Fuel poblem

[iccollector]

I was happy in manila,then I ws happy java;and then I was happy australia.
So I got a gato in pearl.First mission in the Celebes sea. I did not figure that the fuel would last so I wanted to stop by Darwin first to refuel.Even going 6 knots and submerging;the fuel did not last.So what did I do wrong?Using all the row and rsrd mods.
thanks for any answers in advance
mfg
Scott

[RickC Sniper]

From Pearl refuel at Midway.

For most of the boats, 9 kts is the most fuel efficient speed. You can make it from Midway to the Java sea with 3\4 of a tank left.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Stay afloat as much as possible and go 2/3 speed or less if you really got time to kill. Plotting your route affects fuel consumption. The shorter route obviously uses less fuel. Submerging and resubmerging uses fuel to recharge. I only submerge during air attacks and getting away from those dreaded DDs. Try using RFB or TM mods with the ones you have. It could make the difference.

Cost of info=$10 please!:lol:

[AVGWarhawk]

Cost of info=$10 please!:lol:

He will need that cash his tanks :rotfl:

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

I forgot one advice. He could ask his crew to go outside and push the boat back home if he ran out of gas.:rotfl:

Oh, that one was free.:yep:

But don't mind us, m8. We got saltwater in our brains. Like I said try the mods I mentioned. My S-18 could make a round the world trip on one tank, I swear.:hmm:

[Powerthighs]

Stay afloat as much as possible and go 2/3 speed or less if you really got time to kill.

This is not true. It's been well known for quite some time that the most fuel efficient speed is 9.5-10.5kts, depending on the boat.

[Quillan]

In the vanilla version, Ahead 1/3 gets you about 8.5 knots in calm seas, while Ahead 2/3 pushes something close to 12 knots. You'll lose some efficiency running there. ROW changes the values to a steady increase: each throttle setting is another 20% of top speed. Ahead 2/3 in a Gato or Balao gets you to about 8.5 knots, which is nice and efficient.

One other thing though, that some people have posted and I've confirmed through personal experience: if you suffer battery damage, even though it will be fixed, the boat will no longer automatically switch recharging off. The result will be the engines running hard to maintain the same speed, wasting quite a lot of fuel.

[DavyJonesFootlocker]

Good point. The mods did altar the speed settings. I travel 2/3 speed in a S-Class sub and get good mileage. I covered the eastern coast of The Phillipines, The Northern coast and even as far as Indo-china and made it to Java with a bit less than 1/2 tank full. It helps also to have the winds to your back to push you along.:)

[Scurvy]

Ok, now I'm confused. I'm driving a Gato class and was told that 11 kts was the most fuel-efficient.

Edit: <-- Suddenly, I turn into a "Nub".

[Taurolas]

most fuel efficient is about 9 knots for gato and balao, and dont keep diving and using batteries.. why is it peeps forget that the diesels use more fuel to recharge the batteries if you've been submerged thus reducing your range considerably... begining to think alot of peeps think they are playing with nuke subs lol!!!

[iccollector]

First,thankyou for all athe answers.Second,I should run at 9 knots and turn the battery charger off?I for one would prefer to stay on the surface but once I get into jap waters I keep getting radar contact and have to dive.I could just say to hell with the mission and do it my way but I prefer to at least try to accomplish at least the first one.
As far as the other 2 mods mentioned;I would love to try them but I am not at 100% yet.I have not mastered manuel targeting.For some reason I am a little to stupid to master this.:damn:
mfg Scott
ps:would you prefer a real iron cross instead of ten bucks?How about 10€, I dont have dollars here and a ic cost more then 10 dollars

[Rockin Robbins]

TM has 2/3 throttle set for most economical speed surfaced. Just a free plug for a mod without peer (so far).:up:

[Powerthighs]

Second,I should run at 9 knots and turn the battery charger off?

No, in general you should leave the battery charger on. When you surface, it will charge the batteries, then shut itself off when the batteries are full.

The only time to shut it off manually (as Quillan was referring to) is when your batteries get damaged. The charge will max out at a value of less than 100. Your charger will stay on forever, and you will get significantly less mpg for the rest of the patrol unless you turn it off yourself.

[Powerthighs]

Also, with the TM mod you can hit Shift-G to see your range at current speed. It's easy to ascertain your most fuel efficient speed by doing this at one-knot increments and seeing which one gives you maximum range.

This isn't in stock by default, but I believe the functionality is there, there is just no key mapped to it. My understanding is it's easy to modify the key commands file to make this available.

Note that while batteries are charging Shift-G will report a significantly smaller distance than when charging is off. Something to keep in mind so you don't freak yourself out off the coast of Japan.

[raymond6751]

Boy I wish I'd read this thread before I ran out of fuel 40 nm from base !

I guess one should never assume anything is automatic. I did. I thought when the batteries were recharged, engines would then be auto set to propulsion. Duh?

The charger starts automaticaly on surfacing, so it would seem natural that it would stop charging the same way.

Nevertheless, in future I will spend more time reading than sailing. It just takes all the fun out of the game...running out of fuel I mean.:rotfl:

[iccollector]

ok and now the last stupid question.I saw the training vids on you tube.But there is no sound on how you can really manuelly target.Im american living in germany;I can read most stuff but figuring out how to manual target is killin me:damn:
is there one with sound to explain it?
mfg
Scott

[Rip]

Boy I wish I'd read this thread before I ran out of fuel 40 nm from base !

I guess one should never assume anything is automatic. I did. I thought when the batteries were recharged, engines would then be auto set to propulsion. Duh?

The charger starts automaticaly on surfacing, so it would seem natural that it would stop charging the same way.

Nevertheless, in future I will spend more time reading than sailing. It just takes all the fun out of the game...running out of fuel I mean.:rotfl:
It does normally, but with damage it never quite sees 100% charge and therefore never kicks off. The fuel consumption of charging batteries and making 10kts is substantial. Also in rough weather slow down a little extra as the wave/wind effects cause an additional increase in fuel consumption. I also run slower while charging batteries since they charge faster, although I haven't crunched any numbers to prove that doing so saves any substantial amount of fuel.

I also go extra slow when submerged to minimize recharging time/fuel consumtion once I surface.

[Scurvy]

I also go extra slow when submerged to minimize recharging time/fuel consumtion once I surface.

That's what I figured, too. As a matter of fact, if a plane is nearby, I'll go to periscope depth and stop, altogether, and just sit there and wait for the sun to go down. The only (apparent) thing you have to watch is O2 consumption, which hasn't yet been a problem for me. I'll then surface at night and continue my journey.

[Powerthighs]

I saw the training vids on you tube.But there is no sound on how you can really manuelly target.

Have you tried WernerSobe's tutorials?

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=118923

[jasondef]

I had same fuel problems when I started. And as everyone suggested, I dropped to 9-10 knots cruising speed, only submerged when I had to, and when submerged limited to 2-4 knots (unless battle maneuvering) and sure enough, I had more fuel than I knew what to do with! Maybe syphon some for the truck ride to the bar when I get back to base.