One metal ore smelts into 1 metal fragment in 3.33 seconds and burns 1.67 wood in a standard Furnace. Sulfur ore is faster at 1.67 seconds and 0.83 wood; high quality metal ore is the slowest at 6.67 seconds and 3.33 wood.
Those per-ore figures are what actually governs a smelting session, because a furnace processes every occupied slot at once. A Furnace has 3 smelting slots and a Large Furnace has 15, so the large furnace is roughly 5× the throughput for the same wall-clock time.
The table below covers all 6 smelters — the two furnaces, the oil refinery, and the three cooking sources — with their full input and output lists.
Working out a specific case? Smelting calculator →
Times and wood are per single item smelted in one slot. A furnace runs all of its occupied slots simultaneously, so total wood scales with the number of slots in use while total time does not.
| Smelter | Slots | Input | Output | Wood | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furnace | 3 | Metal Ore | 1× Metal Fragments | 1.67 | 3.33s |
| Furnace | 3 | Sulfur Ore | 1× Sulfur | 0.83 | 1.67s |
| Furnace | 3 | High Quality Metal Ore | 1× High Quality Metal | 3.33 | 6.67s |
| Furnace | 3 | Honeycomb | 1× Jar of Honey | 0.33 | 0.67s |
| Furnace | 3 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 10 | 20s |
| Furnace | 3 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 10 | 20s |
| Furnace | 3 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 5 | 10s |
| Furnace | 3 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 5 | 10s |
| Furnace | 3 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 2s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Metal Ore | 1× Metal Fragments | 0.33 | 0.67s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Sulfur Ore | 1× Sulfur | 0.17 | 0.33s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | High Quality Metal Ore | 1× High Quality Metal | 0.67 | 1.33s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Honeycomb | 1× Jar of Honey | 0.07 | 0.13s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 2 | 4s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 2 | 4s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 1 | 2s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 1 | 2s |
| Large Furnace | 15 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 2s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Crude Oil | 3× Low Grade Fuel | 2.22 | 3.33s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 13.33 | 20s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 13.33 | 20s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 6.67 | 10s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 6.67 | 10s |
| Oil Refinery | 1 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 1.5s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Bear Meat | 1× Cooked Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Big Cat Meat | 1× Cooked Big Cat Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Chicken Breast | 1× Cooked Chicken | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Crocodile Meat | 1× Cooked Crocodile Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Deer Meat | 1× Cooked Deer Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Fish | 1× Cooked Fish | 1 | 10s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Horse Meat | 1× Cooked Horse Meat | 1.3 | 13s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Human Meat | 1× Cooked Human Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Pork | 1× Cooked Pork | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Snake Meat | 1× Cooked Snake Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Raw Wolf Meat | 1× Cooked Wolf Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Bear Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Big Cat Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Chicken | 1× Burnt Chicken | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Crocodile Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Deer Meat | 1× Burnt Deer Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Fish | 1× Charcoal | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Horse Meat | 1× Burnt Horse Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Burnt Pork | 1× Charcoal | 6 | 60s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Pork | 1× Burnt Pork | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Snake Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 1.5 | 15s |
| Camp Fire | 1 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 10s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Bear Meat | 1× Cooked Bear Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Big Cat Meat | 1× Cooked Big Cat Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Chicken Breast | 1× Cooked Chicken | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Crocodile Meat | 1× Cooked Crocodile Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Deer Meat | 1× Cooked Deer Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Fish | 1× Cooked Fish | 0.25 | 2.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Horse Meat | 1× Cooked Horse Meat | 0.33 | 3.25s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Human Meat | 1× Cooked Human Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Pork | 1× Cooked Pork | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Snake Meat | 1× Cooked Snake Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Raw Wolf Meat | 1× Cooked Wolf Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Bear Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Big Cat Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Chicken | 1× Burnt Chicken | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Crocodile Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Deer Meat | 1× Burnt Deer Meat | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Fish | 1× Charcoal | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Horse Meat | 1× Burnt Horse Meat | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Burnt Pork | 1× Charcoal | 1.5 | 15s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Pork | 1× Burnt Pork | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Snake Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 0.75 | 7.5s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 0.38 | 3.75s |
| Barbeque | 1 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 10s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Bear Meat | 1× Cooked Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Big Cat Meat | 1× Cooked Big Cat Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Chicken Breast | 1× Cooked Chicken | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Crocodile Meat | 1× Cooked Crocodile Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Deer Meat | 1× Cooked Deer Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Fish | 1× Cooked Fish | 1 | 10s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Horse Meat | 1× Cooked Horse Meat | 1.3 | 13s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Human Meat | 1× Cooked Human Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Pork | 1× Cooked Pork | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Snake Meat | 1× Cooked Snake Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Raw Wolf Meat | 1× Cooked Wolf Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Bear Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Big Cat Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Chicken | 1× Burnt Chicken | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Crocodile Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Deer Meat | 1× Burnt Deer Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Fish | 1× Charcoal | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Horse Meat | 1× Burnt Horse Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Human Meat | 1× Burnt Human Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Burnt Pork | 1× Charcoal | 6 | 60s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Pork | 1× Burnt Pork | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Snake Meat | 1× Burnt Bear Meat | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Cooked Wolf Meat | 1× Burnt Wolf Meat | 3 | 30s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Empty Can Of Beans | 15× Metal Fragments | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Empty Tuna Can | 10× Metal Fragments | 1.5 | 15s |
| Stone Fireplace | 1 | Wood | 75%× Charcoal | 0 | 10s |
1.67 wood per metal ore in a Furnace, taking 3.33 seconds. A full stack of 1,000 ore therefore needs roughly 1,670 wood.
6.67 seconds per ore, burning 3.33 wood, for 1 high quality metal. It is the slowest ore in the game to process, which is why HQM is usually the bottleneck on a base upgrade.
A Large Furnace has 15 smelting slots against a standard furnace's 3, so it processes about 5× as much ore in the same time. It is worth building once you are gathering ore faster than a small furnace can consume it; before that, several small furnaces are cheaper.
No. Campfires, barbeques and stone fireplaces cook food and can produce charcoal, but ore smelting requires a furnace, a large furnace, or — for crude oil — the small oil refinery. The table on this page lists exactly what each one accepts.
Yes. Wood is consumed per item being smelted, not per furnace, so filling every slot burns wood proportionally faster. The upside is that the wall-clock time stays the same, which is the entire reason to use a larger furnace.
Smelting times, wood costs and outputs come from the RustTools smelting data set. Values are read from the RustTools game data set, the same data the calculators run on. Data on this page was last verified against Rust in August 2026. Facepunch balance patches can change these values — see the changelog for what has been re-checked. RustTools is an unofficial fan project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Facepunch Studios.