Inline - infinite gas storage with powerless filter (6x6)

[devblazer]

Hi all, thought I'd share my preferred gas storage and filtering solution.

 

Features:

- 999/s gas flow support

- Automatic gas filter that does not require power

- Infinite gas storage

- Will only store gas if it is not all being used

- Will only draw gas from storage if there is no incoming gas

- Will never store 'junk gas', only the filtered type

- Super easy to build

- If junk gas is already in the storage room, you can easily get rid of it

- If junk gas line backed up, system won't break, it will simply stop outputting gas. 

- There is no way to actually 'break' the system in terms of gas flow shortfalls and surplus.

- Tileable for filtering multiple gases into different storage

 

Problems:

- If there is no incoming gas and the outgoing gas usage is backed up, then the pumps will continuously cycle gas for no reason, which is of course 500w of unnecessary power draw in such a scenario.  If this annoys you, it can be fixed by adding a gas element sensor on the intake pipe and wiring it to a 'not' gate, then to the storage vent.  This way the gas storage vent will be closed whenever the desired gas is not detected on the incoming line, preventing unnecessary cycling.

 

How to build:

First build the following setup:

 

To get the correct water setup, deliver a bottle of water to the bottle emptier and then turn it off.  Now instruct a duplicant to mop only the left most water tile.  Hover your mouse over the right most water tile while they do this and as soon as the water drops below 2kg, cancel the mop command.  You should now have a layer of water that is less than 2KG.

Set the gas valve to 1g/s.

Now we must setup the gas filter.  Note: If you can guarantee that the first blob of gas to pass through the system will be the one you want to store and not some junk gas, then you don't need to do this next step.

To set the filter ahead of time, simply pump the desired gas into the bottom pipe (the one that will eventually be for junk gas).  Any amount will do, even as little as 1g is good enough to set the filter.

Now it is time to build the rest of the build, leaving access for your duplicants to work of course.

 

Here is an example of what the pipes look like on their own:

And with bridges:

Now finish off the build:

DO NOT connect your incoming pipe yet!

First we need to clear all the junk gasses out of the storage.  To do this, simply set the atmos sensor to be 'below 0' and wait until all the gas has been pumped out (your junk gas pipe line will have to obviously send the gas somewhere).

Once done, you can set the atmos sensor back to 'above 1kg'.  

You can now connect your gas source pipe, you system is ready to use!

 

[Alex_D]

That's nice! Two pumps (or more) can speed up the demand and storage. I suppose the whole thing can be scaled up to have more mechanical filters, vents, and pumps to handle more input and output without backing up the line.

My own version of the infinite gas/liquid storage is below. Six chambers each 2W x 4H for a total of 19W x 8H. A similar setup is for the infinite liquid below, albeit for only three liquid types.

I use the compact version of the mechanical filter, the so called "reverse flow" that is the output coming out of the entry port of the valve and is on the direction the main pipe gas comes in. The filter has only one valve per gas/liquid type (set to 0.1g). The main gas line runs horizontal and the gas comes from the left, and what's not filtered is expelled on the right. The system can be scaled up once more gases are available. This system currently stores (oxygen, CO2, polluted oxygen, chlorine, hydrogen, natural gas).

The detail is below. There is a U shape pipe connecting both valve ends that is opposite to the main line. Then two bridges connect the main line to said U shape build. A third bridge is used to go to the actual vents.

[devblazer]

@Alex_D I honestly do prefer my system for the 2 pump = full gas pipe support and the built in bypass, so that I don't have to run it through the storage pump if not needed (actively in use).  But you have definitely given me some ideas here, especially for infinite liquid.

I think I am going to work on a 'composable' system for different needs.  This may take a while..

[Alex_D]

Yes, indeed, if one needs to keep the flow going and not to just dump it into storage then a second valve per gas chamber is a good idea to divert some of the gas. The same criteria can be applied to the liquids.
I have a similar setup for my SPOM with a mechanical filter. I might try a second type of SPOM with one dedicated mechanical filter (oxygen) per pump (to prevent back flows), and serviced with a couple of Oxygen Diffusers in case water runs out. And a second battery for the thermoregulators so the O2 is reasonable chill.

[Joe Dee]

I prefer to do this storage already at the source (usually with a near-zero power liquid bead pump), to avoid first pumping it from the source to storage, and then from the storage to where you need it. That seems redundant. The storage at the source needs some more space, but usually away from the main base space isn't a big concern anyway.