diff --git a/planetiler-benchmarks/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/BenchmarkKWayMerge.java b/planetiler-benchmarks/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/BenchmarkKWayMerge.java
index 6ad42302fb..a11ff03326 100644
--- a/planetiler-benchmarks/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/BenchmarkKWayMerge.java
+++ b/planetiler-benchmarks/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/BenchmarkKWayMerge.java
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ public class BenchmarkKWayMerge {
   public static void main(String[] args) {
     for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
       System.err.println();
-      testMinHeap("quaternary", LongMinHeap::newArrayHeap);
+      testMinHeap("quaternary", n -> LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(n, Integer::compare));
       System.err.println(String.join("\t",
         "priorityqueue",
         Long.toString(testPriorityQueue(10).toMillis()),
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/VectorTile.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/VectorTile.java
index 1e46cf5e42..ec71780ca3 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/VectorTile.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/VectorTile.java
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Locale;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.TreeMap;
 import java.util.function.Consumer;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
@@ -80,7 +81,8 @@ public class VectorTile {
   // TODO make these configurable
   private static final int EXTENT = 4096;
   private static final double SIZE = 256d;
-  private final Map<String, Layer> layers = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+  // use a treemap to ensure that layers are encoded in a consistent order
+  private final Map<String, Layer> layers = new TreeMap<>();
   private LayerAttrStats.Updater.ForZoom layerStatsTracker = LayerAttrStats.Updater.ForZoom.NOOP;
 
   private static int[] getCommands(Geometry input, int scale) {
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ArrayLongMinHeap.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ArrayLongMinHeap.java
index 176ea023e1..f2464ae29c 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ArrayLongMinHeap.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ArrayLongMinHeap.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 package com.onthegomap.planetiler.collection;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.function.IntBinaryOperator;
 
 /**
  * A min-heap stored in an array where each element has 4 children.
@@ -38,24 +39,26 @@
  */
 class ArrayLongMinHeap implements LongMinHeap {
   protected static final int NOT_PRESENT = -1;
-  protected final int[] tree;
-  protected final int[] positions;
-  protected final long[] vals;
+  protected final int[] posToId;
+  protected final int[] idToPos;
+  protected final long[] posToValue;
   protected final int max;
   protected int size;
+  private final IntBinaryOperator tieBreaker;
 
   /**
    * @param elements the number of elements that can be stored in this heap. Currently the heap cannot be resized or
    *                 shrunk/trimmed after initial creation. elements-1 is the maximum id that can be stored in this heap
    */
-  ArrayLongMinHeap(int elements) {
+  ArrayLongMinHeap(int elements, IntBinaryOperator tieBreaker) {
     // we use an offset of one to make the arithmetic a bit simpler/more efficient, the 0th elements are not used!
-    tree = new int[elements + 1];
-    positions = new int[elements + 1];
-    Arrays.fill(positions, NOT_PRESENT);
-    vals = new long[elements + 1];
-    vals[0] = Long.MIN_VALUE;
+    posToId = new int[elements + 1];
+    idToPos = new int[elements + 1];
+    Arrays.fill(idToPos, NOT_PRESENT);
+    posToValue = new long[elements + 1];
+    posToValue[0] = Long.MIN_VALUE;
     this.max = elements;
+    this.tieBreaker = tieBreaker;
   }
 
   private static int firstChild(int index) {
@@ -87,58 +90,59 @@ public void push(int id, long value) {
         " was pushed already, you need to use the update method if you want to change its value");
     }
     size++;
-    tree[size] = id;
-    positions[id] = size;
-    vals[size] = value;
+    posToId[size] = id;
+    idToPos[id] = size;
+    posToValue[size] = value;
     percolateUp(size);
   }
 
   @Override
   public boolean contains(int id) {
     checkIdInRange(id);
-    return positions[id] != NOT_PRESENT;
+    return idToPos[id] != NOT_PRESENT;
   }
 
