5 things you didn't know about Smelting in Minecraft

Smelting is an essential part of Minecraft. It is used for players to craft many different items by melting down raw components into usable materials. A common example of this would be players using raw iron to make iron ingots.

But there are also some things about smelting that not every player knows. Here's a look at five things people might not know about smelting.

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Five things you didn't know about smelting in Minecraft

5) There are multiple types of furnaces

There are three different items that can smelt (or smoke) raw materials. (Image via Minecraft)

There are three different kinds of furnaces. Of course, the generic furnace is one of the most commonly used items. But then there is also a blast furnace.

The blast furnace is much faster at smelting but cannot cook food items. However, smoker is another form of furnace, which is an excellent item for players to cook with as it works very fast.

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4) Multiple items can be used as fuel

Players can use different items for fuel other than wood. (Image via Minecraft)

When players think of fuel to burn to power their furnace for smelting, they probably think of wood and coal. But there are items in Minecraft that burn for a lot longer and can smelt a lot more items.

A block of dried kelp can burn for 200 seconds, compared to a piece of wood that burns for 15. However, a lava bucket can burn for 1000 seconds, which can do a lot of smelting.

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3) A lit furnace produces light

A furnace provides enough light to help keep the mobs from spawning. (Image via Minecraft)

It may seem obvious from the flames burning in front of the furnace, but a lit furnace produces a light level of 13 when it is actively smelting items.

Since mobs do not spawn in a light level of 7 or higher, players can use this great last resort to keep the mobs at bay when they have no other options. And with enough fuel, players won't have to be left in the dark.

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2) Furnaces stop smelting when a player goes too far away from them

Players should not wander too far away from an active furnace or it will despawn and stop smelting. (Image via Minecraft)

Smelting can take a long time if a player has a lot of raw materials to smelt. Players without multiple furnaces may not want to stick around to wait.

However, if a player walks too far away, such as traveling to the Nether or The End, the furnace will stop smelting since it will be despawned from the game. When the player returns, the furnace will resume from where it left off.

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1) Sleeping does not speed up smelting

Enter captionSleeping may seem like it will speed up the smelting process, but it unfortunately does not. Image via Mojang.

Sometimes a player may be in a rush to get all the materials needed from smelting. It may seem like going to sleep in a bed will speed up the process, and the player can wake up to a nice stack of items.

However, sleep only changes the day and night cycle and does not speed up the in-game timers. So the player still has to wait the entire time necessary for the smelting to complete.