Fuel consumption question

[PapaG39]

I have read on several threads that by setting a specific knot that you save fuel over a setting of slow, 1/3 or standard.
I am now in the VIIB boat and have been playing with different settings, but they don't seem to work as set.

I.E.
I set three knots ...I get 2 kts, 4 kts I get 3 kts ... set 5 kts I only get 3 kts...set 6 kts I get 4 kts etc..
The dang speed seting does not go to that speed.

*****basically smooth water*****no rain, wind, blowing dust or weeds fouling the prop... The boat is not dragging along the bottom through the mud either...

How do I figure out which setting on the surface in smooth water would be the best for fuel efficiency in SH3?

[U49]

In terms of fuel efficiency vs. travelled distance I perfer the 9kts/10kts setting (ahead 1/3)

Best speed setting was in a the real type VIIB somewhere around that speed.

If you want to travel for free, i thinkthere is still a bug that allows you to go submerged by battery, surface and stop (!) all engines. Funny stuff is that the batteries keep on recharging :D...
It just takes some time to cross the ocean :rotfl:

[PapaG39]

yeah U49.. just a few minutes ago saw that very scenario. I was down listining until my air was about two then I just surfaced straight up & sat there gathering air when all of a sudden that little voice said "Batteries 100% sir" Kind of surprised me because I haden't run the power plant.

What I have been doing is to submerge, go 3-4 kts until the batteries are 50% & then surface & run at 1/3 until they are recharged...Your right though, it is a slow way of getting somewhere, but you can stretch your fuel quite a bit that way.

I still don't know why I can't get the proper manual knot setting on the surface though.

[KeptinCranky]

The reason is waves and wind, plowing into the waves reduces your speed somewhat, the boat only reaches the set speed in 1 m/s wind or no wind at all. this simulates increased fuel consumption due to weather. in moderate wind your boat will go 1 knot below rated speed, in heavy seas as much as 4 when the engine exhaust gets briefly flooded but nominally it goes 2 knots below rated, that's why it's wise to submerge in a storm, easier on the crew too.

If you find yourself in a flat calm, order all ahead flank and you'll see your boat move, I've seen my IXD2 go 21 knots, which is nice when trying to dodge bombs because those things turn like a brick outhouse...:D

[PapaG39]

*****basically smooth water*****no rain, wind, blowing dust or weeds fouling the prop...
The boat is not dragging along the bottom through the mud either...
standard propulsion/Both props turning...
boat in Surface Cruise Mode.
The knots mode setting on my computer just does not match up.
screw it... it really isn't a big thing. I just use the normal slow, 1/3, standard etc settings. heck, it's just a-game...nothing to get to jerked over...lol

[Vacillator]

PapaG39, I get the same, they don't match up so I have to add a bit to my settings.

As for economical speed just ask your Navigator for maximum range at current speed (one of his standard reports) and repeat at a few different speeds to find the best. Of course the reports are for current weather conditions..

One minor thing to be aware of, if you've just surfaced, one screw might be stationary while that motor charges your batteries. Unless you specifically order not to charge the batteries...

[Captain Nemo]

I.E.
I set three knots ...I get 2 kts, 4 kts I get 3 kts ... set 5 kts I only get 3 kts...set 6 kts I get 4 kts etc..
The dang speed seting does not go to that speed.

For maximum fuel efficiency I run my VIIB at eight knots. Getting the right speed can be fiddly, I tend to click the dial just above the speed I want to go and that seems to work for me i.e. click near nine knots for eight knots etc. When the crewmen confirms your speed you know you are OK.

Nemo

[seafarer]

It seems, for me, that you have to click at a speed a knot or two above what you actually want. So if you want 8 or 9 knots, click somewhere between 10 and 11 on the dial, and check the response from the engineer. It just seems that the knot indicator is just a bit off - as is the compass in my experience (no matter how precisely I try to click on 270, I'll get a "new course, 268" or 273 or somesuch, never actually 270).

[floundericiousWA]

I've sorta figured out that the best "fuel economy" comes between 2 and 3 (1/3rd and standard)...

If you pick a course and hit 2, then ask your N.O. the range...he'll come back and say max range is xxxxx km at this speed...

Hit that report range button about five times... make a mental note of the average...

Then hit 3 and wait for the speed to equalize at the new throttle setting... repeat the range reports...you'll see a new xxxxxkm number emerge...

Then change the indicator to speed and click at a speed roughly between the 1/3rd and standard speeds... and do the thing with the navigator again...you'll get what amounts to the best range possible.

At least, that's my experience! It's what's allowed me to raid the Irish coast in a type II and have plenty of go-juice for tactical maneuvering... hey! Stop :rotfl: at me! You can do tactical maneuvering in a type II!!! :lol:

[PapaG39]

Yeah, I have been doing a hodgepodge of what ya'll been doing & with the same results.
I wish the compass was just a tad bigger and a scosh more accurate though...lol..

I did a patrol in the type IID boat from Kiel to Norvik and back. It took me 23 days. I would stealthly slink along at 2-3 knots submerged for 30km & then resurface and apply 1/3 at cruise to recharge. It must have worked because I still had fuel left when I returned to Kiel...

On glassy water at a setting of standard I did about 10 max range requests (one right after the other) of the Navigator. I recieved 10 completely different answers...all the way from 12000km to 4500km so I don't put much trust in what the computer is spitting out.
After all...It is just a $50 dollar (when new) game on a cd that some very sharp people put together.