   @Override
   public void update(int id, long value) {
     checkIdInRange(id);
-    int index = positions[id];
-    if (index < 0) {
+    int pos = idToPos[id];
+    if (pos < 0) {
       throw new IllegalStateException(
         "The heap does not contain: " + id + ". Use the contains method to check this before calling update");
     }
-    long prev = vals[index];
-    vals[index] = value;
-    if (value > prev) {
-      percolateDown(index);
-    } else if (value < prev) {
-      percolateUp(index);
+    long prev = posToValue[pos];
+    posToValue[pos] = value;
+    int cmp = compareIdPos(value, prev, id, pos);
+    if (cmp > 0) {
+      percolateDown(pos);
+    } else if (cmp < 0) {
+      percolateUp(pos);
     }
   }
 
   @Override
   public void updateHead(long value) {
-    vals[1] = value;
+    posToValue[1] = value;
     percolateDown(1);
   }
 
   @Override
   public int peekId() {
-    return tree[1];
+    return posToId[1];
   }
 
   @Override
   public long peekValue() {
-    return vals[1];
+    return posToValue[1];
   }
 
   @Override
   public int poll() {
     int id = peekId();
-    tree[1] = tree[size];
-    vals[1] = vals[size];
-    positions[tree[1]] = 1;
-    positions[id] = NOT_PRESENT;
+    posToId[1] = posToId[size];
+    posToValue[1] = posToValue[size];
+    idToPos[posToId[1]] = 1;
+    idToPos[id] = NOT_PRESENT;
     size--;
     percolateDown(1);
     return id;
@@ -147,29 +151,29 @@ public int poll() {
   @Override
   public void clear() {
     for (int i = 1; i <= size; i++) {
-      positions[tree[i]] = NOT_PRESENT;
+      idToPos[posToId[i]] = NOT_PRESENT;
     }
     size = 0;
   }
 
-  private void percolateUp(int index) {
-    assert index != 0;
-    if (index == 1) {
+  private void percolateUp(int pos) {
+    assert pos != 0;
+    if (pos == 1) {
       return;
     }
-    final int el = tree[index];
-    final long val = vals[index];
+    final int id = posToId[pos];
+    final long val = posToValue[pos];
     // the finish condition (index==0) is covered here automatically because we set vals[0]=-inf
     int parent;
     long parentValue;
-    while (val < (parentValue = vals[parent = parent(index)])) {
-      vals[index] = parentValue;
-      positions[tree[index] = tree[parent]] = index;
-      index = parent;
+    while (compareIdPos(val, parentValue = posToValue[parent = parent(pos)], id, parent) < 0) {
+      posToValue[pos] = parentValue;
+      idToPos[posToId[pos] = posToId[parent]] = pos;
+      pos = parent;
     }
-    tree[index] = el;
-    vals[index] = val;
-    positions[tree[index]] = index;
+    posToId[pos] = id;
+    posToValue[pos] = val;
+    idToPos[posToId[pos]] = pos;
   }
 
   private void checkIdInRange(int id) {
@@ -178,45 +182,65 @@ private void checkIdInRange(int id) {
     }
   }
 
