All chains are overnight jobs competing for the same hours, so the rule is short: run one chain you can actually feed rather than three you cannot. Each chain below takes different inputs and returns different goods, and only some of them match the line you chose.
On this page
Probably Stolen crafting production chains: what each one makes
| Chain | Input | Output | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Furnace / smelter | 2 pieces of scrap metal or metal ore | Ingots | Scrap yields lower purity, ore yields higher; a flux agent improves purity and is consumed |
Wine | Grapes | Bottles | The fermenter runs while you sleep |
Water | Purifiers and the Moisture Farm | Better water grades | Needs a testing kit or the Water Trading Guide to certify a grade |
Farming | Hydroponics bays | Food | Feeds the display case, the grocery shelves and the restocking sellers |
The furnace is the default sink for almost every profession, including the Gunsmith, and it requires power and smelts overnight only. The Bottle Printer turns the wine line's output into sealed product; water traders need bottles for jugs and wine keepers need them for merlot.
Bad input still teaches you something but wastes the night: bad grapes still teach the recipe, and pouring high-purity water into a batch you already know is moldy is a night lost.
The nightly decision order
Count rent.
Run one overnight job only.
Toggle the vacuum or insurance before you sleep.
Take a dump trip only if scrap is genuinely your bottleneck.
The night scavenging guide covers what that trip costs in wounds and in the morning's opening.
Save in this order.
Toward the buyout, then the trading permit, then Dr. Jackson's next unique.
Scavenging belongs in that list too, because the trip to the dumping grounds is what supplies the scrap the furnace consumes. Which machine each chain needs is on the crafting machines page.
Power and inputs are the real constraint
Machines run overnight on electricity and most need a dedicated energy cell, so a second chain means a second energy cell before it means a second recipe. Wild Network grid hooks skip the nightly bill but create a faction debt.
The night scavenging guide covers the trips that keep the furnace fed, since scrap that is not in the bay cannot be smelted.