Smelting bits temp vs fuel burn temp - what is the real mechanics here?

[Q_Tip]

There seems to be no wiki answer nor forums etc, so....
Im about to smelt my first electrum batch. I use brown coal as fuel - 1100C:
- silver - does not matter
- gold - 1063C

So I put coal time and itme again but temp gauge seems to be stuck. Unless I put charcoal 1300C into mix.
Is there any guide/ref or is this some sort of a bug ?

EDIT: Its my first time and not in vanilla, but atm I need to put coke to make it go further.

Edited July 19, 2025 by Q_Tip

[gilt-kutabe]

@Q_Tip

Are you preheating with wood/other flammables? And did the fire actually consume the coal, or is it still burning off the wood? If so, the fire needs to fully consume the last item put in before it will consume the coal and rise in temperature. Which might explain why the charcoal worked but the coal didn’t, if you put it in right when the wood ran out but before the coal was used. If that’s not the case, then try disabling your mods, loading a new creative world, and testing if it works. If not, maybe send a screenshot.

 

I don’t remember exactly how it appears, but: Make sure you’ve got the correct ratio of gold:silver (it will say smelts into X units of electrum or something). I don’t remember if that prevents the temperature from rising or not. Also having a lot of material in your crucible will make it smelt a lot slower, but I don’t think that’s the issue.

Edited July 19, 2025 by gilt-kutabe

[Q_Tip]

@gilt-kutabe Yes and yes, Ive noticed that you need to have fuel consumed before another one takes effect( and is consumed in the process). AFAIR it consumed 2 pieces of coal, before I removed rest and bumped load with charcoal.

However, given that your answer does hint it should work the way .... well logical one, Im going to mark this as answered. Thanks.