-  private void percolateDown(int index) {
+  private void percolateDown(int pos) {
     if (size == 0) {
       return;
     }
-    assert index > 0;
-    assert index <= size;
-    final int el = tree[index];
-    final long val = vals[index];
+    assert pos > 0;
+    assert pos <= size;
+    final int id = posToId[pos];
+    final long value = posToValue[pos];
     int child;
-    while ((child = firstChild(index)) <= size) {
+    while ((child = firstChild(pos)) <= size) {
       // optimization: this is a very hot code path for performance of k-way merging,
       // so manually-unroll the loop over the 4 child elements to find the minimum value
       int minChild = child;
-      long minValue = vals[child], value;
+      long minValue = posToValue[child], childValue;
       if (++child <= size) {
-        if ((value = vals[child]) < minValue) {
+        if (comparePosPos(childValue = posToValue[child], minValue, child, minChild) < 0) {
           minChild = child;
-          minValue = value;
+          minValue = childValue;
         }
         if (++child <= size) {
-          if ((value = vals[child]) < minValue) {
+          if (comparePosPos(childValue = posToValue[child], minValue, child, minChild) < 0) {
             minChild = child;
-            minValue = value;
+            minValue = childValue;
           }
-          if (++child <= size && (value = vals[child]) < minValue) {
+          if (++child <= size &&
+            comparePosPos(childValue = posToValue[child], minValue, child, minChild) < 0) {
             minChild = child;
-            minValue = value;
+            minValue = childValue;
           }
         }
       }
-      if (minValue >= val) {
+      if (comparePosPos(value, minValue, pos, minChild) <= 0) {
         break;
       }
-      vals[index] = minValue;
-      positions[tree[index] = tree[minChild]] = index;
-      index = minChild;
+      posToValue[pos] = minValue;
+      idToPos[posToId[pos] = posToId[minChild]] = pos;
+      pos = minChild;
     }
-    tree[index] = el;
-    vals[index] = val;
-    positions[el] = index;
+    posToId[pos] = id;
+    posToValue[pos] = value;
+    idToPos[id] = pos;
   }
+
+  private int comparePosPos(long val1, long val2, int pos1, int pos2) {
+    if (val1 < val2) {
+      return -1;
+    } else if (val1 == val2 && val1 != Long.MIN_VALUE) {
+      return tieBreaker.applyAsInt(posToId[pos1], posToId[pos2]);
+    }
+    return 1;
+  }
+
+  private int compareIdPos(long val1, long val2, int id1, int pos2) {
+    if (val1 < val2) {
+      return -1;
+    } else if (val1 == val2 && val1 != Long.MIN_VALUE) {
+      return tieBreaker.applyAsInt(id1, posToId[pos2]);
+    }
+    return 1;
+  }
+
 }
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ExternalMergeSort.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ExternalMergeSort.java
index 11a63af5be..15cf934527 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ExternalMergeSort.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/ExternalMergeSort.java
@@ -253,7 +253,7 @@ public Iterator<SortableFeature> iterator(int shard, int shards) {
       }
     }
 
-    return LongMerger.mergeIterators(iterators);
+    return LongMerger.mergeIterators(iterators, SortableFeature.COMPARE_BYTES);
   }
 
   public int chunks() {
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/FeatureSort.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/FeatureSort.java
index c209c89ff1..4257f31f21 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/FeatureSort.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/FeatureSort.java
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ default ParallelIterator parallelIterator(Stats stats, int threads) {
         }
       }
     });
-    return new ParallelIterator(reader, LongMerger.mergeSuppliers(queues));
+    return new ParallelIterator(reader, LongMerger.mergeSuppliers(queues, SortableFeature.COMPARE_BYTES));
   }
 
   record ParallelIterator(Worker reader, @Override Iterator<SortableFeature> iterator)
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/HasLongSortKey.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/HasLongSortKey.java
index 8482d43556..e4a40cf812 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/HasLongSortKey.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/HasLongSortKey.java
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 /**
  * An item with a {@code long key} that can be used for sorting/grouping.
- *
+ * <p>
  * These items can be sorted or grouped by {@link FeatureSort}/{@link FeatureGroup} implementations. Sorted lists can
  * also be merged using {@link LongMerger}.
  */
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMerger.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMerger.java
index 16bcfa9dcf..1303924c11 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMerger.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMerger.java
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package com.onthegomap.planetiler.collection;
 
 import java.util.Collections;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.Iterator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
@@ -16,29 +17,34 @@ public class LongMerger {
   private LongMerger() {}
 
   /** Merges sorted items from {@link Supplier Suppliers} that return {@code null} when there are no items left. */
-  public static <T extends HasLongSortKey> Iterator<T> mergeSuppliers(List<? extends Supplier<T>> suppliers) {
-    return mergeIterators(suppliers.stream().map(SupplierIterator::new).toList());
+  public static <T extends HasLongSortKey> Iterator<T> mergeSuppliers(List<? extends Supplier<T>> suppliers,
+    Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
+    return mergeIterators(suppliers.stream().map(SupplierIterator::new).toList(), tieBreaker);
   }
 
