Small or large thrusters

[Nel-Radin]

How many small thrusters is a large one worth?
Are small thrusters better than large one?

[herrschaftg35]

9 small thrusters can fit in the space of one large and will provide more thrust, but will require more power and have more mass. I think 6 small = 1 large. But that was older info, it may have changed.

[ShadedMJ]

Not really sure where herschaftg35 is getting that information, since 9 small isn't the same as 1 large on anything I see.

Anyway......
"How many small thrusters is a large one worth? Are small thrusters better than large one?"
Choose an actual comparison (volume, thrust, power consumption, hydrogen consumption, ...)
then choose a thruster type (atmospheric, hydrogen, ion)
Then figure it out.
I'd be better to calculate it yourself https://www.spaceengineerswiki.com/Thruster

[hippybaker]

Do y'all suppose this wiki is accurate/up to date?

[ShadedMJ]

Originally posted by hippybaker:

Do y'all suppose this wiki is accurate/up to date?

Good point. You can see for yourself at the bottom of the page :
"This page was last modified on 15 November 2020, at 16:48"
Either way, the question is vague, herschaftg35 didn't provide an information source, so this is the best compilation I can find in 3 seconds....

[Dan2D3D]

I prefer to go creative world to do the testing because the game changes after a major update so I usually go in to redo the Engineer testing to be sure.

I think it's 5-6 small thrusters = One large at the moment.

But, I have noticed a better perfo when I use Large thrusters, maybe it's just me ;)
(I will have to douible check)

[Spaceman Spiff]

Originally posted by 76561198034579663:

I prefer to go creative world to do the testing because the game changes after a major update so I usually go in to redo the Engineer testing to be sure.

My own experience has shown that testing in creative mode can be misleading. I always test in survival mode to ensure adequate power and hydrogen are being supplied to thrusters. In creative mode, the game always provides 100% of each no matter what.

[Dan2D3D]

@Spaceman Spiff

Indeed, good point that I always do before publishing a Workshop item for all to use, but creative mode should be Ok for that thruster test.

[herrschaftg35]

Originally posted by ShadedMJ:

Not really sure where herschaftg35 is getting that information, since 9 small isn't the same as 1 large on anything I see.

Where exactly did I say "9" thrusters equated to one??? The number 9 comes from the amount of small thrusters that can fit in the space of a large one. And my source is whichever game file the BuildInfo mod pulls its data from.

[Seishisha]

Originally posted by herrschaftg35:

Where exactly did I say "9" thrusters equated to one??? The number 9 comes from the amount of small thrusters that can fit in the space of a large one. And my source is whichever game file the BuildInfo mod pulls its data from.

I think perhaps you are forgetting something pretty important, the direction the thruster faces is a 2x3 block area, you can only fit 6 small thrusters in a 2x3, if your ship is built to take either a large thruster or group of small thrusters in the same space facing the same direction then 6 is your limit not 9.

Just because the large thruster is a 2x3x3 block does not mean you have a nine block grid of thrust direction.

But to get back onto the topic posed by the op, in my experience 1 large thruster beats out the power of 6 small ones in pure acceleration power, it is however more costly in terms of power consumption and much more costly in components. As a general guide i would say small thrusters are fine for any ship that is purely for travel or cargo hauling, If you want a larger mobile base that can do anything, then you really need those large thrusters to reach max speed in any reasonable time frame.

[Nel-Radin]

thanks all!

[Karmaterrorᵁᴷ]

just set up a test pad in creative to get current numbers from thruster override...
I may screw up the maths though lol

Atmo (Planet Test)
Small - 648 kn
Large - 6.5 mn

6,500,000 / 648,000 = 10.03
So 10 small atmos for 1 large

Hydrogen (Planet Test)
Small - 1.1 mn
Large - 7.2 mn

7,500,000 / 1,100,000 = 6.81
So 7 small hydro to 1 large

Ion (Space Test)
Small - 345.6 kn
Large - 4.3 mn

4,300,000 / 345,600 = 12.44
So 12 small ion for 1 large

Seems hydros can save some footprint by using 7 instead of 9, but atmo and ion both take a bigger footprint at 1 more for atmo, and a massive 6 more (double) for ion :)

[herrschaftg35]

Originally posted by Seishisha:

...

Yes, the ion thruster is the oddball. Large atmospheric and hydrogen thrusters both have a face of 3x3, therefore you can fit 9 small thrusters in the space that a single large thruster takes up.

[herrschaftg35]

Originally posted by Karmaterrorᵁᴷ:

just set up a test pad in creative to get current numbers from thruster override...

I have the same numbers, I added some info to your list.

Atmo (Planet Test)
Small - 648 kn, 3.83T, 2.4mw consumption
Large - 6.5 mn, 31.92T, 16.8mw consumption

6,500,000 / 648,000 = 10.03
So 10 small atmos for 1 large

Hydrogen (Planet Test)
Small - 1.1 mn, 1.25T, 803.34l/s consumption
Large - 7.2 mn, 6.1T, 4.82kl/s consumption

7,500,000 / 1,100,000 = 6.81
So 7 small hydro to 1 large

Ion (Space Test)
Small - 345.6 kn, 4.21T, 3.36mw consumption
Large - 4.3 mn, 42.36T, 33.6mw consumption

4,300,000 / 345,600 = 12.44
So 12 small ion for 1 large

[Spaceman Spiff]

Thruster efficiency must also take into account not only thrust, but also mass (and probably power requirements). At the very least, comparisons should be normalized to kN/kg or some other form of similitude that will ensure a true comparison.

[Karmaterrorᵁᴷ]

Efficiency is a bit complicated i think, first how much does each bank of thrusters weigh vs how much thrust. But then you have to take into account the equipment required to run the system, so it gets a bot confusing.

Have to take what we got so far and add ions/atmos weight with batteries/reactor, hydros weight with a tank (lets say fuelling from a station). The see what the thrust to weight is...

Then theres time... how long will the fuel last, which one runs out first. We would have to make it so they all had the same ammount of time to make it a fair comparison. I guess its situational, whats the objective>decide the most "efficient" solution :)

@herrschaftg35
Nice work dude :)