Cauldron — Minecraft block

Cauldron

Cauldron holds water, lava, or powder snow — used for washing dye off armour, cleaning banner patterns, and as vanilla's only renewable lava holder.

Block ID minecraft:cauldron
Mod Vanilla
Game versions
1.21

Description

Cauldron is crafted from seven iron ingots arranged in a U-shape on the crafting grid, yielding one cauldron per recipe — a heavy iron investment justified by the unique fluid-storage role. Water sits in three discrete levels in Java Edition (six in Bedrock Edition), while lava occupies a single full mark. A water bottle, lava bucket, or powder snow bucket tops it up; glass bottles add or remove water one level at a time, and an empty bucket scoops only a completely full cauldron dry in one go.

Unique uses include: washing dye off leather armour in undyed water (Bedrock Edition also lets dye be mixed into the water to colour armour; in Java Edition leather dyeing happens on the crafting grid), removing the topmost pattern layer of banners, extinguishing fire on burning entities (jumping into a water-filled cauldron), and the only renewable lava source in vanilla — a pointed dripstone under a block with a lava source above it slowly drips lava into a cauldron below. Generated cauldrons appear in swamp huts, igloo basements (two-thirds filled with water), village tannery houses, and woodland mansion jail cells.

Block properties

Item ID minecraft:cauldron
/give command /give @p minecraft:cauldron
Stackable Yes (64)
Best tool Pickaxe
Renewable Yes
Hardness 2
Blast resistance 2

Java & Bedrock Guide

How to craft and use a Cauldron in Minecraft

  1. 1

    Craft the cauldron

    Place seven iron ingots in a U-shape on the 3x3 crafting grid (both sides full, bottom row full, centre and top empty) to make one cauldron.

  2. 2

    Fill the cauldron

    Right-click with a water bottle or water bucket to add water, a lava bucket for lava, or a powder snow bucket for powder snow. Water has three fill levels.

  3. 3

    Dye or wash leather and banners

    Right-click dyed leather armour on a cauldron of plain water to wash the colour off; in Bedrock Edition, add a dye to the water first and right-click the armour to colour it there. Right-clicking a patterned banner removes its top layer.

  4. 4

    Build a renewable lava source

    Place pointed dripstone under a dripstone block with a lava source above it, and a cauldron beneath the tip. Lava slowly drips in until the cauldron is full.

Version note

Cauldrons fill from rain (both editions) and from dripstone; a lava-filled cauldron emits light level 15. In Bedrock Edition a cauldron can also hold potions and tip arrows.

How to craft this block

Ingredients: Iron Ingot Iron Ingot x7
Crafting
Cauldron
1
Cauldron

Frequently asked questions

Can you craft a cauldron?

Yes. Place seven iron ingots in a U-shape on a crafting table to make one cauldron.

What can a cauldron hold?

A cauldron stores water (three levels), a full bucket of lava, or powder snow.

Can a cauldron make infinite lava?

Yes. A pointed dripstone under a lava source slowly drips lava into a cauldron, making it the only renewable lava source in vanilla.

How do you remove dye from leather armour?

Right-click the dyed leather piece on a cauldron filled with plain water to wash the colour off.

Does a cauldron collect rain?

Yes. A cauldron open to the sky fills with water during rain and with powder snow during snowfall, in both Java and Bedrock editions.

Minecraft and all related materials are trademarks and copyrights of Mojang Studios © 2009–2026. This site is not an official Minecraft product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Mojang Studios or Microsoft Corporation.