Ice Harvesting?

[TJRedleg]

How much more lucrative is ice harvesting?

Is ice harvesting lvl 4 sufficient enough skillwise?

I've been leery of getting into ice harvesting because it seems to me that the ice fields are macro magnets and the likelihood of being identified as a macrominer is higher. I suppose I could look for low traffic systems but I assume that most not all known ice systems are heavily mined.

Any tips on ice mining would be greatly appreciated.

[Gdemon]

ive been mining ice for a long time now, the only main problem is the goonie jihad they target any miners dosnt matter if they think ur a macro or not, as for been detected just use common sense really mine for x amount of hours then move to another ice belt i do the same each day and im still here and havnt been ganked apart from the goonies and it used to pay really well but the price of ice is now half its price so its about the same as ore mining now unless you can sell it in some back water place at a higher price.

[VanGoghGaming]

T2 ice harvesters require Ice Harvesting level 5. Ice prices have reached all time lows all over the place though so I don't know how lucrative it is anymore.
With the new "Gate Mining" option from version v3.0 there is virtually zero chance of being detected and you're also safe from the suicide gankers.

[Xinque]

Well i used to ice mine alot but like vangogh said prices are really bad now some guys even selling for low as 50k a unit in large amounts

[TJRedleg]

I tried it, but don't care for it.

Gonna stick with what I know.

[TJRedleg]

Well I'm giving it a try once more.

The main reason is competition for veld rocks. Seems there are a ton of ppl in every system I try. Actually Ive found some decent spots but I'm getting to lazy to keep looking for big fat rocks, so I'm gonna try ice for a bit. Even with gate mining it seems those systems are crowded as well, I'm sure there are a bunch of TMP users in some of those systems. It doesn't take that many Hulks to kill a system for a couple of days.

I know profit margin makes ice mining less than desirable but I'll give it a go nevertheless.

Question: Is it better to sell the blocks or should I refine? Refining skills are maxed and I pay zero taxes.

[VanGoghGaming]

Refining will add a little bit to the profit but not very much. Also if it isn't Dark Glitter then don't bother. Even Scordite will outperform White Glaze. Also there are many more macro users in Ice belts than in normal asteroid belts which will increase your exposure.

[TJRedleg]

I guess I'm lucky, I've found a system that isn't flooded with ice miners. I've seen one person in the belt I'm in all weekend.

Ive gotten really tired of hunting for belts. At least with mining ice I don't have to do anything but make one or two bm's to prep the system.

Oh well it looks like I may have to go back to rocks.

[lagmonster]

http://forum.power-gamers.net/viewtopic.php?t=432

Lots of explanations/calculations here to see why Ice is good in certain situations.

Btw to show not to much like a mm, I do go roidsmining manually now and then.

[sagalore]

I just spent some time doing EFT fits and number crunching on Ice Mining in an attempt to configure the "optimal" setup. I reviewed the previous thread on this subject and it was a bit scattered and did not include any type of base or controls for comparison. The following information was compiled with characters including the following: Exhumers 5, Ice Mining 5, Mining Upgrades 4, and the 'Yeti' BX-1 implant. The only upgrade I can see to this is fronting the 50m for a 'Yeti' BX-2, which pays for itself within three weeks. This depends entirely on the danger level of the area you are mining at - if you run the risk of being podded it's probably not worth it. I don't bother even in very secure systems.

Someone else feel free to check my math on these, I was pretty tired when writing it up.

Code: Select all

1200 Cargo, 0 Ice Harvester Upgrades
1026s + 310s = 1336s/t @ 12u/t
3600s / 1336s = 2.7t/h
2.7t/h * 12u/t = 32.4u/h


1 Hour 1 Ice Harvester Upgrade II
778s + 310s = 1088s/t @ 10u/t
3600s / 1088s = 3.3t/h
3.3t/h * 10u/t = 33u/h


8000 Cargo, 2 Ice Harvester Upgrade IIs
562s + 310s = 872s/t @ 8u/t
3600s / 872 = 4.1t/h
4.1t/h * 8u/t = 32.8u/h


Unload Timing
Undock to timer activation = 3:10 = 190s
End of timer to undock = 2:00 = 120s
Total Turnaround = 5:10 = 310s

These configs are done via interchanging Expanded Cargohold II's and Cargohold Optimization Is. Additionally, in order to actually achieve the third config you need to use one Cargohold Optimization II, which throws the low-cost aspect out of this config entirely. Obviously these numbers show that the middle config, quitting halfway through the third cycle to collect the last two chunks of ice, is the most effecient. However, the variables I consider "unknown", such as getting stuck around an asteroid and having to orbit before warp, or the infamous bug where selecting "dock" warps you to the station and then tries to auto-dock before you exit warp thus standing your miner outside the station until the bot selects dock again tend to add time, so I personally strive to always use the setup with the least amount of docking attempts.

Feel free to comment or correct any bad math.

[rstark]

Well I have another config that is the same as your first configuration but uses 2 Cargohold Optimizatin II's instead of Tech 1 version. This will cost you about 700 million isk per ship. It will raise your cargo to 14,045. You can then set Tiny Miner to run 3.5 runs and get 14 ice cubes. Cargohold Optimization II is super expensive now so its probably not worth doing this. But then again, what are you gonna spend all that isk on. Lets say 1 ice cube is worth 85,000 isk. That means it would take 8236 cubes to get 700 million isk. Divide that by 2 and 4117 runs to make your money back. If you can average 45 runs per day it would take 91 days to make your money back. So 91 days to pay for itself and then you start making a little extra isk every day.

Of course, you could always get ganked and there goes a super expensive ship. I do this setup myself and have been lucky enough to not be ganked. Then again, I use a Gistii B-Type Small Shield Booster so I may have survived a couple of ganks and didn't even know it.

[VisitorQ]

hi right now both characters are mining ice with mackinaw, but should i switch to hulks?

[VanGoghGaming]

I'd say stick to Mackinaws for Ice. Just make sure to put cargo rigs on them. For more in-depth calculations as well as other geek stuff be sure to visit this thread: http://www.power-gamers.net/forum/viewt ... ?f=5&t=654