Whatever your reason for needing renewable lava generation in Minecraft, it's pretty simple to get set up, as long as you remember certain block materials will be flammable if they come into contact with lava. When I made my first lava generator, I accidentally set alight the entire top floor of the tower base my friend and I spent around a week building. Avoid my early mistakes by following this guide on how to create a lava farm safely.
The basic concept of a lava farm is using Minecraft dripstone, cauldrons, and non-flammable materials to allow lava to drip down the pointed dripstone and collect in the cauldron. The entire process takes around 19 minutes to fill one cauldron with lava, so it's easier to have multiple cauldrons and dripstones set up.
A simple lava farm
You need to have a lava source block, that is one which is not flowing, above the cauldrons. You can use most stone blocks to craft this, or even glass if you want the lava to be more visible. Do not use wood. I'll explain how to create a lava farm with powered rails beneath it to efficiently collect as much lava as possible in as little time as possible.
With help from JC Playz on YouTube, this farm will help you to quickly collect the lava generated by your farm. The materials you will need for the lava farm are:
First, place one stone block with a lever on top and a powered rail to the right of it. This will activate and deactivate the powered rail. Place nine normal rails to the right of the powered rail.
The start of the Minecraft lava farm rails
Then, connected to those rails, place ten rails heading back to the lever. Then, place another ten rails heading in the opposite direction again, and repeat to head back towards the original rails, and back again. You should have five lines of rails.
Minecraft farms can be automated with rails
At the end of those lines, place another powered rail connected to a stone block with a lever on top. This rail system will easily collect all of the lava that is generated in the farm. From there, place four blocks on top of the first non-powered rail, and then remove the three below it, leaving one stone block hovering above the rails. From there, turn it into a 8x5 grid of stone blocks which is filled in.
Create a 8x5 stone block grid
From there, place a block in the corner with another block on the outer edge, then remove the inner corner blocks. Use this to create a barrier wall that goes around the outside of the stone blocks.
This should create a self-contained stone pool which the lava will be safely contained in. Then, underneath the farm place a dripstone on the bottom of the lower blocks of stone.
Add dripstone to the lower level of stone
Then, place a block on the first rail and add a cauldron on top before removing the lower block again. Use the placement of the cauldron to place a further seven cauldrons next to it in a straight line. You want a cauldron above each rail section with the exception of the powered rail sections.
Add cauldrons above the rail sections
Then, head to the short sides and place five blocks along the cauldrons with five glass blocks beneath them. This ensures the lava remains within the farm and doesn't spill out, destroying the automated system below. Then, head to the top of the farm and place a lava block on top of each stone block which is attached to a dripstone. It's important that each block gets a lava bucket emptied on top of it so that it creates source blocks, and doesn't run out.
Add source blocks of lava to the top of the farm
When this is done, the lava will start dripping into the cauldrons. After this, make a 15x8x2 frame of stone blocks around the bottom of the farm. Place slabs on top of those blocks to prevent mobs from spawning on top of or around the farm wall. Add two ladders where you prefer them so that you can get into the farm to collect the harvested lava. Don't forget to add a further two ladders inside so you can get out, too. Add torches in each corner--again, to prevent mobs from spawning.
Add two double chests on top of one another in a corner of the farm, within the boundary wall. You can use one chest to store your own gear when you're using the farm, and another chest can be used to fill with lava collected from the farm.
When the cauldrons are full, head into the farm and place a Minecart on the rails and jump in. Quickly collect the lava in your buckets as you speed along the railway track beneath. The powered rails at each end will allow you to go back and forth along the cauldrons until you've collected all of the lava. It can take a while for the cauldrons to fill with lava, so you can probably run through the lava farm once every 20 minutes or so.
You can construct a version of this farm in a single row without a Minecart underneath if you want to take a simpler approach.
Now that you've got infinite lava for your base's needs, check out our Minecraft guides hub for information on all of the Minecraft mobs, our Minecraft breeding guide, and more.
