Top 5 alternatives to coal in Minecraft fuels

In Minecraft, fuel sources are essential for smelting and cooking.

The generally agreed best way to smelt and cook items in Minecraft is through the use of coal. Coal is quite an abundant resource in Minecraft, it is very efficient, and by far the easiest item to use in furnaces.

However, coal isn’t always the best option for smelting items in Minecraft. There are plenty of other elements in Minecraft that are efficient for smelting, and many of them are even better than coal.

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Five great alternatives to coal in Minecraft

5) Boats

Boats can be used in furnaces (Image via Mojang)

Many Minecraft players know that nearly everything made of wood in the game can be used as a fuel source. What they might not know, however, is that boats are the best wooden objects to use as fuel.

If Minecraft players have lots of spare boats at hand, they can be used for smelting in a pinch. A single boat will smelt 6 total items.

It is recommended that boats are only used when needed, however, because they do smelt less items than coal. Players shouldn’t make boats specifically for smelting because the wood could instead be saved and used to make charcoal.

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4) Charcoal

Making charcoal (Image via DigMinecraft)

Charcoal is often considered the equivalent of coal in Minecraft because its smelting properties are nearly the same. Charcoal will smelt items at the same exact rate as coal - 8 items per charcoal - making it an ideal alternative.

The only difference between charcoal and coal is the method of obtaining the items. Coal comes from ores that need to be mined, but charcoal is made by smelting wood logs.

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3) Blaze Rod

Blazes drop blaze rods (Image via Sportskeeda)

Venturing off into the nether to find and kill blazes can always be a tedious task, but doing so might be worth it for more efficient smelting purposes. Blaze rods are some of the best fuel sources in Minecraft, smelting 12 items per blaze rod.

Of course, going back and forth between the nether fortress and waiting for blazes to spawn can be annoyingly time consuming. For this reason, players could invest in a blaze farm.

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2) Dried Kelp Block

A dried kelp block (Image via Mojang)

One of the best fuel sources in Minecraft is the dried kelp block. It is ultra efficient, smelting 20 items per single block.

A dried kelp block is crafted from 9 pieces of dried kelp. Kelp can be dried by smelting it in a furnace. Besides smelting and cooking though, there is not much use for a dried kelp block in Minecraft.

Using a dried kelp block in a furnace will even unlock a new achievement, so even if this fuel source is not ideal for some players, there is aincentive to give it a try.

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1) Lava Bucket

Collecting lava in a bucket (Image via DigMinecraft)

By far, the best fuel source in Minecraft is the lava bucket. Simply collecting lava in a bucket and placing it into a furnace will give enough fuel to smelt and/or cook 100 items.

Once all 100 items have been smelted, the lava bucket can be reused. Clearly, this is the best investment for smelting items as a bucket only requires three iron ingots and lava is quite an abundant source in Minecraft.

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Although coal is easy to use for smelting, Minecraft players will definitely want to try these other options to see if an alternative works best for them.