[0.7.2] burner drill vs inserter

[Arakasi]

I have was trying to build self-feeding burner drill installation for coal harvesting.

But I found, that inserters is able to get resources even from input fields of the burner. Is it intention to be able propagate fuel in the chain of drills and feed only one of them?

I know that installation cannot work but I was just surprised by this behavoir.

my savegame:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/g7uhz0hzvxiy0 ... ll-bug.zip

[grobyc]

This visual effect I was notice too. It happen from version 6.2 and it's not always visible. Easiest way to reproduce was save opposit furnace, load and zoom out by one scroll move but it's hard to reproduce too.

[kovarex]

I think think it is a bug, the burner mining drill has no other inventory, so if someone wants to empty it with inserter (or by control-click, the logic to choose the output inventory is the same for these cases) why not to let him.

[Arakasi]

So conclusion is that this is not a bug and picking items from input inventory is intention?
How should behave e.g. assembler then? Should inserter pick also input items?
or
there should be strict border between input and output inventory and only output inventory will be possible source for inserters?

[kovarex]

In assembler, you have two inventories, so the distinction between output and input needs to exist (same with furnace). Otherwise, you would put the ingredients out of the furnace instead of the result in standard setups.
But if the entity has just one inventory (container, burner mining drill, ammo turret), there is no reason to not allow the input inventory to be output inventory at the same time, better to allow the player to take the stuff from it, when he wants to, than to just restrict it.
Do you agree?

[Arakasi]

I understand difference between one or two inventories, but still in some elements such as burner inserter or drill there should be this single one inventory marked as input only and should not be possible steal content by inserters. In very special set ups it might be useful, but it seems to me confusing and wrong.

I would like to have inventories strictly market as input (for adding only), output (for removing only) and combined input-output such as chests (for adding and removing).

But it is satisfying for me that I know the behavoir and I don't push towards the change.

[kovarex]

There are situations when it is useful, for example for the coal "joseki" in the game start.
You put two coal mining drills feeding each other on the coal deposit, then you just get the coal out with inserter, and it will last "forever" (until the coal runs out).