How to efficiently farm for biofuel

[Statistician]

Hello. I've watched countless of tutorials on the subject, but my production seems to be lacking no matter what. What I'm trying to do ultimately, is have a Big Reactors turbine running, which is fueled by three 36HP steam boilers, which in turn are fueled by biofuel.

I have two 25x25 farms, both harvested and cultivated by MFR planters and harvesters. All of the harvested seeds and saplings end up in

1. their respective planters, if there is space.
2. a bioreactor (of which I have 4 just in case)

The bioreactors pump their stuff into a dynamic tank (mekanism), and from there to the steam boilers.

My farms are setup basically randomly; I've tried a couple of different things to plant, none of which turned out good enough. I don't even know if the changes I made ever even mattered.

My current setup for farm 1:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9​

where
1, 2, 3 = seeds
4 = oak
5 = potato
6 = mushroom (brown)
7 = birch
8 = carrot
9 = mushroom (red)

mushrooms are planted on mycelium.

And the setup of farm 2:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9​

where
1, 4, 7, 3, 6, 9 = sakura (natura)
2, 5, 8 = spruce

Additionally, both farms are fertilized with MFR fertilizers. I have three composters making fertilizer nonstop.

I was about to make a third farm solely on sugar canes (which then end up as biomass -> biofuel), but figured I should maybe ask help here too. What am I missing? Do I simply need to make more farms until my generators beat my boilers, or am I simply doing something wrong badly?

I'm playing on a Hermitcraft modsauce server, which resides on my own computer. So I'm able (though reluctant) to edit configs etc. if needed.

Thank you for your help!

 

[Sidorion]

I assume you talk about MFR biofuel, not the forestry one?
The MFR biofuel reactor makes the same amount of fuel from all things plantable by the MFR planter. To increase the output you have to feed the reactor with different kinds of 'seeds' at the same time. The amount of biofuel generated by one source item increases up to factor 1000 if there are nine different items in the source inventory.
For that you need to be sure the reactor only works when there are all things in it. To stop the reactor you simply apply a redstone signal.
The best way to achieve that is Buildcraft gates (two gold AND gates and one gold OR gate on a structure pipe next to the reactor, red, blue and green pipe wire on the pipe)
In the first AND gate:
items in inventory <seed> -> red pipe signal
items in inventory <potato> -> red pipe signal
items in inventory <carrot> -> red pipe signal
items in inventory <brown mushroom> -> red pipe signal
In the second AND gate:
items in inventory <red mushroom> -> blue pipe signal
items in inventory <oak sapling> -> blue pipe signal
items in inventory <birch sapling> -> blue pipe signal
items in inventory <pumpkin seed> -> blue pipe signal
in the OR Gate:
items in inventory <melon seed> -> green pipe signal
red pipe signal off -> redstone signal on
red blue signal off -> redstone signal on
red green signal off -> redstone signal on

This contraption guarantees, that the reactor only runs when there are nine different sources in it.
Note that the gates only 'see' the upper nine slots of the reactor, NOT the row on the bottom. You have to make sure that if a slot becomes empty, it isn't filled with other raw material (best solution here would be providing the items with logistic pipes).

p.s. I suggest planting melons and pumpkins as they yield a lot of seeds.

 

[asiekierka]

One can also use one diamond AND gate and one golden OR gate.

 

[UberAffe]

Personally, I like to use ExU's Hyper-Rationing pipes for delivery of items, it keeps a single item of anything that passes through in the connected inventory, meaning that if you have 9 transfer nodes for your nine types all connected to the one Hyper-rationing pipe it will keep the reactor filled with 1 of each at all times.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

A Signalum or Enderium Retriever also works as a supply pipe and can keep a specific number of items in a given inventory. Then just hook up your itemducts to your barrels, and set up your whitelist.

 

[UberAffe]

A Signalum or Enderium Retriever also works as a supply pipe and can keep a specific number of items in a given inventory. Then just hook up your itemducts to your barrels, and set up your whitelist.