   /** Merges sorted iterators into a combined iterator over all the items. */
-  public static <T extends HasLongSortKey> Iterator<T> mergeIterators(List<? extends Iterator<T>> iterators) {
+  public static <T extends HasLongSortKey> Iterator<T> mergeIterators(List<? extends Iterator<T>> iterators,
+    Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
     return switch (iterators.size()) {
       case 0 -> Collections.emptyIterator();
       case 1 -> iterators.get(0);
-      case 2 -> new TwoWayMerge<>(iterators.get(0), iterators.get(1));
-      case 3 -> new ThreeWayMerge<>(iterators.get(0), iterators.get(1), iterators.get(2));
-      default -> new KWayMerge<>(iterators);
+      case 2 -> new TwoWayMerge<>(iterators.get(0), iterators.get(1), tieBreaker);
+      case 3 -> new ThreeWayMerge<>(iterators.get(0), iterators.get(1), iterators.get(2), tieBreaker);
+      default -> new KWayMerge<>(iterators, tieBreaker);
     };
   }
 
   private static class TwoWayMerge<T extends HasLongSortKey> implements Iterator<T> {
+
+    private final Comparator<T> tieBreaker;
     T a, b;
     long ak = Long.MAX_VALUE, bk = Long.MAX_VALUE;
     final Iterator<T> inputA, inputB;
 
-    TwoWayMerge(Iterator<T> inputA, Iterator<T> inputB) {
+    TwoWayMerge(Iterator<T> inputA, Iterator<T> inputB, Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
       this.inputA = inputA;
       this.inputB = inputB;
+      this.tieBreaker = tieBreaker;
       if (inputA.hasNext()) {
         a = inputA.next();
         ak = a.key();
@@ -57,7 +63,7 @@ public boolean hasNext() {
     @Override
     public T next() {
       T result;
-      if (ak < bk) {
+      if (lessThan(ak, bk, a, b)) {
         result = a;
         if (inputA.hasNext()) {
           a = inputA.next();
@@ -80,14 +86,21 @@ public T next() {
       }
       return result;
     }
+
+    private boolean lessThan(long ak, long bk, T a, T b) {
+      return ak < bk || (ak == bk && lessThanCmp(a, b, tieBreaker));
+    }
   }
 
   private static class ThreeWayMerge<T extends HasLongSortKey> implements Iterator<T> {
+
+    private final Comparator<T> tieBreaker;
     T a, b, c;
     long ak = Long.MAX_VALUE, bk = Long.MAX_VALUE, ck = Long.MAX_VALUE;
     final Iterator<T> inputA, inputB, inputC;
 
-    ThreeWayMerge(Iterator<T> inputA, Iterator<T> inputB, Iterator<T> inputC) {
+    ThreeWayMerge(Iterator<T> inputA, Iterator<T> inputB, Iterator<T> inputC, Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
+      this.tieBreaker = tieBreaker;
       this.inputA = inputA;
       this.inputB = inputB;
       this.inputC = inputC;
@@ -114,8 +127,8 @@ public boolean hasNext() {
     public T next() {
       T result;
       // use at most 2 comparisons to get the next item
-      if (ak < bk) {
-        if (ak < ck) {
+      if (lessThan(ak, bk, a, b)) {
+        if (lessThan(ak, ck, a, c)) {
           // ACB / ABC
           result = a;
           if (inputA.hasNext()) {
@@ -136,7 +149,7 @@ public T next() {
             ck = Long.MAX_VALUE;
           }
         }
-      } else if (ck < bk) {
+      } else if (lessThan(ck, bk, c, b)) {
         // CAB
         result = c;
         if (inputC.hasNext()) {
@@ -161,6 +174,21 @@ public T next() {
       }
       return result;
     }
+
+    private boolean lessThan(long ak, long bk, T a, T b) {
+      return ak < bk || (ak == bk && lessThanCmp(a, b, tieBreaker));
+    }
+  }
+
+  private static <T> boolean lessThanCmp(T a, T b, Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
+    // nulls go at the end
+    if (a == null) {
+      return false;
+    } else if (b == null) {
+      return true;
+    } else {
+      return tieBreaker.compare(a, b) < 0;
+    }
   }
 
   private static class KWayMerge<T extends HasLongSortKey> implements Iterator<T> {
@@ -169,10 +197,10 @@ private static class KWayMerge<T extends HasLongSortKey> implements Iterator<T>
     private final LongMinHeap heap;
 
