Lava Bucket — Minecraft block

Lava Bucket

Lava Bucket is the most efficient single furnace fuel in Minecraft, smelting 100 items, and is also poured to make obsidian.

Block ID minecraft:lava_bucket
Mod Vanilla
Game versions
1.21

Description

Lava Bucket is created by right-clicking a lava source block with an empty Bucket, which scoops the lava and leaves the player holding a full Lava Bucket. The empty Bucket itself is crafted from three iron ingots arranged in a V shape on a crafting table. Players harvest lava from cave lava pools, the deep lava oceans of the Nether, or — since Java Edition 1.17 — a renewable setup where a pointed dripstone above a lava source slowly drips into a cauldron until it fills. A single Lava Bucket stacks to one and shows the familiar steel bucket with an orange lava surface inside.

Lava Bucket is the most efficient single furnace fuel in Minecraft, burning long enough to smelt 100 items and returning an empty Bucket once spent. Pouring a Lava Bucket next to flowing water creates obsidian, the block needed to build and relight Nether portals, while the lava stream itself is used for mob-grinder kill chambers, base defense, and cobblestone or basalt generators. Survival players keep a Lava Bucket in the hotbar both as portable fuel and as an emergency trap, since one poured source block instantly ignites and damages most mobs.

Survival Guide

How to get and use a Lava Bucket in Minecraft

  1. 1

    Craft an empty bucket

    Place three iron ingots in a V shape on the crafting table to make an empty Bucket — the container needed to carry lava.

  2. 2

    Scoop a lava source

    Find a lava source block in a cave or the Nether and right-click it with the empty Bucket to fill it into a Lava Bucket.

  3. 3

    Use it as furnace fuel

    Put the Lava Bucket in the fuel slot of a furnace; it smelts 100 items and returns an empty Bucket when finished.

  4. 4

    Pour lava to make obsidian

    Right-click the ground to pour the lava, then run flowing water over the source to harden it into obsidian for a Nether portal.

Renewable since 1.17

A pointed dripstone placed under a lava source above a cauldron slowly fills the cauldron with lava, making Lava Buckets a renewable resource in Java and Bedrock Edition.

How to craft this block

Ingredients: Bucket Bucket x1 Lava Lava x1
Crafting
Bucket Lava
Lava Bucket
1
Lava Bucket

Used in crafts

Related blocks

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a Lava Bucket in Minecraft?

Right-click a lava source block with an empty bucket. The bucket scoops the lava and becomes a full Lava Bucket.

How many items does a Lava Bucket smelt?

A Lava Bucket smelts 100 items in a furnace, making it the most efficient single fuel, and it returns an empty bucket when used up.

Is a Lava Bucket renewable?

Yes. Since Java Edition 1.17 a pointed dripstone under a lava source can drip into a cauldron to refill lava endlessly.

What is a Lava Bucket used for besides fuel?

A Lava Bucket is poured next to water to make obsidian, light Nether portals, power mob-grinder traps, and defend bases.

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