Source
The basic concept of a lava farm is using Minecraft dripstone, cauldrons, and non-flammable materials to allow lava to drip down the pointed dripstone and collect in the cauldron. The entire process takes around 19 minutes to fill one cauldron with lava, so it's easier to have multiple cauldrons and dripstones set up.
A simple lava farm
You need to have a lava source block, that is one which is not flowing, above the cauldrons. You can use most stone blocks to craft this, or even glass if you want the lava to be more visible. Do not use wood. I'll explain how to create a lava farm with powered rails beneath it to efficiently collect as much lava as possible in as little time as possible.
Efficient lava farm
With help from JC Playz on YouTube, this farm will help you to quickly collect the lava generated by your farm. The materials you will need for the lava farm are:
- Four chests
- Two levers
- Two powered rails
- 48 rails
- Two minecarts
- 10 glass
- 40 dripstone
- 40 cauldron
- Many buckets
- Four ladders
- Eight torches
- 46 slabs
- 80 stone blocks
First, place one stone block with a lever on top and a powered rail to the right of it. This will activate and deactivate the powered rail. Place nine normal rails to the right of the powered rail.
The start of the Minecraft lava farm rails
Then, connected to those rails, place ten rails heading back to the lever. Then, place another ten rails heading in the opposite direction again, and repeat to head back towards the original rails, and back again. You should have five lines of rails.
Minecraft farms can be automated with rails
At the end of those lines, place another powered rail connected to a stone block with a lever on top. This rail system will easily collect all of the lava that is generated in the farm. From there, place four blocks on top of the first non-powered rail, and then remove the three below it, leaving one stone block hovering above the rails. From there, turn it into a 8x5 grid of stone blocks which is filled in.
Create a 8x5 stone block grid
From there, place a block in the corner with another block on the outer edge, then remove the inner corner blocks. Use this to create a barrier wall that goes around the outside of the stone blocks.
This should create a self-contained stone pool which the lava will be safely contained in. Then, underneath the farm place a dripstone on the bottom of the lower blocks of stone.
Add dripstone to the lower level of stone
Then, place a block on the first rail and add a cauldron on top before removing the lower block again. Use the placement of the cauldron to place a further seven cauldrons next to it in a straight line. You want a cauldron above each rail section with the exception of the powered rail sections.
Add cauldrons above the rail sections
Then, head to the short sides and place five blocks along the cauldrons with five glass blocks beneath them. This ensures the lava remains within the farm and doesn't spill out, destroying the automated system below. Then, head to the top of the farm and place a lava block on top of each stone block which is attached to a dripstone. It's important that each block gets a lava bucket emptied on top of it so that it creates source blocks, and doesn't run out.
Add source blocks of lava to the top of the farm
When this is done, the lava will start dripping into the cauldrons. After this, make a 15x8x2 frame of stone blocks around the bottom of the farm. Place slabs on top of those blocks to prevent mobs from spawning on top of or around the farm wall. Add two ladders where you prefer them so that you can get into the farm to collect the harvested lava. Don't forget to add a further two ladders inside so you can get out, too. Add torches in each corner--again, to prevent mobs from spawning.
Add two double chests on top of one another in a corner of the farm, within the boundary wall. You can use one chest to store your own gear when you're using the farm, and another chest can be used to fill with lava collected from the farm.
When the cauldrons are full, head into the farm and place a Minecart on the rails and jump in. Quickly collect the lava in your buckets as you speed along the railway track beneath. The powered rails at each end will allow you to go back and forth along the cauldrons until you've collected all of the lava. It can take a while for the cauldrons to fill with lava, so you can probably run through the lava farm once every 20 minutes or so.
You can construct a version of this farm in a single row without a Minecart underneath if you want to take a simpler approach.
Now that you've got infinite lava for your base's needs, check out our Minecraft guides hub for information on all of the Minecraft mobs, our Minecraft breeding guide, and more.
Source