     @SuppressWarnings("unchecked")
-    KWayMerge(List<? extends Iterator<T>> inputIterators) {
+    KWayMerge(List<? extends Iterator<T>> inputIterators, Comparator<T> tieBreaker) {
       this.iterators = new Iterator[inputIterators.size()];
       this.items = (T[]) new HasLongSortKey[inputIterators.size()];
-      this.heap = LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(inputIterators.size());
+      this.heap = LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(inputIterators.size(), (a, b) -> tieBreaker.compare(items[a], items[b]));
       int outIdx = 0;
       for (Iterator<T> iter : inputIterators) {
         if (iter.hasNext()) {
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeap.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeap.java
index f29985e995..2b47b75b18 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeap.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeap.java
@@ -17,6 +17,8 @@
  */
 package com.onthegomap.planetiler.collection;
 
+import java.util.function.IntBinaryOperator;
+
 /**
  * API for min-heaps that keeps track of {@code int} keys in a range from {@code [0, size)} ordered by {@code long}
  * values.
@@ -31,8 +33,8 @@ public interface LongMinHeap {
    * <p>
    * This is slightly faster than a traditional binary min heap due to a shallower, more cache-friendly memory layout.
    */
-  static LongMinHeap newArrayHeap(int elements) {
-    return new ArrayLongMinHeap(elements);
+  static LongMinHeap newArrayHeap(int elements, IntBinaryOperator tieBreaker) {
+    return new ArrayLongMinHeap(elements, tieBreaker);
   }
 
   int size();
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/SortableFeature.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/SortableFeature.java
index e5df6c484f..7884799701 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/SortableFeature.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/SortableFeature.java
@@ -1,12 +1,20 @@
 package com.onthegomap.planetiler.collection;
 
 import java.util.Arrays;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 
 public record SortableFeature(@Override long key, byte[] value) implements Comparable<SortableFeature>, HasLongSortKey {
+  public static final Comparator<SortableFeature> COMPARE_BYTES = (a, b) -> Arrays.compareUnsigned(a.value, b.value);
 
   @Override
   public int compareTo(SortableFeature o) {
-    return Long.compare(key, o.key);
+    if (key < o.key) {
+      return -1;
+    } else if (key == o.key) {
+      return Arrays.compareUnsigned(value, o.value);
+    } else {
+      return 1;
+    }
   }
 
   @Override
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/util/CompareArchives.java b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/util/CompareArchives.java
index 0a73c7e521..e84384d7fc 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/util/CompareArchives.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/main/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/util/CompareArchives.java
@@ -205,8 +205,8 @@ private void compareLayer(VectorTileProto.Tile.Layer layer1, VectorTileProto.Til
     compareList(name, "keys list", layer1.getKeysList(), layer2.getKeysList());
     compareList(name, "values list", layer1.getValuesList(), layer2.getValuesList());
     if (compareValues(name, "features count", layer1.getFeaturesCount(), layer2.getFeaturesCount())) {
-      var ids1 = layer1.getFeaturesList().stream().map(f -> f.getId());
-      var ids2 = layer1.getFeaturesList().stream().map(f -> f.getId());
+      var ids1 = layer1.getFeaturesList().stream().map(f -> f.getId()).toList();
+      var ids2 = layer2.getFeaturesList().stream().map(f -> f.getId()).toList();
       if (compareValues(name, "feature ids", Set.of(ids1), Set.of(ids2)) &&
         compareValues(name, "feature order", ids1, ids2)) {
         for (int i = 0; i < layer1.getFeaturesCount() && i < layer2.getFeaturesCount(); i++) {
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMergerTest.java b/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMergerTest.java
index e0a8f89665..96e5d7f9e0 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMergerTest.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMergerTest.java
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertThrows;
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
+import java.util.Comparator;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.NoSuchElementException;
 import java.util.function.Supplier;
@@ -12,21 +13,36 @@
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
 import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.CsvSource;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.ValueSource;
 
