Sandustry Lava Guide: How to Get, Move & Use Lava

Quick answer: how to move Lava

Lava is a liquid, but it cannot be grabbed, piped, or launched directly. For a nearby pool, move it only through contained terrain and gravity. For a repeatable factory route, transport Cinder instead: freeze Lava into Scoria with Snow, mine the Scoria into portable Cinder, move the Cinder as a solid, and ignite it with the Flamethrower where Lava is needed.

v0.5.6 update: the September 3, 2026 Update #3 changed several Lava assumptions. Lava density is now 200, Lava destroys Fluxite, Redsoil, and Strataform terrain, cold Thermal Buffers convert Lava back to Cinder instead of fully consuming it, and Thermal Buffers no longer consume Lava in artifact rooms. Keep old burn-line ideas contained until you have retested them on the current build.

v0.5.7 check: the September 14, 2026 Update #4 overhauled regular Pipes, but it did not make Lava pipe-compatible. Lava cannot be transported directly through regular Pipes. Use the new Pipe placement, Pipe Bridge, selection, copy/paste, undo, and Alt+C blueprint behavior for compatible liquids such as Water, then keep Lava logistics on the Cinder route described here.

Can you pick up Lava?

No. The official Lava reference marks Lava as non-launchable and says the Grabber and Pipes cannot transport it. The portable form is Cinder: use Snow from the Cryoblaster to turn Lava into Scoria, excavate the Scoria into Cinder, then carry the Cinder with the Grabber or move it on Conveyors and Launchers. A direct Flamethrower flame turns the Cinder back into Lava.

How to get Lava

Lava is encountered underground. Explore with enough excavation and lighting tools to reach the pool, then clear a safe staging area before connecting it to your factory. The current game reference also describes a renewable loop:

Lava → Cryoblaster snow → Scoria → mining → Cinder → heat → Lava

The loop is useful for creating a controlled burn source, but it still needs containment and a clear output path.

Lava transport by Research stage

Best Lava transport setup

1. Create a source chamber. Wall off the Lava pool and leave room above it for overflow.
2. Add a collection point. Use a lower basin or a deliberately shaped channel so Lava does not spread into the factory floor.
3. Control Water and Snow separately. Water touching Lava becomes Steam without consuming the Lava; Snow freezes Lava into Scoria. Route each reaction deliberately.
4. Move a test batch first. Confirm the direction and destination before opening the full source.
5. Place the burn zone downstream. Keep heat, Cinder, and Residue processing in a serviceable area with an emergency cutoff.

v0.5.6 Lava Changes: What Breaks in Old Factories

Old Lava factories need a small retest before you reconnect them to storage, Fluxite lanes, or Strataform work areas. The v0.5.6 density change means Lava can settle differently against mixed material, and the new terrain-destruction behavior means an exposed channel can chew through Fluxite, Redsoil, or Strataform instead of acting like a harmless wall-side heat source.

Check these failure points first:

If a factory depends on Lava staying in one tile, add a service gap and a sacrificial test basin. Do not route the full source through old walls until the new behavior has been checked in your save.

Lava + Stratacore / Strataform test layout

Lava + Stratacore setups are worth testing because the current Lava rules now interact directly with Strataform terrain. Treat this as an experiment, not a permanent blueprint: build a tiny cell, watch how Strataform grows or breaks, and only then connect it to a real production route.

Use this conservative test order:

1. Isolate one small Strataform or Stratacore work area from the main factory.
2. Put a hard cutoff between the Lava chamber and any Fluxite, Redsoil, storage, or belt lane.
3. Add Lava in a visible side pocket, not above a valuable output.
4. Observe whether density and terrain destruction move Lava into an unsafe layer.
5. Record the stable geometry before duplicating the cell.

For now, keep Lava + Stratacore automation on this page and in build tutorials instead of creating a separate thin page. The useful player task is still the same: contain current-version Lava, test the reaction locally, and avoid breaking an older factory with v0.5.6 behavior.

How to transport Lava to a factory

The transport method depends on the geometry of the run. For a short route, a contained channel is easiest to inspect. For a longer route, transport Cinder, not liquid Lava. Pipes unlocked by Fluids can automate Water, but the official Lava reference explicitly says Pipes do not transport Lava.

In v0.5.7, adjacent regular Pipes no longer auto-connect the old way: pipe networks are extended from an existing Pipe tile, crossings can create Pipe Bridges, and Pipes can be selected, moved, copied, pasted, undone, and included with structures through Alt+C blueprints. Treat those as Water and compatible-liquid workflow improvements, not as a Lava transport unlock.

