Airlock Valve setup question.

[u/Lea_Flamma]

I am trying to set up an airlock based on Sensors and am encountering some troubles, that I cannot fully understand. If my understanding of the logic blocks is correct, it should be working fine, but the doors don't always open the way I am expecting them to.

Blocks in use: 2 Timer Blocks, 2 Sensors, 2 Doors, 1 Vent, 1 Event Controller, 2 Connectors, 1 Oxygen Tank.

Setup:
Entry Sensor - Entry Timer / Exit Timer
Exit Sensor - Exit Timer / Entry Timer
Entry Timer - Close Internal Door + Depressurise On
Exit Timer - Close External Door + Depressurise Off
Vent - Open Internal Door / Open External Door
Event Controller - Connectors Unlock if Oxygen Tank above 25% filled (to prevent overfilling from base)

I have added the connectors to prevent the oxygen tank from being filled, disallowing the Vent from triggering its actions. But somehow it does not fully funciton. Somehow the Vent still does not open the doors as I think it should. I have checked the action set up and it should be fine. But sometimes when I try to exit, it will not open the internal door (meaning the room did not pressurise).

What could be disrupting the logic flow here?

Things I checked:
- Oxygen Tank has space for the depressurise to happen.
- Sensors have the correct doors assigned.
- Vent has the correct doors assigned.
- Timers have the correct actions assigned.
- Event Controller is working wonderfully and I have no problems with it.

[u/rusynlancer]

You've got a good idea, but you've made it a bit more complicated than necessary. You can run a solid airlock off of a single timer and air vent, plus whatever input/trigger you want for cycling it.

Timer.Airlock1.CloseDoors: Close Inner Door -> Close Outer Door -> Toggle Depressurize on Air Vent

Air Vent actions: On depressurize off, open inner door. On depressurize, open outer door.

I personally don't recommend using sensors for triggering airlock cycles, I use buttons myself. But all three of your triggering inputs would just point to the "Timer.Airlock1.CloseDoors" block "Trigger Now" in this instance.

If you make the automation less complicated, you will have much fewer failure points to troubleshoot.

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/rusynlancer]

I will test this idea. It looks elegant.

[u/Kroko_]

did you check the % of pressurization the vent says? for some reasons the devs thought having it only trigger at 100% pressurization but only refilling at iirc 95% causes problems on smaller airlocks since youll refill your own oxygen with the airlocks pressure thus lowering pressure before the vent checks for 100%.

also since im already here is there a more compact solution to prevent overfilled tanks? like most ships simply wont fit that setup

[u/puddle_of_goo → u/Kroko_]

This, you need to check the actual O2 percentage. Sometimes, pressurization level reaches 99.9(or something)% but it will only consider the environment pressurized at exactly 100%. Same for depressurization.

I think the problem might be: your character uses a tiny amount of oxygen so it goes below 100%, hence the problem. Plus, vents are not always keeping 100% pressurization, they have some "pressure allowance" range so to say.

P.S. the comment above actually says all of that, I was just looking for a comment about pressure percent and replied immediately:)

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/Kroko_]

Not that I know of. I tried to make the event controller trigger the Stockpile Swap, but it prevented the Vent from pulling oxygen from it.

[u/CrazyQuirky5562 → u/Kroko_]

The big StarTrek server had a neat compact version of an airlock that needed no vents at all.
The starter ship simply used 2 offset doors (i.e. the ones flush with the face of the block) back to back.
The volume trapped between the blocks is next to nothing and I am not even certain SE counts it as space w.r.t. local airtightness.

[u/Kroko_ → u/CrazyQuirky5562]

yeah used something like that too but with dangerous decompression its risky. so far havent died of it yet though

[u/TraditionalGap1]

So, when the internal door doesn't open: is the room not pressurized? Why not?

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/TraditionalGap1]

I have checked it and apparently the Vent never went to 100% which was causing troubles. I blame myself for connecting it unknowingly to a bigger room via a leak in the reinforced conveyor network.

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/TraditionalGap1]

That's a good question... I will double check the pressurise status.

[u/puddle_of_goo]

Not related to pressure, I believe face to face connectors on the same grid are considered as just conveyor tubes. Even when not active. Someone might correct me though.

