Pumping water into your tanks is pretty straightforward (as is getting raw or refined hydrogen straight from the tanker). So that leaves two methods that aren't quite defined - gas giant refueling and ice refueling.
The books have always stated that only streamlined or standard configurations may refuel from a gas giant (not to mention you have to have fuel scoops present). The assumption is (from my reading of the rules at least) that the ship has to drop down into the atmosphere of the gas giant to an altitude where the air pressure is undefined, and then using it's drives it flys through the atmosphere and 'scoops' up the gas, which is then cooled to a liquid format and stored in your fuel tanks. At some point your fuel purifiers can run the gas and 'refine' it to a more pure form.
But from what I can tell I can't find mention of much more information in any of the versions. I did find some interesting statistics across different versions regarding refueling:
T4 - 8hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size (4hrs in an ocean environment)
GURPS - 2hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size
MGT Core - 1-6hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size
MGT Starports - Ground fueling stations pump 60Dtons/hr
So we've got a wide spread for timing. There have been mentions of gas giant refueling and the hazards (pirates, SDB, the "high guard", mentions of the "danger") associated with this... but damn if I can find any more detailed information on what exactly constitutes the danger, how ships can lurk in the clouds undetected by sensors, why the ships are extra vulnerable doing refueling runs, etc.
Not to mention the HUGE potential variation in refueling times listed for MGT. Lets assume for a moment that pumping fuel from a tank is the most efficient way of transferring fuel. That seems a safe assumption to me because the fuel is already liquified and is simply being pumped. Doesn't get any more simpler than that. So if you were pumping 1,000 Dtons of Lhyd it would take 16hrs. But at MOST, refueling in a gas giant would take 6hrs. Those figures are wildly different.
I've got some ideas of my own but was interested in hearing what you guys think.
The books have always stated that only streamlined or standard configurations may refuel from a gas giant (not to mention you have to have fuel scoops present). The assumption is (from my reading of the rules at least) that the ship has to drop down into the atmosphere of the gas giant to an altitude where the air pressure is undefined, and then using it's drives it flys through the atmosphere and 'scoops' up the gas, which is then cooled to a liquid format and stored in your fuel tanks. At some point your fuel purifiers can run the gas and 'refine' it to a more pure form.
But from what I can tell I can't find mention of much more information in any of the versions. I did find some interesting statistics across different versions regarding refueling:
T4 - 8hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size (4hrs in an ocean environment)
GURPS - 2hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size
MGT Core - 1-6hrs to skim fuel, regardless of tank size
MGT Starports - Ground fueling stations pump 60Dtons/hr
So we've got a wide spread for timing. There have been mentions of gas giant refueling and the hazards (pirates, SDB, the "high guard", mentions of the "danger") associated with this... but damn if I can find any more detailed information on what exactly constitutes the danger, how ships can lurk in the clouds undetected by sensors, why the ships are extra vulnerable doing refueling runs, etc.
Not to mention the HUGE potential variation in refueling times listed for MGT. Lets assume for a moment that pumping fuel from a tank is the most efficient way of transferring fuel. That seems a safe assumption to me because the fuel is already liquified and is simply being pumped. Doesn't get any more simpler than that. So if you were pumping 1,000 Dtons of Lhyd it would take 16hrs. But at MOST, refueling in a gas giant would take 6hrs. Those figures are wildly different.
I've got some ideas of my own but was interested in hearing what you guys think.