected by the other furnaces. Did the same test, 8 cobblestone in each furnace. It still took 37 seconds to smelt 8 cobblestone.

Excellent! Then you should be good to go with that setup. Good show on the proper testing!
 

gusmahler

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That's odd. I didn't know about the EU reader until you mentioned it. So I re-did the test again. Each furnace takes 4 EU/t, which is much less than it's supposed to be taking. That explains why I see no difference between setups.

The other odd thing is that 44 EU/t is going into the two transformers, but only 32 EU/t is coming out of them.
 

Guswut

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That's odd. I didn't know about the EU reader until you mentioned it. So I re-did the test again. Each furnace takes 4 EU/t, which is much less than it's supposed to be taking. That explains why I see no difference between setups.

The other odd thing is that 44 EU/t is going into the two transformers, but only 32 EU/t is coming out of them.

What is likely happening is that they're acceptable as many packets of 128eu/t or less that they can to meet the demands, and then downscaling those packets for LV current.

I'd think, at least. Mm.
 

Peppe

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Jul 29, 2019
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I did a bit of testing and it seems that the LV transformer thing doesn't matter. The test: I put in 8 cobblestone blocks in each of 7 furnaces. Then I put 8 cobblestone into the last furnace and timed it. It took 37 seconds (with one overclocker). Since 8 furnaces working at once takes 256 EU/t, that should be more than the LV transformer is capable of handling.

So I did a second run. This time I connected one furnace to a separate LV transformer, the other 7 to the same transformer they were connected to before. With a separate transformer, this lone furnace shouldn't be effected by the other furnaces. Did the same test, 8 cobblestone in each furnace. It still took 37 seconds to smelt 8 cobblestone.
Lv transformer converts a 128 packet into 4 32 EU packets, so you should have 128 EU/t available to your machines.

The machines accept 32 EU packets, but most only use 2-4 EU tick. So they ask for a 32 EU packet every 10-20 ticks.
 
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Warpig

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Jul 29, 2019
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is it effective to create eu using generators powered by coal received from a wither spawner over using non advanced solar panels?
 

Omicron

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If you use more than the LV transformer can output per tick, which is 32eu/t, then yes, that will cause an issue. More LV transformers would fix that, and after a bit of time, more MV transformers.

Electro furnaces only need, when not overclocked/etc, 32eu/t to run, so that should not be an issue in that regard. Make an EU-meter to check out EU is flowing through your system, though, to get a better idea.

I did a bit of testing and it seems that the LV transformer thing doesn't matter. The test: I put in 8 cobblestone blocks in each of 7 furnaces. Then I put 8 cobblestone into the last furnace and timed it. It took 37 seconds (with one overclocker). Since 8 furnaces working at once takes 256 EU/t, that should be more than the LV transformer is capable of handling.

So I did a second run. This time I connected one furnace to a separate LV transformer, the other 7 to the same transformer they were connected to before. With a separate transformer, this lone furnace shouldn't be effected by the other furnaces. Did the same test, 8 cobblestone in each furnace. It still took 37 seconds to smelt 8 cobblestone.

Careful guys, you're mixing up some things.

As Guswut said when he explained the geothermal generators, IC2's power network works by packet size. This is true for all IC2 machines, not only generators. When the electric furnace says that it accepts up to 32 EU/t, that means it can take packets of up to 32 EU in size (i.e. low 'voltage'). However, this has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual energy consumption of the device; it's only for 'voltage' compatibility. An electric furnace consumes 3 EU/t without overclockers installed.

The way this works is as follows: The furnace consumes 3 EU on tick 1, and then sends a request to the energy network, saying "I need 3 EU". All devices capable of sending energy then consider that request and check if they can fulfill it. In your case, the LV-transformer is the sole recipient. It says, "I can send packets sized 32 EU, and this request asks for 3. I cannot fulfill it." And therefore it does nothing.

The furnace continues working, consuming 3 EU and sending a new request every tick. It will ask for 6 EU, then 9 EU, then 12 EU and so on, always naming the number that is missing in its internal buffer. After a total of 11 ticks have elapsed, the furnace asks for 33 EU. The LV transformer then says, "hey, I can do that!" and sends a packet of 32 EU to the furnace, restoring its internal buffer by that much. It's not the exact amount that was requested, but the important part is that the furnace asks for at least as much as the packet size the transformer can output. If you had hooked up the geothermal directly, it would have supplied a 20 EU packet after 7 ticks, when the furnace asked for 21.

The LV-transformer then turns around to its own input side network and says "I need 32 EU", because well, it just sent out 32 and needs to replace them. The next device in line is the MV-transformer. It receives the request for 32 EU, but says "I can only do packets sized 128" and does nothing. It will wait until the LV-transformer has sent out three more packets of 32 EU, and at which point the MV-transformer supplies one packet of 128. Then it turns around to it own input side network and says "I need 128 EU". But the MFSU next in line can only provide 512, so it waits, and so on and so forth...

