Kethane Converting

[studley]

I am having an issue with converting kethane to fuel/oxidizer. I THINK I may have found the answer in another post, but I'd like to clarify. I need to have a fuel line running FROM the fuel tank TO the converter. Is this correct?

Thanks!

[falofonos]

I believe that's correct or the fuel tank you're filling has to be directly connected to the converter I believe.

[RocketPilot573]

No, I don't think so. On my mining base the converter just sucks Kethane from ALL the Kethane Tanks and puts fuel into ALL fuel tanks. Though, I'm not sure if the parts in between need to be crossfeed capable.

[maltesh]

Fuel produced by the Kethane Converter follows the Fuel Crossfeed rules, but in reverse. If you replaced the converter with a rocket engine, and said engine couldn't /pull/ fuel from the tanks in that location, the Kethane Converter can't /push/ the fuel backwards into the tank. The converter's an engine that runs in reverse.

[HoY]

No, I don't think so. On my mining base the converter just sucks Kethane from ALL the Kethane Tanks and puts fuel into ALL fuel tanks. Though, I'm not sure if the parts in between need to be crossfeed capable.

This has been the case with a few people, no idea why. But it's not the normal. It's the Ideal, but its not normal

Most people have to connect their converters directly to their LFO tank, or run a fuel line From the LFO tank To the converter. Personally I had to do Both of those to get my latest refinery working, but that's just a reason to test your build before you send it too far from home!

[studley]

Yeah I think the backwards thing is what threw me off. Thanks for the replies!

[Tiron]

This has been the case with a few people, no idea why. But it's not the normal. It's the Ideal, but its not normal

Most people have to connect their converters directly to their LFO tank, or run a fuel line From the LFO tank To the converter. Personally I had to do Both of those to get my latest refinery working, but that's just a reason to test your build before you send it too far from home!

It has to do with the way the fuel flow logic works: Certain types of setup confuse it utterly and result in things not working. Not to mention the 'fuel crossfeed capable' parts are erratic about when they'll crossfeed and when they won't, in my experience anyway.

They're right about the Converter just being an engine that runs in reverse: It's set to produce no thrust and to burn negative fuel. In game-engine terms, this means it's *pulling* negative amounts of fuel from the tanks the fuel flow logic can reach. This results in fuel being ADDED to those tanks, because you're subtracting a negative (yay math). It also means that the game treats it as if fuel were flowing TO the converter FROM the tank instead of vice versa, so yes, the fuel lines need to point AT the converter.

You can actually test it by replacing the converter with a normal engine, and doing a static burn test(Use launch clamps, and don't release them). Any tanks that engine pulls fuel from, the fuel from a converter in that position will reach.

One thing a lot of people miss, though: Xenon and Monopropellant are 'universally routed' (there's no flow logic, it can go everywhere automatically)... and so is Kethane. Your Kethane tanks don't need to be anywhere *near* your converters. As long as the Kethane tanks are on the same craft as the converters, the converters will be able to get the Kethane.