 class LongMergerTest {
-  record Item(long key) implements HasLongSortKey {}
+  record Item(long key, int secondary) implements HasLongSortKey, Comparable<Item> {
+    @Override
+    public int compareTo(Item o) {
+      int cmp = Long.compare(key, o.key);
+      if (cmp == 0) {
+        cmp = Integer.compare(secondary, o.secondary);
+      }
+      return cmp;
+    }
+
+    long value() {
+      return key + secondary;
+    }
+  }
   record ItemList(List<Item> items) {}
 
-  private static ItemList list(long... items) {
-    return new ItemList(LongStream.of(items).mapToObj(Item::new).toList());
+  private static ItemList list(boolean primaryKey, long... items) {
+    return new ItemList(
+      LongStream.of(items).mapToObj(i -> primaryKey ? new Item(i, 0) : new Item(0, (int) i)).toList());
   }
 
   private static List<Long> merge(ItemList... lists) {
     List<Long> list = new ArrayList<>();
     var iter = LongMerger.mergeIterators(Stream.of(lists)
       .map(d -> d.items.iterator())
-      .toList());
-    iter.forEachRemaining(item -> list.add(item.key));
+      .toList(), Comparator.naturalOrder());
+    iter.forEachRemaining(item -> list.add(item.value()));
     assertThrows(NoSuchElementException.class, iter::next);
     return list;
   }
@@ -36,10 +52,11 @@ void testMergeEmpty() {
     assertEquals(List.of(), merge());
   }
 
-  @Test
-  void testMergeSupplier() {
+  @ParameterizedTest
+  @ValueSource(booleans = {true, false})
+  void testMergeSupplier(boolean primaryKey) {
     List<Long> list = new ArrayList<>();
-    var iter = LongMerger.mergeSuppliers(Stream.of(new ItemList[]{list(1, 2)})
+    var iter = LongMerger.mergeSuppliers(Stream.of(new ItemList[]{list(primaryKey, 1, 2)})
       .map(d -> d.items.iterator())
       .<Supplier<Item>>map(d -> () -> {
         try {
@@ -48,17 +65,18 @@ void testMergeSupplier() {
           return null;
         }
       })
-      .toList());
-    iter.forEachRemaining(item -> list.add(item.key));
+      .toList(), Comparator.naturalOrder());
+    iter.forEachRemaining(item -> list.add(item.value()));
     assertThrows(NoSuchElementException.class, iter::next);
     assertEquals(List.of(1L, 2L), list);
   }
 
-  @Test
-  void testMerge1() {
-    assertEquals(List.of(), merge(list()));
-    assertEquals(List.of(1L), merge(list(1)));
-    assertEquals(List.of(1L, 2L), merge(list(1, 2)));
+  @ParameterizedTest
+  @ValueSource(booleans = {true, false})
+  void testMerge1(boolean primaryKey) {
+    assertEquals(List.of(), merge(list(primaryKey)));
+    assertEquals(List.of(1L), merge(list(primaryKey, 1)));
+    assertEquals(List.of(1L, 2L), merge(list(primaryKey, 1, 2)));
   }
 
   @ParameterizedTest
@@ -73,16 +91,20 @@ void testMerge1() {
     "1 3,2,1 2 3",
   }, nullValues = {"null"})
   void testMerge2(String a, String b, String output) {
-    var listA = list(parse(a));
-    var listB = list(parse(b));
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listA, listB)
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listA)
-    );
+    for (boolean primaryKey : List.of(false, true)) {
+      var listA = list(primaryKey, parse(a));
+      var listB = list(primaryKey, parse(b));
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listA, listB),
+        "primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listA),
+        "primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+    }
   }
 
