Q. Why did you spend nearly 3 hours on this?
A. Dunno
Q. Why are you posting it on the forums instead of submitting it for proof of admission to a psych ward?
A. Good point. But I guess I thought I proper thought out answer to the question “Encriched Combustion Particle or Enriched Hard Coal?” was a good idea.
Disclaimer: There are multiple reasons for wanting to use different fuels. You may prioritise speed, fuel efficiency or just want to use non-valuable items (like just using compact peat, which I respect). So I wanted to know what the best fuel was in terms of speed (which are the two in the title at x6.6 speed) and which one was more ‘worth while’ in terms of raw materials.
So I wrote a bunch of stuff down on paper and vigorously went through the knowledge tab.
Enriched Hard Coal (EHC) = 16,500 Heat/Spark
Enriched Combustion Particle (ECP) = 19,800 Heat Spark
To craft a Mass Craft (50) of EHC:
- 360 Hard Coal
- 180 Kindling Shred
To craft a Mass Craft (50) of Enriched Combustion Particle (ECP):
- 129.6 Hard Coal
- 180 Kindling Mass
- 933.12 Combustion Particles
The difference in raw materials:
To craft EHC You need 230* more Hard Coal
To craft ECP You need 933* more Combustion Particles
*removing the decimal points for ease
230 hard coal = (230x800) 184,000 (3,680 per EHC item when mas crafted)
933 Combustion Particles = (933x150) 139,950 (2,799 per ECP item when mass crafted)
If you make ECP you’re saving 184,000 heat by not using 230 hard coal.
If you make EHC you’re saving 139,950 heat by not using 933 combustion particles.
The difference is 44,050 (881 per item) in favour of ECP.
But ECP is already 3,300 more heat per item, meaning the difference in the ‘Raw Material to Heat’ ratio is 4,181 which = 209,050 per mass craft (50)
The extra heat you gain from making ECP (209,050) divided by 933 (extra combustion particles needed instead of the 230 hard coal) = 224.06 (224 for ease) heat per combustion particle, which is 74 more heat than usual.
In conclusion:
When crafting Enriched Combustion Particles, you are yielding 4181 more heat per item than Enriched Hard Coal. This takes into account the difference in heat between the 230 Hard Coal you save vs the 933 Combustion Particles you use crafting ECP.
2nd disclaimer
The excess materials could be further proccessed like 230 hard coal into however many Compact Hard Coal, or the combustion particles into Compact Combustion Particles, then into However many Coal-infused Combustion Particles… but I ain’t working that shizz out. I also will be off slightly with the numbers, as I did round up some figures due to not wanting to work with a bunch of decimal points.
No I’m not high, and yes I am probably wrong on some things. If you find anything wrong, I want to know please! 
Even though my findings show that Enriched Combustion Particles are much better than Enriched Hard Coal… Imma still use EHC because I value Combustion Particles leagues above Hard Coal 
If you’re gonna be offline for a bit, then peat is an oortians best friend