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Direct answer

Sandustry residue is the guaranteed Shaker output. Burning it is lossy at roughly four to one, but the survivors become Burnt Residue for pressing.

Residue is the guaranteed half of the Shaker's output - every Wet Sand pixel makes one. It is useless until burned, and burning it is lossy: on contact with Fire each pixel either becomes Burnt Residue or is destroyed outright, at roughly four Residue per Burnt Residue. The fire spreads to adjacent Residue, which makes bulk burning easy to automate with a Flamethrower, a Pyro Dispenser, or Lava trapped in a Filter above the stream.

How to get Residue

Residue has exactly one documented source in the current build: drop wet sand on a shaker. Everything downstream of it therefore depends on keeping that one step supplied.

MethodFromMachineNotes
Drop Wet Sand on a ShakerWet SandShakerAlways 1 Residue per Wet Sand.

What Residue is used for

Residue exists for one purpose: producing Burnt Residue. That single downstream step is the whole reason to collect it.

ProducesMachine or processNotes
Burnt ResidueFlamethrower / Pyro Dispenser / LavaMust be burned; typically with Lava or a Flamethrower.

Conversions

Every Residue conversion below has a published ratio, which makes throughput planning around it unusually concrete.

InputOutputProcessRatio
~4 Residue1 Burnt ResidueFire~4:1
  • 1 Burnt Residue: Each pixel either converts or is consumed entirely.

Residue properties

At density 50, Residue sorts itself relative to everything else in the pile, which is often cheaper than filtering it deliberately.

PropertyValue
Density50
Matter typeSlushy
BurnableYes
WettableNo
LaunchableYes
Interacts withFire

The machines below are the ones that produce, consume or transform Residue; the material links point at the steps either side of it in the chain.

  • Shaker
  • Flamethrower
  • Pyro Dispenser
  • Filter
SlushyWet SandSolidBurnt ResidueLiquidLavaSolidGoldSlushyWet Seed

Tips

  • Fire spreads between adjacent Residue pixels, so a single ignition source can burn a whole stream.

FAQ

How do you get residue in Sandustry?

Drop Wet Sand onto a Shaker. Every Wet Sand pixel produces exactly one Residue, which is pushed out sideways in the direction the Shaker faces.

What is residue used for in Sandustry?

Only one thing: burning it into Burnt Residue, which a Kinetic Press then splits into Gold and Seed.

How do you burn residue in Sandustry?

Any fire source works. A Flamethrower, a Pyro Dispenser, napalm from a Rocket Launcher, or Lava trapped in a Filter above a conveyor will all ignite it.

How much burnt residue does residue make in Sandustry?

Roughly one Burnt Residue per four Residue. On contact with Fire each pixel either converts or is destroyed outright, so the step is lossy by design.

Why does all my residue burn away in Sandustry?

That is expected. Fire spreads to adjacent Residue pixels and only about a quarter survives as Burnt Residue; the rest is consumed.

Sources

Checked on September 4, 2026 against Early Access – Update #3 (v0.5.6). Values the sources do not publish are left out rather than estimated. Browse the other 20 materials or the patch notes archive.