Graveyard Keeper 2 Factory Power — Demand vs Capacity

How does factory power work in Graveyard Keeper 2?

The Factory panel compares two numbers: conveyor demand and carousel capacity. Every belt tile adds 1 demand, and every Carousel with a zombie standing on it adds 7 capacity. If demand is higher than capacity, the whole line stops even though the building is complete.

Two details cause most of the confusion. First, an empty Carousel supplies nothing — the slot exists, but the 7 capacity only applies once a zombie is assigned to it. Second, the belt itself is the cost: extending a run from the quarry to the machine increases demand every time you place another tile, which is why a line that worked yesterday can stop after you redecorate it.

The three belt pieces are the Conveyor Belt, the Conveyor Splitter and the Underground Conveyor. A normal tile costs 1 Bronze Gear and 1 Fabric; the Underground Conveyor costs 4 Bronze Gear and 2 Fabric and each tile additionally draws 1 factory power. Power comes from the Zombie Carousel, unlocked by the Zombie Gears technology at 90 red plus 20 blue points, with a build cost of 6 Bronze Gear, 6 Iron Detail and 4 Wooden beam. Repairing an existing Broken Zombie Carousel instead takes 6 Bronze Gear, 4 Bronze Detail and 4 Wooden Plank and needs Building mastery 5.

How do you calculate demand and capacity for one line?

Count the belt tiles between the source and the machine: that number is your demand. Then count the Carousels with a zombie on them and multiply by 7. Demand is just the tile count, capacity is 7 times the manned Carousels, and the Factory rating is whichever of the two is smaller.

Capacity scales in steps of 7, so it is worth memorising.

Manned Zombie Carousels	Factory capacity
1	7
2	14
3	21
4	28
5	35
6	42

With both numbers in hand, the two questions separate cleanly. Does the line physically run? That is true only when demand is less than or equal to capacity. Does it pass Jack’s check? That is true only when the smaller of the two is at least 20.

Conveyor tiles (demand)	Manned Carousels (capacity)	Factory rating	Passes Jack at 20?	Does the line run?
10	2 (14)	10	No	Yes
20	2 (14)	14	No	No
20	3 (21)	20	Yes	Yes
25	3 (21)	21	Yes	No
25	4 (28)	25	Yes	Yes
40	6 (42)	40	Yes	Yes

The fourth row is the one that catches people during the tour. Demand 25 against capacity 21 rates 21, which is enough for Jack, but the line is still six points short of running. Passing the inspection does not make the factory work.

Why does Jack’s Factory Tour use min(demand, capacity)?

Because a line only works as well as its weakest half. Jack’s check reads the Factory rating, which is the smaller of demand and capacity, so overshooting one side is worthless. Demand 10 with capacity 21 rates 10; the extra eleven points of capacity simply do not count.

That single rule explains every rejected tour. If you build a beautiful long belt and one carousel, demand outruns capacity and the rating stays low. If you stack five carousels on a short run, capacity is huge and demand caps the rating at the tile count. The only way to clear 20 is to have at least 20 tiles of demand and at least 20 points of capacity at the same time.

The standard example that satisfies both is 20 normal conveyor tiles, costing 20 Bronze Gear and 20 Fabric, with three manned carousel slots for 21 capacity. Before any of this, Jack wants 3 Steel Ingot for the Man of Steel quest; both that quest and Factory Tour award 10 Jack reputation. Reaching the factory is a separate task: the entrance route runs from the Inquisition Base cellar, each Blockage takes 4 Iron Detail, 1 Reinforced Beam and Building mastery 8, and only one of the five possible entrances has to be opened to trigger the discovery.

The tech side is not cheap either. Conveyors costs 70 red plus 20 blue and sits behind Tool Rack II and Jack reputation 50; Assembly bench costs 75 red plus 20 blue. Together that is 145 red and 40 blue before prerequisites, so plan the whole branch rather than buying it piecemeal.

Why does a powered line still not move?

Usually because demand is higher than capacity. The panel shows power, so the building looks finished, but a single tile over capacity stops every station on that run. An empty Carousel is the other common cause: it shows up as a slot but supplies nothing until a zombie stands on it.

Check three things in order. First, count the belt tiles and confirm the demand figure the panel reports. Second, count the manned carousels and multiply by 7, then compare. Third, confirm each carousel actually has a zombie assigned rather than merely built.

If power is not the problem, the issue is usually the stations rather than the supply. Only the conveyor variants — Assembly bench I to III, Smithy I and II, Kitchen I and II — join the belt run. A normal workstation placed beside the line will not participate, and a factory bench with no zombie on it will not either. Materials are the third possibility, and that is a supplier problem rather than a power problem; the symptom list in common mistakes covers the distinction.

Building the line itself is covered in zombie production line, and the workers come from how to get zombie workers.

How do you fix a line that is short on capacity?

Add a manned Carousel, not more belts. Each extra worker adds 7 capacity, while every extra belt tile adds another 1 demand, so extending the run makes the mismatch worse. Three manned carousels cover a 20-tile line at 21 capacity, which is the standard example for Jack’s check.

There are four levers, in rough order of cost. Build or repair another Zombie Carousel and staff it, which adds 7 capacity each time. Take the Belt Master perk, which raises each carousel from 7 to 10 capacity without changing the layout. Shorten the run by moving the machine closer to its source or by using a Conveyor Splitter instead of one long belt. Or reduce how much you are trying to move at once so the line only needs to serve one station at a time.

If you are still short of the tech, remember the order of operations: the Conveyors and Assembly bench branches together cost 145 red plus 40 blue and sit behind Tool Rack II and 50 Jack reputation. Spending points on the belt before the capacity is a common way to end up with a beautiful line that rates 14. The station costs themselves are listed in crafting stations list.