   @ParameterizedTest
@@ -98,39 +120,41 @@ void testMerge2(String a, String b, String output) {
     "1 3,2,4,1 2 3 4",
   }, nullValues = {""})
   void testMerge3(String a, String b, String c, String output) {
-    var listA = list(parse(a));
-    var listB = list(parse(b));
-    var listC = list(parse(c));
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listA, listB, listC),
-      "ABC"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listA, listC, listB),
-      "ACB"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listA, listC),
-      "BAC"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listC, listA),
-      "BCA"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listC, listA, listB),
-      "CAB"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listC, listB, listA),
-      "CBA"
-    );
+    for (boolean primaryKey : List.of(false, true)) {
+      var listA = list(primaryKey, parse(a));
+      var listB = list(primaryKey, parse(b));
+      var listC = list(primaryKey, parse(c));
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listA, listB, listC),
+        "ABC primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listA, listC, listB),
+        "ACB primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listA, listC),
+        "BAC primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listC, listA),
+        "BCA primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listC, listA, listB),
+        "CAB primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listC, listB, listA),
+        "CBA primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+    }
   }
 
   @ParameterizedTest
@@ -146,31 +170,33 @@ void testMerge3(String a, String b, String c, String output) {
     "1 2,2 3,,,1 2 2 3",
   }, nullValues = {""})
   void testMerge4(String a, String b, String c, String d, String output) {
-    var listA = list(parse(a));
-    var listB = list(parse(b));
-    var listC = list(parse(c));
-    var listD = list(parse(d));
+    for (boolean primaryKey : List.of(false, true)) {
+      var listA = list(primaryKey, parse(a));
+      var listB = list(primaryKey, parse(b));
+      var listC = list(primaryKey, parse(c));
+      var listD = list(primaryKey, parse(d));
 
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listA, listB, listC, listD),
-      "ABCD"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listA, listC, listD),
-      "BACD"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listC, listA, listD),
-      "BCAD"
-    );
-    assertEquals(
-      LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
-      merge(listB, listC, listD, listA),
-      "BCDA"
-    );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listA, listB, listC, listD),
+        "ABCD primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listA, listC, listD),
+        "BACD primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listC, listA, listD),
+        "BCAD primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+      assertEquals(
+        LongStream.of(parse(output)).boxed().toList(),
+        merge(listB, listC, listD, listA),
+        "BCDA primary=" + primaryKey
+      );
+    }
   }
 
   private static long[] parse(String in) {
diff --git a/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeapTest.java b/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeapTest.java
index 7c3d787f8e..65ece71268 100644
--- a/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeapTest.java
+++ b/planetiler-core/src/test/java/com/onthegomap/planetiler/collection/LongMinHeapTest.java
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@
 import java.util.PriorityQueue;
 import java.util.Random;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.ParameterizedTest;
+import org.junit.jupiter.params.provider.CsvSource;
 
 
 /**
@@ -42,7 +44,7 @@ class LongMinHeapTest {
   protected LongMinHeap heap;
 
   void create(int capacity) {
-    heap = LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(capacity);
+    heap = LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(capacity, Integer::compare);
   }
 
   @Test
@@ -77,6 +79,31 @@ void duplicateElements() {
     assertThrows(IllegalStateException.class, () -> heap.push(2, 4L));
   }
 
+  @ParameterizedTest
+  @CsvSource({
+    "0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5",
+    "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 0",
+    "0, 1, 2, 5, 4, 3",
+    "0, 1, 5, 2, 4, 3",
+    "0, 5, 1, 2, 4, 3",
+    "5, 0, 1, 2, 4, 3",
+  })
+  void tieBreaker(int a, int b, int c, int d, int e, int f) {
+    heap = LongMinHeap.newArrayHeap(6, (id1, id2) -> -Integer.compare(id1, id2));
+    heap.push(a, 0L);
+    heap.push(b, 0L);
+    heap.push(c, 0L);
+    heap.push(d, 0L);
+    heap.push(e, 0L);
+    heap.push(f, 0L);
+    assertEquals(5, heap.poll());
+    assertEquals(4, heap.poll());
+    assertEquals(3, heap.poll());
+    assertEquals(2, heap.poll());
+    assertEquals(1, heap.poll());
+    assertEquals(0, heap.poll());
+  }
+
   @Test
   void testContains() {
     create(4);