Hope that clears up things a bit ;)

(For reference, the internal buffer of a tier 1 machine, like the electric furnace, is 800 EU. The internal buffer of a transformer is equal to its maximum safe input - i.e. 128 for a LV, 512 for a MV, and 2048 for a HV transformer. That is also the reason why a transformer can only step down one large packet into 4 smaller ones per tick - because then its internal buffer is empty and it needs to request a new large packet on the transition to the next tick.)
 
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heggico

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Jul 29, 2019
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wow, that's an amazing explanation. I didn´t know it actually waited for a request of a complete packet and send the whole packet to 1 device. I always thought it just said, I need 3 eu to smelt and the transformer said well I can give you the 3 eu. But thinking about it, that would mess up the packet sizes. Thanks, learned something new today :)

btw, that explains quite a few issues I've had before.
 

wildc4rd

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Jan 29, 2013
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I need to make my current RC 3x3x8 lava storage tank bigger, as its nearly full. My problem is that the position its in means two sides must stay in the same place, so if I go to a 5x5x8, even if I don't touch the centre bottom block, it won't be the centre bottom block of the 'new' tank. Does this mean I'll lose my thousand buckets of lava?
 

Giga

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Jul 29, 2019
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I'm in my creative world in singleplayer on the Ultimate pack, in Creative +, and I'm getting struck by lightning and random debuffs every so often. It's a superflat world with the "Redstone Ready" preset. Cheats are on. I have no idea what's doing it or how I can stop it.
 

Omicron

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Jul 29, 2019
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I need to make my current RC 3x3x8 lava storage tank bigger, as its nearly full. My problem is that the position its in means two sides must stay in the same place, so if I go to a 5x5x8, even if I don't touch the centre bottom block, it won't be the centre bottom block of the 'new' tank. Does this mean I'll lose my thousand buckets of lava?

Yes, you will lose it all. The bottom center block must stay bottom center to keep the data.

I'm in my creative world in singleplayer on the Ultimate pack, in Creative +, and I'm getting struck by lightning and random debuffs every so often. It's a superflat world with the "Redstone Ready" preset. Cheats are on. I have no idea what's doing it or how I can stop it.

You probably spawned near a bad Thaumcraft node by chance. Spawn yourself some goggles of revealing and check the flux in the area. Then, move to an area where there us no flux in the environment (or regenerate the nodes via the TC3 config).
 

MilConDoin

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Jul 29, 2019
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Omicron: Are you sure that it works that way? I thought it differently:
EnergySink (e.g. Electric Furnace) demands 3 EU.
EnergySource (e.g. BatBox) sends an EU packet (here: 32 EU)to the ESink.
ESink determines that the packet size is acceptable, so it won't blow up.
ESink stores the 3 EU it was missing and returns the rest.
 

Omicron

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Jul 29, 2019
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I am reasonably sure, though I have made mistakes in the past... and I don't have a Minecraft client available here at work to test ;)

Regardless of whether the source waits until the request is large enough or if it accepts returns of excess EU, though, the overall function remains largely the same: consumers request, generators and buffers fulfill requests, and the packet size the consumer receives ultimately must match its 'voltage' rating.
 

WAFFLE OF WAR

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Jul 29, 2019
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Why isn't my harvester... well harvesting. I grew a redwood tree in front of it, though it's not actually touching the harvester, and nothing is going into the chest I placed beside it, and nothing is getting spewed out either.
 

Omicron

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Define "Harvester". Is the block named exactly that and nothing else? In that case it is probably the one from MinefactoryReloaded, and does not actually harvest trees (it is for crops, like wheat).

Or are you referring to a different, similarly named block?
 

Whovian

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Jul 29, 2019
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Define "Harvester". Is the block named exactly that and nothing else? In that case it is probably the one from MinefactoryReloaded, and does not actually harvest trees (it is for crops, like wheat).

Or are you referring to a different, similarly named block?

I thought MFRL Harvesters were capable of harvesting Wood.
 

MilConDoin

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Jul 29, 2019
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MFR Harvesters understand the same things, that the planter can plant. According to the MCF thread, the planter can plant EBXL trees, so the harvester should be able to cut the tree down.

Question: Does your havester have enough power?
 

un worry

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Jul 29, 2019
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Yes, you will lose it all. The bottom center block must stay bottom center to keep the data.

And a solution might be simply to
- build a new tank nearby (you're making extra blocks to expand, right?)
- transfer liquid to new tank,
- re-centre old tank (now it's empty)
- then expand ... or transfer back, re-break and expand (if you dont have many tank blocks to spare)