Request Clarification on Traveller HG Chemical Power Plants

[snrdg121408]

Hello again Rulesmasters,

There appears to be a small conflict in HG between the Spacecraft Options Chemical power plants text on p. 42 and the Capital Ship Design Power plant fuel text p. 64.

Page 42 states that a Chemical Power Plant requires 20 times the fuel and page 64 states 15 times the fuel.

Which is the correct factor 20 or 15?

In the Small Craft design section on p. 57 under the heading Power a small craft chemical power plant uses petrochemical or synthetic fuels while neither the Space Craft or Capital Ship design sections provides this detail.

Why would all small craft chemical power plants be different from a Core Rulebook/HG Spacecraft Options and HG Captial Ship Design sequence?

Did I miss something in the HG spacecraft options or Capital Ship design section?

 

[Corvus]

Hello. I am not a representative of Mongoose, nor do I have the Mongoose High Guard rules, but I do have the original Fire, Fusion, and Steel rules for spacecraft construction. These rules include an exponent called Scale Efficiencies for power plant construction. This is a real effect where bigger machines with moving parts are more efficient; one 1000 kg. engine will produce more power and use less fuel than two 500 kg. engines.

If the capital ship engines are always much larger than the small craft engines, they would indeed use less fuel for the same output.

 

[snrdg121408]

Evening Corvus,

Thank you for the reply to my request for clarification between the
Chemical Power Plant text on HG p. 42 and HG p. 64. If my question
was for power output then the suggested idea of scaling efficiency
would be the best reasons for the change of 20 to 15. Unfortunately,
the text on HG p. 42 are ship design options for the Core Rulebook
Ship design sequence for hulls between 100 and 2,000-dtons. The
Capital Ship Design sequence on HG p. 64 hulls start at 2,001 dtons
which, at least in my opinion, does not warrant a decrease from 20
to 15 for the fuel consumption requirement.

The scaling efficiency in MT, TNE, and T4 is for power plant output
not the fuel requirement for running the power plant. Looking at all
three books the more volume a power plant uses the higher the
fuel comsumption.

Again, thanks for the reply.