v0.31:Using bins and barrels

xTATTEREDx  · +FINE+  · *SUPERIOR*  · ≡EXCEPTIONAL≡  · ☼MASTERWORK☼

v50.14 · v0.47 · v0.34 · v0.31.25 · v0.28 · v0.23 This article is about an older version of DF. More Info · V

Ordinarily, each item or stack (e.g. ≡Dwarven Ale Stew [59]≡) of items occupies one space of Template:L room. You can consolidate stockpile space by building Template:Ls and Template:Ls that can hold many items at once. Barrels store and preserve Template:L and Template:L; bins can store many types of smaller items, such as Template:L, Template:L Template:Ls, Template:L, or Template:Ls. Building a steady supply of Template:Ls helps reduce the space you need for storage.

Food Storage

One thing to note about storing seeds is that Template:Ls are required to put seeds in. These bags will then be placed inside the barrel. Otherwise, the dwarves'll end up with one seed per tile - quite inefficient![1]

Managing stockpiles directly

It is possible to set whether bins can be used in a stockpile with q → C/V. For barrels, E and R are used instead of C and V. By default, bins are used for Bar/Template:L, ammo, gems, finished goods, Template:L and Template:L stockpiles, and barrels are used for food stockpiles. Also by default, the stockpiles that use barrels or bins to store other items will permit a barrel or bin on each of their spaces; such a stockpile will claim an empty container whenever it doesn't already have one. You can override this by specifying the maximum number of barrels and bins that an individual stockpile is allowed to utilize. To access this stockpile feature, use the q menu and move to the stockpile in question.

Reserving containers for other tasks

"Reserved Barrels/Bins" is a global setting that reserves a certain number of barrels or bins, preventing them from being claimed by a stockpile until they are filled by a Workshop that requires their use. This feature is most often used to ensure that a fortress has ample empty barrels for the production of alcohol, although empty barrels are also necessary for other jobs. You can change this setting in the stockpile menu p. If there are 5 reserved barrels, no stockpile will claim an empty barrel until you have at least 6 lying around. In this way you can ensure that jobs like making alcohol always have free barrels available.

In the case of barrels necessary for producing alcohol and Template:L, they do not have to be located on a Template:L stockpile. This is because the "Store Item in <container>" task only looks at furniture stockpiles for available containers. Normal production tasks behave as mentioned earlier, they will just grab the nearest barrel. You can exert some limited control over this by setting a number of reserved barrels; however, you cannot set where these barrels will be.

Storing prepared meals without barrels

Fortresses often produce much more food than the population consumes. Template:L can combine four food stacks into one meal stack, which can easily include many (40+) individual meals. Since a stack with more than ten items will fill a barrel completely, the barrel doesn't save any space and is unavailable for booze. A solution for this is to make food stockpiles which take prepared meals only and set them to use no barrels at all q E . (With the proper labors and workshops) the dwarves will take food out of barrels, cook it into roasts, and store them in stockpiles without barrels, freeing up the barrels for other uses. e.g. [2]

Barrel Reassignment Surgery

If you have a fixed number of barrels (possibly due to a lumber shortage because you're playing in a Fun place like the tundra) and your food stockpile is using too many barrels and you need some for booze, or if for some reason the opposite is true, you can force the dwarves through a series of steps to have the barrels switch from one stockpile to another. Assume you have too much barrelled food and you need barrels for booze. First, designate a small garbage dump zone nearby. Then set the maximum barrel limit on the food stockpile way down--possibly to zero. Don't worry, the existing barrels won't be dumped as a result. Now view a barrel and then once inside, view each individual food item and set it to d for dump (but do not dump the barrel itself). The dwarves will take the food from the barrel and throw it into the garbage zone, and once the barrel is empty they will immediately move it to a furniture stockpile because the food stockpile barrel limit is exceeded already. Now you have a free barrel with which to brew. You can reclaim the food from the garbage dump now, and the dwarves will do what they can to store it. Be warned that this might end up being on the floor in the stockpile which could attract flies. Remember to set the barrel limit on the food stockpile back up to some reasonable level if you get your hands on some new barrels.

Barrel and bin material

Heavy barrels and bins slow down hauling, so it is wise to make them from light materials possible. Even the heaviest types of Template:L are lighter than any metal (excluding Template:L) - the wood of Template:Ls is the best of all, but if you do not have access to it, Template:L is the next best.

Farming FAQ
How do I build a farm?
How large a farm do I need?
What is the best crop?
How do I manage my seeds and crops?
What does "Reserved Barrels" and "Reserved Bins" mean?
Why are crops sometimes displayed with red writing?
What do I do with these inedible crops?
What does the option "Fallow" mean?
My dwarves will only farm on a small part of the fields, why is this?
How do I make absolutely sure my farm plot is all set to produce crops?
If I don't see any dwarves working my farm plot, does that mean there's something wrong?
Can you grow surface crops on multiple z levels in a tower if the floors are glass even though there's soil on the glass?
What is the "seas fert" option for?
How do you create a custom stockpile that accepts only prepared foods?
How do you successfully breed and utilize animals(grazing, non-grazing and poultry)?
How often do you need to irrigate your farm fields?
Having banned seeds from the kitchen, how to prevent dwarves from eating them raw?
Why do my planters keep complaining they have no seeds?
Why won't my animals breed?
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