What mods are Signalum and Enderium Retriever from? Enderium sounds like thermal expansion.

 

[Statistician]

Thank you all for your replies. I'll be sure to test these out. Does logistics pipes have any functionality that could also do the rationing (keeping 1 of each type in inventory)? I have it installed.

 

[Lethosos]

What mods are Signalum and Enderium Retriever from? Enderium sounds like thermal expansion.

Thermal Dynamics. You'll need Thermal Foundation for the raw materials to make them.

Sent from my Puzzle Box of Yogg-Saron using Tapatalk 2

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Thank you all for your replies. I'll be sure to test these out. Does logistics pipes have any functionality that could also do the rationing (keeping 1 of each type in inventory)? I have it installed.

The Supplier pipe, I believe, has this functionality.

 

[Sidorion]

Note that none of the mentioned methods to provide items to the reactor ( LP Supplier pipe, TD Retriever ExU's Hyper-Rationing pipes) guarantees that all source materials are in the reactor at all times. As soon as one is missing the reactor will work with less efficiency and burn through your source materials.
You will have to switch it on and off based on its inventory and, aside from CC/OC, BC gates are the only way to achieve this.

 

[UberAffe]

^true, my idea was specifically for supplying materials. That said you could also check your storage system to see how much material you have. If anything gets below some threshold just stop the machine until you are above the threshold again.

I dont know that jabba barrels will do this, but there are some storage systems that output a signal for a comparator to to check.

Sent from my C811 4G using Tapatalk

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Note that none of the mentioned methods to provide items to the reactor ( LP Supplier pipe, TD Retriever ExU's Hyper-Rationing pipes) guarantees that all source materials are in the reactor at all times. As soon as one is missing the reactor will work with less efficiency and burn through your source materials.
You will have to switch it on and off based on its inventory and, aside from CC/OC, BC gates are the only way to achieve this.

Comparator will do the auto-shutoff just fine. Besides, if you are worried about running out of something, this probably isn't the setup for you yet. At max efficiency, the rate at which is requires items is far below what even a vanilla farm setup would be able to produce.

 

[Sidorion]

Well technically this would be possible, but would need the comparator, a not gate and at least 4 pieces of redstone in a 2x3x3 contraption looking quite ugly and occupying two sides of the reactor in addition to the side you pump the fuel out of the reactor.
With BC gates you need zero additional sides as you can put all three gates and the wire on the pipe pumping fuel out leaving five sides free for providing items (and it looks cool).

Besides you can never be sure, your fuels will never run out (You know, creepers). And as soon as that happens, the reactor starts running through the fuels at double speed as its efficiency halves. This increases the chance of running out of another source which again doubles the burning speed and so on.
So if you run out of one source, chances are high, you will run out of all other sources, too, while generating a lot less fuel.

 

[UberAffe]

The setup for switching off I was talking about would be a comparator and not gate for each jabba barrel, if any of them get down to 1/16 storage, it would automatically stop the system until they get above that point. Also I was thinking of turning off the transfer nodes instead of turning off the machine, technically same effect but little less laggy because the pipes don't continue search, and it also means that you don't need to have any shutoff wiring near the actual machine.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Well technically this would be possible, but would need the comparator, a not gate and at least 4 pieces of redstone in a 2x3x3 contraption looking quite ugly and occupying two sides of the reactor in addition to the side you pump the fuel out of the reactor.
With BC gates you need zero additional sides as you can put all three gates and the wire on the pipe pumping fuel out leaving five sides free for providing items (and it looks cool).

I can do it much easier and less painfully using either EnderIO rednet conduit or MFR's RedNet.

Besides you can never be sure, your fuels will never run out (You know, creepers). And as soon as that happens, the reactor starts running through the fuels at double speed as its efficiency halves. This increases the chance of running out of another source which again doubles the burning speed and so on.
So if you run out of one source, chances are high, you will run out of all other sources, too, while generating a lot less fuel.

