Truthfully, I still make "primitive" BC pipe setups, and the reason why I like it, is because of the degree of control it gives me, over what every pipe does. If I'm using insertion pipes, I can specify exactly how much or how little overflow storage I want. An item duct or other such pipe will simply send an item directly from a macerator to a smelter, but what happens if you don't necessarily want to do that? Instead of item ducts, I'm using an insertion pipe redirected into a chest with hopper, above the smelter. That way, if something goes from the macerator to the smelter which shouldn't be there, I have time to pull it out, without blocking up the whole system. It also means that if I only want to cook something, without macerating it, I just throw it in the chest above the hopper.