I guess we just have to figure out the work arounds for some things.. When You think about it, it is really not much of a big deal when you consider the all around immensity of this game...
No $50 dollar game is going to be perfect...just fun...

[floundericiousWA]

On glassy water at a setting of standard I did about 10 max range requests (one right after the other) of the Navigator. I recieved 10 completely different answers...all the way from 12000km to 4500km so I don't put much trust in what the computer is spitting out.



Whoa! I don't get a differential that big... mine's usually more like 11897, followed by 12135, followed by 12039, etc.

Then I change speed...and it changes to 9989, 10219, 10023, etc.

*shrug!*

[PapaG39]

yeah, that's what surprised me too. most of them were in the 8-10000km range but a couple were way off the scale one way or the other.
I'm wondering if my computer is doing hiccups.
I would imagine that our individule computers will have minor spikes or lags for one reason or another. That could cause it.
I have a fast computer 650 or 680 watt power supply, cpu 3.2, ati X1900xt which has 512 & four sticks of 512. fans galore so it's not a heat problem.
It just does a little jig once in a while.
computers are all run by magic and are a complete mystery to the computer challenged...I.E. ME!

[SmokinTep]

I usually go for 8 knots. Find that is best for fuel economy. Also, charging the batteries all the time will eat up more fuel also.

[floundericiousWA]

I usually go for 8 knots. Find that is best for fuel economy. Also, charging the batteries all the time will eat up more fuel also.

:lol: Not if you sit on the surface at "all stop" :lol:

[PapaG39]

I have two campaigns going in the North Sea area. One with older brother Erik VonBrat and his type IID boat and the other with younger brother ManFred VonBrat in his shiney new VIIB boat so last night I did some comparisons in fairly smooth and moderate wave action.
This time I made sure that **BOTH** the dang props were spinnin away.

The most desireable and efficient speed for the type IID seemed to be:
Submerged: 3kts gave me about 60km to the first redline on the Amps gage.
Surfaced: 6kts

Type IIB
Submerged: 3kts seemed to give about 60km to the redline & 4kts about 50km.
Surfaced: Same as you guys, about 8kts was actually the most efficient for operation in the smaller North sea area.

As far as charging the batteries, it didn't seem to matter if you went 3kts or 12 kts it still took about 30km or so to fully charge from the first redline.

I must have screwed up on my other testing because this time the numbers were more close together on numerous tests. I most likely forgot to check that two props were running...

[SmokinTep]

I usually go for 8 knots. Find that is best for fuel economy. Also, charging the batteries all the time will eat up more fuel also.

:lol: Not if you sit on the surface at "all stop" :lol:

Damn, never knew that.........

[floundericiousWA]

I usually go for 8 knots. Find that is best for fuel economy. Also, charging the batteries all the time will eat up more fuel also.

:lol: Not if you sit on the surface at "all stop" :lol:

Damn, never knew that.........

Yep, it's the incredible solar submarine :up:

[U49]

I usually go for 8 knots. Find that is best for fuel economy. Also, charging the batteries all the time will eat up more fuel also.

:lol: Not if you sit on the surface at "all stop" :lol:

Damn, never knew that.........

Yep, it's the incredible solar submarine :up:

It's my "green" sub :lol: .
We as Ubootfahrer, are historically well know and tasked with executing business of high responsibility and grave and irrecoverable consequences.
This is our part in saveguarding the climate.

[floundericiousWA]

It's my "green" sub :lol: .
We as Ubootfahrer, are historically well know and tasked with executing business of high responsibility and grave and irrecoverable consequences.
This is our part in saveguarding the climate.

Sorta like getting SUV's off the road by blasting them with a 105mm howitzer! :lol: :lol: :yep:

[U49]

It's my "green" sub :lol: .
We as Ubootfahrer, are historically well know and tasked with executing business of high responsibility and grave and irrecoverable consequences.
This is our part in saveguarding the climate.

Sorta like getting SUV's off the road by blasting them with a 105mm howitzer! :lol: :lol: :yep:

:hmm: 2 questions:
how much renown per kill?
how many rounds per kill?
:rotfl:
Does it compare to a ... think.... ....think more.... whaleship?

[PavelKirilovich]

Do engine & powershaft upgrades like the MAN Buchigeblase affect fuel efficiency? I ask because it seems to be common sense that they would, but I don't know if that's modelled at all in the game. If so, to what degree?

[Sailor Steve]

Do engine & powershaft upgrades like the MAN Buchigeblase affect fuel efficiency? I ask because it seems to be common sense that they would, but I don't know if that's modelled at all in the game. If so, to what degree?
One of the problems with judging that is that in real life there were no engine upgrades, at least not for individual boats. The Type VIIa was the last boat to not have superchargers, and the Type VIIb was the first boat to have them, and the VIIb and succeeding boats were given larger fuel tanks, giving the supercharged boats longer range.

Of course in the game the supercharged boats have higher speed, which should mean shorter range, but in actuality the unsupercharged max speeds shown were the real speeds with superchargers, and the supercharged max speeds are completely unrealistic.

What I'm saying is, the game is completely screwed up where upgrades are concerned, and any speed and range changes resulting from them.
http://www.uboat.net/types/viia.htm
http://www.uboat.net/types/viib.htm
http://www.uboat.net/types/viic.htm