unpowered Loop filter failure

[Craigjw]

I have two loop filters, the first should be filtering O2, and was initially primed with 0.1g of O2, and the second should be filtering CO2, which was also primed with 0.1g CO2.  These have been working for a few hundred cycles, but for some reason, have now decided to bust on me, as you can see in the picture below.  The O2 filter now has Natural gas in it, while the CO2 filter has polluted Oxygen in.

I had to chop off the one of the inputs, as I was getting all manner of dirty gasses mixed into my base O2 supply.

What are the conditions that cause these filters to fail?

[avc15]

I've had this happen randomly in the past, too. Not sure what causes it.

Usually mechanical filters work like a charm but then sometimes the wrong element gets in there. My present game I haven't had any such issues.

No clues here, sorry. Just a "me too sometimes"

@Chintam that device is called a "mechanical filter" if you are not sure what you're looking at. They have drawbacks different from the gas/liquid filter buildings. 

 

[beowulf2010]

I've never seen one fail. Sorry I can't be of use... 

[KittenIsAGeek]

I've had one fail once, but I haven't been able to reproduce the problem.

[nakomaru]

My guess is it can happen when deconstructing / constructing new piping. I believe I've seen interruptions in flow when doing so, which could cause something like this to happen.

[Eleyvie]

Looks like you primed the filter incorrectly.

Try priming the filter without connecting it's output pipe. This way the initial pocket of gas (which must be at least four times the valve setting) has nowhere to go and will quickly fill all pipe segments with the selected gas. Only then connect the output pipe and let the excess drain. I've been doing it this way and never had a problem.

[Grimgaw]

With new pipe mechanics (flow to nearest input instead frozen, when output removed) this could've happened if you fiddled with the pipe setup at the output of your filter.

[Craigjw]

3 hours ago, Eleyvie said:

Looks like you primed the filter incorrectly.

Try priming the filter without connecting it's output pipe. This way the initial pocket of gas (which must be at least four times the valve setting) has nowhere to go and will quickly fill all pipe segments with the selected gas. Only then connect the output pipe and let the excess drain. I've been doing it this way and never had a problem.

Is this a case of TLDR?

If it wasn't primed correctly, I wouldn't have been able to use it for the best part of a 200 cycles....

I'm going to put this issue down to ONI dupelicity.  It does however bring in to question the efficacy of other loop filters I've been using though.

[PSVPerky]

I had this happen the other day, actually.  My root cause was a backup in the overflow pipe due to over pressurization in the output area because I had the hydrogen generators hooked up to automation and had an overflow of power, I believe, which caused my hydrogen to back up passed the input bridges and eventually enter the loop

[Craigjw]

I think that it's perhaps a pipe alteration that may have caused this, blocking the output pipe.  It was just a case of moving a bridge 2 tiles along the pipe...