Refiner fuel: carbon or condensed carbon?

[Sidartha]

So I assumed the best way to utilize the refiner would be to first refine carbon into condensed carbon. Then use condensed carbon as the fuel to refine other elements or even more carbon into condensed carbon.

Anyone know if this true? Also, if you use condensed carbon as fuel and then pick up the refiner it gives back the leftover condensed carbon as just carbon. Is that a bug or is it converting it back to carbon or what?

[Xilo The Odd]

condensed if you have it is overall better, but if its condensed carbon you made in a refiner its only slightly less efficient.

basically if you can keep a decent stock of carbon around, you'll never truely run out of fuel for quite awhile.

to put it into perspective at a base level.

2 carbon in a refiner = 1 condensed carbon.

to fill a small forge, it takes 150 carbon, or only 50 condensed carbon. giving back a pretty good efficiency level.

BUT im lazy and dont wanna do the extra math and test it and such, but it takes carbon to make condensed carbon no matter how you look at it. that or phospherous if your mining lasering it. which it takes 20 phospherous to fill a dead mining laser and ferrite in some for or another, also getting more effecient the more compressed it is, to fill the terrain manipulator to mine it up.

once you get into the base making quests though, and you get auto miners to drop on those nodes, the price only becomes carbon in some form.

and hard to tell if its a bug or not, but its a great way to break your condensed carbon down rather than wasiting more carbon to split condensed back into normal for now. my guess is it doesnt track the material used as fuel so it just defaults to carbon.

[PhotriusPyrelus]

This might be interesting to you:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/275850/discussions/0/1743342466036991856/

[BonPadre]

the question becomes quickly irrelevant once you unlock mediums and large refineries from base quests.

Make sure to build an oxygen harvester at your base

and then learn all about infinite loops in refineries...
Condensed carbon to fuel your oxygen harvester
Oxygen + condensed carbon to get more condensed carbon to fill your oxygen refiner, rinse and repeat...
I don't remember when I "mined" a plant for carbon needs.. nor I don't remember when I harvested oxygen plants, unless I was walking by and remebered I just refilled my exosuit.

https://nomanssky.gamepedia.com/Refiner#Medium_or_Large_Refiner
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1456988316

Good thing is, those medium and large refineries don't need fuel.
make sure you play fresh start, legacy saves seems to still not have those 2 refineries

[Xilo The Odd]

i havnt gotten those yet on my new file, or hadnt noticed them yet if they are in the perm technology area of the build menu.

[Sidartha]

Originally posted by PhotriusPyrelus:

This might be interesting to you:

https://steamcommunity.com/app/275850/discussions/0/1743342466036991856/

OK that is interesting. I was wondering if it was actually doing the reverse conversion back to carbon or just ripping you off and converting the condensed back to carbon at a 1:1 ratio but in fact it's doing the reverse conversion with an error to the plus. Very good to know even if it's not super game shattering or anything. Thanks for the info!