Fuel scoop for a Cutter?

[Stealthie]

Just wondering what scoop people are running on their Cutter?

My Cutter is rigged as a tradeship so I've filled up the C8 and C6 slots with cargo racks and stuck a 5A scoop on it.
Having used it to ferry stuff out to the Maia CG, though, it's starting to irritate me.
It can, theoretically, scoop 0.58t/sec but in practice it can only run at around 0.4t/sec or the ship begins to overheat.

I suppose the question is, do I sacrifice some cargo space and fit a bigger cargo scoop to get the refueling done more quickly, before the overheating starts, OR do i just need to learn a bit of patience and accept the lack of efficiency?

S'funny, with exploration ships you just need to fit the biggest scoop possible to avoid wasting time, with combat ships you just fit whatever size scoop fits a free slot (if at all) but with tradeships it's a lot less clear-cut because you have to think about a variety of factors.

 

[thirstyfish]

Just wondering what scoop people are running on their Cutter?

My Cutter is rigged as a tradeship so I've filled up the C8 and C6 slots with cargo racks and stuck a 5A scoop on it.
Having used it to ferry stuff out to the Maia CG, though, it's starting to irritate me.
It can, theoretically, scoop 0.58t/sec but in practice it can only run at around 0.4t/sec or the ship begins to overheat.

I suppose the question is, do I sacrifice some cargo space and fit a bigger cargo scoop to get the refueling done more quickly, before the overheating starts, OR do i just need to learn a bit of patience and accept the lack of efficiency?

S'funny, with exploration ships you just need to fit the biggest scoop possible to avoid wasting time, with combat ships you just fit whatever size scoop fits a free slot (if at all) but with tradeships it's a lot less clear-cut because you have to think about a variety of factors.

I use a 3A on my python, a 4C on my FDL (for significant jumping, 2A otherwise), and a 6C on my asp x. IMO, just put up with the slower pace of refueling. Keep the cargo space.

 

[goemon]

non.

engineered the total laden range of a cutter is enough for any common trade routes.

6A woud be my choice for your above scnario, as 5A is just a tiny bit to small to run endlessly in bubble distances.

for overheating: turn off any moduls you don't need - powerdistributor, cargo hatch, --- power usage adds to resting heat. having d-class thrusters on my trading cutter also helps with that.

 

[StiTch]

First ask whether you can improve your scooping procedure.

I just put my hands under them and give a good squ...

...

*AHEM*

option number two: fit moar heat sinks.

 

[Hooplah]

6A for my Cutter. My general rule is to match the class size of the fuel tank equal to the class of the fuel scoop. Then enhance up or sacrifice down depending upon the mission goals. Also since fuel scoops do not add weight I find the small scoop difference in say a 7A versus a 7B on a Corvette is well worth it verses the massive cost difference!

 

[goemon]

6A for my Cutter. My general rule is to match the class size of the fuel tank equal to the class of the fuel scoop. Then enhance up or sacrifice down depending upon the mission goals. Also since fuel scoops do not add weight I find the small scoop difference in say a 7A versus a 7B on a Corvette is well worth it verses the massive cost difference!

wouldn't it make more sense to change that general rule to FSD class, as those determines the max. amount of fuel used per jump?

my general rule is: in the bubble: one class smaller fuelscoop than the FSD size is, if the ship has such a slot. so, for exampel class 4 on my python (class 5 fsd). same class for longdistance travels in the bubble. so for exampel class 4 fuelscoop on my dolphin (class 4 slot)... or a class 5 on my pthon if i take it somewhere. and biggest fuelscoop for explorers.

 

[Infidel Deity]

Just wondering what scoop people are running on their Cutter?

My Cutter is rigged as a tradeship so I've filled up the C8 and C6 slots with cargo racks and stuck a 5A scoop on it.
Having used it to ferry stuff out to the Maia CG, though, it's starting to irritate me.
It can, theoretically, scoop 0.58t/sec but in practice it can only run at around 0.4t/sec or the ship begins to overheat.

I suppose the question is, do I sacrifice some cargo space and fit a bigger cargo scoop to get the refueling done more quickly, before the overheating starts, OR do i just need to learn a bit of patience and accept the lack of efficiency?

S'funny, with exploration ships you just need to fit the biggest scoop possible to avoid wasting time, with combat ships you just fit whatever size scoop fits a free slot (if at all) but with tradeships it's a lot less clear-cut because you have to think about a variety of factors.

I found 6AFuel Soop to be ok.
But if you're not trading over long distances, do you need a scoop?

 

[AttackedDesert]

I went all in and put an 8A scoop on mine, because why not right?

 

[Stealthie]

Cheers.