If you searched for how to move Lava, how to pump Lava, or why Lava will not go through Pipes, the answer is the same: Sandustry's fluid network is not a Lava transport solution. Move the heat source as Cinder instead, then recreate Lava at the destination with direct Flamethrower fire.

Use this decision path:

Automated Lava burner structure

The official Wiki documents a compact Filter burner for Residue and other flammable pixels:

1. Set a Filter to allow only Cinder.
2. Place a solid block below the Filter so material cannot fall through.
3. Fill the Filter with Cinder.
4. Ignite the Cinder with the Flamethrower to create trapped Lava.
5. Move Residue across the top so pixels touching the Conveyor Belt can ignite.
6. Leave access around the Filter so the line can be stopped and repaired.

This design uses Lava as a stationary heat source; it does not make Lava pipeable. A Thermal Buffer is a different use: direct Lava contact transfers heat. In current v0.5.6 behavior, a cold Thermal Buffer makes the Lava add less heat and convert back to Cinder instead of being fully consumed. Artifact rooms are an explicit exception: Thermal Buffers no longer consume Lava there, which prevents older puzzle-room soft locks from persisting after load.

Lava, Scoria, and Cinder

The Cryoblaster can freeze Lava into Scoria. Mine the Scoria into Cinder, then use direct Flamethrower flame to convert Cinder back into Lava. This makes the Cryoblaster a utility for both exploration and factory preparation.

Common transport problems

Why Lava will not move through a Pipe or Launcher

Nothing is jammed: Lava is not compatible with those transport methods. Freeze it, excavate the Scoria, and route the resulting Cinder as a solid instead.

Cinder reaches the destination but stays solid

Cinder needs direct Flamethrower flame to become Lava. Passive heat sources do not complete this conversion.

Lava spreads into the wrong area

The chamber is too open or the destination is lower than expected. Pause the input, build a boundary, and test with a smaller amount.

Lava leaks through an Advanced Filter Wall

Update #4 / v0.5.7 fixed this old behavior. Lava can no longer leak through Advanced Filter Walls, so do not rely on older filter-wall pass-through or leak layouts to move or vent Lava. Rebuild those factories around contained Lava pockets and Cinder transport instead.

Water reaches the Lava chamber

Water touching Lava evaporates into Steam and does not consume the Lava. If that reaction is unwanted, separate the water basin, steam path, and rain collection area from the Lava source. Snow is different: it freezes Lava into Scoria.

Cinder is not returning to the burn loop

Check that the Cinder has a clear route, that the Flamethrower directly reaches it, and that a full downstream pile is not blocking the conversion area. Use a Filter to keep unrelated materials out.

Lava changes beside a Thermal Buffer

Direct contact with a Thermal Buffer transfers heat, but the outcome depends on current temperature and context. Since v0.5.6, a cold Thermal Buffer makes Lava convert back to Cinder instead of being fully consumed. In artifact rooms, Thermal Buffers no longer consume Lava at all. Outside puzzle rooms, separate the Buffer if you want Lava to remain a stable reaction surface.

The setup worked in the Demo but not in Early Access

Treat the Demo method as historical context. Early Access has changed the research and material systems; verify the current in-game behavior before scaling the design.

Knowledge graph

Lava relationships

verified · high

A hot underground liquid frozen by Snow into Scoria; it also burns Residue in contained automation setups.

Produces

Scoriaverified · highSourceSource

Obtained from

Cinderverified · highSourceSource

Interacts with

Waterverified · highSource

Interacts with

Residueverified · highSourceSource

Version note: Hooded Horse Sandustry Official Wiki snapshot accessed 2026-08-24. Last evidence review: 2026-08-24.

Related guides

• Sandustry Reactions Chart
• Recipes & Production Flow
• Water Guide
• Steam Turbine Setup
• Research Order
• Materials Guide
• Sandustry Wiki entity database
• Factory Layouts

Sources

Mechanics checked against the official Lava, Cinder, Cryoblaster, and Research references, plus the developer's Lava and Cryoblaster notes. Patch-sensitive Lava, terrain, Thermal Buffer, artifact-room, and mods-branch behavior was checked against the official v0.5.6 Update #3 Steam changelog and v0.5.7 Update #4 SteamDB patch notes. The official Steam page confirms that production chains and resources can change during Early Access.