Using The Ovens

This guide will explain how the ovens are used in the mines. Use of the ovens is entirely optional for miners. Please do not use the ovens unless you fully understand this system!

Why There's An Oven System

Smelting takes 10 seconds per item! Therefore, smelting a stack of items takes 640 seconds (Almost 11 minutes). Most experienced miners can complete a whole run in this amount of time.

The oven system allows for effectively instant smelting, allowing the miner to gain instant XP. Smelting materials does not typically earn the miner any additional revenue.

Basic Smelting Process

You need to have a stack of raw material (cobblestone, iron ore, or gold ore) and 8 coal as fuel.

Locate an oven which is not currently active, and corresponds with the raw material (as below).

Clear out any material in the oven and place in your full stack of raw material and 8 coal.

Now, you can claim the resulting material. There are three different cases.

Oven Has Smelted Material

If the ovens already contained 1 stack of the resulting material, then put that in your cart and claim it in your report. No note is needed, since the report matches your cart.

Oven Is Empty

Newer ovens will not already have anything in them yet. In that case, you wont be able to grab the stacks of the resulting material. You still claim the stacks in your report so that you get paid for them, however you put a note of all the stacks which are in the ovens.

As an example, you find a stone oven empty, you would put in 64 cobblestone and 8 coal. Now, there will be 1 stack of stone in the ovens (when it's finished smelting) so you would add that to your report. Since it's not actually in the cart, you put a note saying "1 stack of stone in ovens".

Oven Has The Wrong Material

Sometimes, people may put the wrong thing in ovens or incorrectly use them. In that case, you still get paid for the item you produced, but you don't get paid for the items that were left in the ovens since you didn't mine those. You should include the wrong item in the cart if there is space (to clean things up), but not in the report (since you don't get paid for it). Since the cart and the report will not match, you need to note the material you produced and left in the ovens, as well as the material which is in the cart but that you didn't produce.

For example, let's say you went to use a stone oven, and there was 64 nether bricks in there. You would take the nether bricks, and put in your 64 cobblestone and 8 coal. You can claim 64 stone in your report. You would not claim the nether bricks in your report since you didn't mine them, but they should be placed in the cart so they can be sorted. Your note would say "1 stack of stone in ovens, 64 nether bricks taken from ovens". Your report would have the materials that are in the cart, plus 1 stack of stone, minus the 64 nether bricks.

Smelting Rule List

There are some basic rules that must be adhered to at all times when using the ovens. Failure to follow these rules will result in confusion for other miners, and may also constitute theft.

1. Always smelt in full stacks, with 8 coal for fuel. If you do not have a full stack, keep the items in your ender chest or submit them raw. Having partial stacks in the ovens at any point creates various confusing situations.
2. Always place items into the corresponding oven. The top left oven is reserved for smelting iron ore into iron ingots. The top right oven is reserved for smelting gold ore into gold ingots. All the remaining ovens are for smelting cobblestone into stone. Do not place items into the wrong ovens, and do not smelt any other items in the ovens.
3. Never remove materials that have been placed in the correct oven unless you are placing new raw material in the same oven. To be specific:
   • If there is a stack of iron ingots in the top left oven, you may not remove it unless you insert a full stack of iron ore and 8 coal for fuel into the same oven.
   • If there is a stack of gold ingots in the top right oven, you may not remove it unless you insert a full stack of gold ore and 8 coal for fuel into the same oven.
   • If there is a stack of stone in any of the remaining ovens, you may not remove it unless you insert a full stack of cobblestone and 8 coal for fuel into the same oven.
4. If you leave materials in the ovens, you may claim them in your report. However, you must specifically note this in the notes section of your report. Your note must contain a full list of all items left in the ovens.

Happy smelting!