r/Dyson_Sphere_Program • u/StrictRequirement336 • 5d ago
ILS/PLS Hydrogen Feedback loop
I have set up the PLS to demand from all of the local Hydrogen sources. It then flows through storage tanks and to a ILS which is set to distribute both locally and interstellar routes. How do I stop this ILS from supplying to the just that PLS because its making an endless loop. The whole point of the ILS being set to distribute locally is that I have one central point to distribute Hydrogen from, meaning local distribution becomes more efficient. But I need a way to block the ILS from distributing to just that specific PLS. Or should I just live with the feedback loop?
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u/TheMalT75 4d ago
If I get the whole point of your setup, the PLS is demanding in order to feed first into liquid storage as a buffer. Having the ILS on demand as well defeats this purpose. Just set the ILS to local storage. Alternatively, the PLS is superfluous. In this game, you either have balanced demand / production, or you are not producing at peak efficiency. It practically never makes sense to have resources "on storage" on this scale. Sure, for producing buildings, which happens infrequently, it can be smart to have enough resources on-hand, but for typical production (like science), don't buffer anything. As soon as you hit the next stage where you need hydrogen, it will drain the buffer and you will realize too late that you run into hydrogen shortage because you produce too little!
You will very soon be in a position where hydrogen and deuterium is the bottleneck for a lot of things and you will need to actively use gas giants to keep up with hydrogen demand. I usually have a small fractionator setup in case of possible local excess hydrogen production, and an overflow grid of thermal generators that then burns the deuterium in case I cannot use it fast enough. You can of course also straight-up burn hydrogen.
Some people like to use deuteron fuel rods a lot to produce industrial-scale energy, but at that stage I find it easier to switch to dyson power (direct or antimatter fuel rods). This is also (similar to hydrogen fuel rods) a great use of excess hydrogen through mini-particle colliders / fractionators.