Securing your farm is pretty basic. If you cannot accomplish this, you probably need to learn more before progressing to powered tech.

 

[Sidorion]

Well, I'm just a noob playing MC only since 1.9beta and modded only since BC 3 came out and by far less experienced than you. Could you please post some links to tutorials how to secure a farm?

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Well, I'm just a noob playing MC only since 1.9beta and modded only since BC 3 came out and by far less experienced than you. Could you please post some links to tutorials how to secure a farm?

And in all your multitude of experience, have you never encountered a thing called a 'fence'? Might want to look it up, they're pretty handy at keeping things out. Alternately, just dig an underground hydroponics farm which is self-secured and contained by nature. And of course, torch up whole t'ing. Use NEI's F7 utility to ensure you don't have any spaces where mobs can spawn.

Seriously, though. Securing your base is basic vanilla Day One level stuff. No one wants a surprise creeper in their base, even when they don't have a huge reactor riding on it. And it is as easy as torches + some blocks to keep them out. If you haven't learned this yet with all your much-vaunted experience... I really don't have much to say.

 

[Sidorion]

Wow, torches, you say! Fences! I never thought of that! Thanks for enlightening me, kind sir, you are my personal hero of the day! All the years I was suffering not knowing how to protect my farms from peril! Now you come and just give me the solution, I bow for you!

Perhaps I want my farms just the size needed to supply the consumer (may it be a reactor or a boiler, still, you name it) to prevent ending with tons of items no one will need ever? Perhaps I want the game of balancing out the production of the various fuels to salt the game a little bit? Perhaps I want it the hard way? Not using the dark side of the force?

Surely I could easily fill dozens of barrels by building oversized farms and never think a thought about failsafe but where's the fun in that? Such a system can be slapped in the world in half a days work and be forgot after, but that's just boring.
Much more fun is having just the right amount of everything, tweaking the production of the various items, coordinating the delivery to the consumer, and so on and THEN forgeting the system.

 

[UberAffe]

Wow, torches, you say! Fences! I never thought of that! Thanks for enlightening me, kind sir, you are my personal hero of the day! All the years I was suffering not knowing how to protect my farms from peril! Now you come and just give me the solution, I bow for you!

Perhaps I want my farms just the size needed to supply the consumer (may it be a reactor or a boiler, still, you name it) to prevent ending with tons of items no one will need ever? Perhaps I want the game of balancing out the production of the various fuels to salt the game a little bit? Perhaps I want it the hard way? Not using the dark side of the force?

Surely I could easily fill dozens of barrels by building oversized farms and never think a thought about failsafe but where's the fun in that? Such a system can be slapped in the world in half a days work and be forgot after, but that's just boring.
Much more fun is having just the right amount of everything, tweaking the production of the various items, coordinating the delivery to the consumer, and so on and THEN forgeting the system.

There seems to be so much sarcasm here that I can no longer tell if it truly is sarcasm.

 

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Perhaps I want my farms just the size needed to supply the consumer (may it be a reactor or a boiler, still, you name it) to prevent ending with tons of items no one will need ever? Perhaps I want the game of balancing out the production of the various fuels to salt the game a little bit? Perhaps I want it the hard way? Not using the dark side of the force?

Surely I could easily fill dozens of barrels by building oversized farms and never think a thought about failsafe but where's the fun in that? Such a system can be slapped in the world in half a days work and be forgot after, but that's just boring.
Much more fun is having just the right amount of everything, tweaking the production of the various items, coordinating the delivery to the consumer, and so on and THEN forgeting the system.

Some people like excessively complex, some people just like things that work. To each their own. If Rubes Goldberg is your thing... hey, you have fun with that. I prefer something with fewer moving parts that can go wrong. Why bother creating a deliberate fault-point that can be avoided?

Personally, I would find it to be not simply boring but aggravating when tic-lag or signal contamination causes your complex setup to start misbehaving. And yes, that is 'when', not 'if'. Murphy is an engineer's constant companion.