Lava is a natural deep-underground liquid and a reusable heat source. Standard Pumps and Pipes exclude it, so moving Lava is a material-state problem: freeze it, convert the frozen terrain to a transportable solid, then recreate the liquid where heat is required.
Sandustry Lava facts
| Property | Confirmed value |
|---|---|
| Matter type | Liquid |
| Density | 75 |
| Natural location | Lava Cave |
| Cold process | Snow to Scoria |
| Pipe transport | Not supported |
Production flow
This flow identifies the material's immediate inputs and outputs. Follow the linked guides below for the surrounding chain instead of treating this compact route as a complete throughput calculator.
How Lava works
Snow from a Cryoblaster freezes Lava into Scoria. Breaking Scoria drops Cinder, which can travel by Grabber, Conveyor Belt, or Launcher. A direct Flamethrower flame melts Cinder back into Lava; passive heat is insufficient. Water touching Lava becomes Steam without reducing the Lava amount.
How to use Lava in a factory
Transport Cinder rather than Lava and rebuild a contained Lava pocket at the destination. Filters can hold Lava while allowing burnable material such as Residue to pass over the heat source. Seal the chamber carefully so the liquid does not reach Water, plants, or player routes.
Common Lava problems
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Pump will not collect Lava | Lava is explicitly excluded from the standard fluid network. |
| Cinder does not melt | It requires direct Flamethrower fire, not passive nearby heat. |
| Burn chamber creates unwanted Steam | Water is reaching Lava; isolate the fluid and thermal systems. |
Related Sandustry guides and source
Facts were checked against the official Sandustry Wiki page for Lava. Sandustry is in Early Access, so confirm balance-sensitive values in the current game after updates.