Was just thinking about it some more and my Cutter's "regular" route makes me around Cr4,000 per tonne so losing 32t of cargo space to a C6 scoop would lose me ~Cr120k per run.
That's a noticeable dent in profit but, then again, on the way out to Maia I got mugged by a pair of FdLs and, after deciding to take them on, I had more than Cr100k of repairs to make (including restoring integrity).
The bounties for them helped cover that but if I'd had a bigger scoop I probably would have been finished and away before they even showed up.

I feel like I want my Cutter to be the best possible cargo ship but, then again, if it's irritating to fly then that can't be right, can it?
I think a 6A scoop is on the shopping list. [up]

 

[goemon]

I feel like I want my Cutter to be the best possible cargo ship but, then again, if it's irritating to fly then that can't be right, can it?
I think a 6A scoop is on the shopping list. [up]

buy it and put it in module storage, if you ever feel like trading to the pleiades again?

 

[IndigoWyrd]

Very mixed on this...

I first don't quite fathom why a fuel scoop isn't standard equipment, or otherwise integrated with the Frame Shift Drive in the first place.
Next, I do not grasp the only Engineer modification being Shielded - I mean, who's ever shot out someone's fuel scoop?

As for what size... how much of a hurry are you in? If you have to be right there, right now, then the biggest you can afford.
If you're not in any hurry at all, then whatever fits whatever slot you like.

I don't get explorers being in any kind of a hurry - it's not like the galaxy is going anywhere.. well, it is, but you're great-great-grand-descendants won't live long enough to see it.

I'm perfectly content when exploring to park myself right next to a star, sit there to refuel, go make a sandwich, some coffee, check the news and weather, feed the cats, clean a rifle or two and come back to check my progress - because there's nothing out there to really worry about. Who's ever been interdicted 3k outside the bubble or more?

 

[Dutchman141]

Got a 6A on my Cutter, I don't want to scoop for a minute and a half with every other jump.
Got a 5A on my Conda and a 6A on my Beluga too.
Scooping is a necessary action for me, not my hobby so I want it to be as quick as possible.

 

[Stealthie]

I went all in and out an 8A scoop on mine, because why not right?

A bold choice, for sure.

I take it cargo hauling isn't the primary function of your Cutter?

 

[Bomba Luigi]

For going between Maia and the Bubble adding a extra fuel tank would probably do the trick while maybe also taking a smaler slot then the scoop.

 

[Stealthie]

Scooping is a necessary action for me, not my hobby so I want it to be as quick as possible.

Yeah, I'd prefer it if I'm the one who decides when and where I dawdle, not my ship.

 

[ChubbyBunneh]

What kind of power plant are you sporting? The better the heat efficiency the closer you can scoop to the star, giving you a faster rate of refueling.

On most of my ships I use the A rated power plants, even if that means downsizing: like a 6A in my Python or 7A in the Cutter.

If your reactor is overcharged with a bad RNG roll it could significantly gimp your heat efficiency too.

 

[GTwannabe]

6A, which is marginal. Cutter can't hug the star at full throttle and is a pain to keep the tank topped off.

 

[orizh]

I'm flying an 8B, but I use my cutter for exploring, not other stuff. When I used it for CGs in the bubble I didn't fit a scoop at all.

 

[[Diplomacy] Carnegie]

I don't get explorers being in any kind of a hurry - it's not like the galaxy is going anywhere.. well, it is, but you're great-great-grand-descendants won't live long enough to see it.

Little delays add up.
After a thousand jumps even 3.6 seconds longer scoop time will add an hour to your journey time.

Also, about the only thing that's dangerous to an explorer these days is scooping.
A lack of concentration around an orange giant will toast you quite nicely, as will crash stops into the corona.

A good fuel scoop mitigates both of these issues - leaving the meat component as the only failure mode.

 

[Warptrooper]

Just wondering what scoop people are running on their Cutter?

My Cutter is rigged as a tradeship so I've filled up the C8 and C6 slots with cargo racks and stuck a 5A scoop on it.
Having used it to ferry stuff out to the Maia CG, though, it's starting to irritate me.
It can, theoretically, scoop 0.58t/sec but in practice it can only run at around 0.4t/sec or the ship begins to overheat.

I suppose the question is, do I sacrifice some cargo space and fit a bigger cargo scoop to get the refueling done more quickly, before the overheating starts, OR do i just need to learn a bit of patience and accept the lack of efficiency?

S'funny, with exploration ships you just need to fit the biggest scoop possible to avoid wasting time, with combat ships you just fit whatever size scoop fits a free slot (if at all) but with tradeships it's a lot less clear-cut because you have to think about a variety of factors.

You answered your own question.

Use 6A on cutter imho although you don't even need a fuel scoop if you have a back n forth route.