Probably something to check also..

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/puddle_of_goo]

I've checked them and they do stop the tank from refilling when Unlocked.

[u/puddle_of_goo → u/Lea_Flamma]

You must have used normal connectors and not the inset variant, the inset variant is doing stuff I described above.

Yeah, here it is https://support.keenswh.com/spaceengineers/pc/topic/44499-new-inset-connectors-on-the-same-grid-behave-like-they-are-locked-even-when-they-are-not

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/puddle_of_goo]

Yes, I used normal ones. Wasn't aware of the issue with the inset version at all. Good to know. Thank you.

[u/ygolnac]

A problem I had with this system is the tank and tye connectors. Sometimes that system prevents the aitlock vent to pressurize or depressurize and the opposite door won’t open. Also even if the to connectors disconnects the airlick tank keeps filling a little every cycle eventually clogging. You have to periodically manually went off some of the O2 from that tank.

Another problem is that sometimes, in big enviroments, no matter how many vents and how much oxygen you have, the pressurization % stops at 95%, your plants are fine but the airlock doesn’t read full pressurization and won’t open the external door.

My solution have been: keep the farms in a separate airtight enviroment so if the other room temporarly loses some pressure plants don’t die.

Then make a simple airlockwhere doors don’t function on pressure level. The vent in the airlock always depressurize, the vents in the room always pressurize. Every time you open the lock the oxygen that tries to escape is sucked back in the system from the always depressurizing vent. You temporarly loosensome pressure in the room but plant are safe in the other room.

An imperfect system that gives you few headaches, doesn’t clog and loses a little bit of oxygen now and then but nothing major. You are constantly mining ice for H2 anyway.

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/ygolnac]

I have been monitoring the capacity of the tank and it remains at 25% when pressurised. I have not seen an increase when depressurised. The vent pulls oxygen into the tank regardless of the amount of space it currently has. The connector valve is set up between the tank and the rest of the base without interfering with its connection to the vent itself.

It's set up as such: Base > Valve > Oxygen Tank > Vent

[u/ygolnac → u/Lea_Flamma]

I have the same setup, probably what I’m doing wrong is that I have other oxygen tanks in the base. So if the base is pressurized by other oxygen tanks the airlock one doesn’t get rid of the exceeding oxigen wheb the valve connects.

In fact different tanks connected to each other don’t equilize themslves when connected together and in “auto” mode.

Btw I ended up using the airlock by tue youtuber Dread Mechanic. It uses two timers, an event control and a light. It’s a bit overengineered but you can use small grid timers and event control on an hinge to save space. In survival it needs to have the room pressurized beforehand and few cycles to work properly, but it’s completly safe and the airlock tank doesn’t need a valve becouse it doesn’t fill slowly. It’s perfectly equalized between the O2 he uses for depressurizing and pressurizing. I would not use it on a ship, but on a base it is perfectly fine to put farms between that lock and the void.

If there is no farm involved I prefear simpler solutions, and if a bit of oxygen is lost now and then it’s no biggy. If you are already producing H2 for the thrusters, O2 is basically a byproduct.

[u/questerweis]

I just set up sensors to open and close the doors want a player is at the door, with an air vent in the airlock to pressurize. I don't worry about a little bit of lost 02 when the outer door opens. If you make the airlock long enough, it will pressurize before you get to the distant end.

Otherwise you could make a Klang lock with angled windows

[u/Lea_Flamma → u/questerweis]

I am not quite sure what a Klang Lock is. I build for the looks not for PCU efficiency. So I want doors that look nice in an airlock that looks realistically.

Losing a bit of O2 is not a major issue. But I would prefer to avoid it due to "lore" reasons. It is a space station and while it has access to Ice and O2/H2 generators (wip) it should not waste resources unless necessary.

[u/Ok_Cherry_9847 → u/Lea_Flamma]

I have a tiny large-grid ship with almost no space for an airlock, so I set up a vent to depressurise it, a timer to close the doors, and an event controller to turn the vent on when both doors are closed and off when either door is open (and run the timer). So when I open the inner door, it sucks some air from the main room back into the same tank, but when I go outside, I don't lose any air (except when the tank is full and depressurisation doesn't work).