Recovery Grinder: How to Unlock It, Recipe & Oil Yields
The Recovery Grinder converts spare materials into oil and byproducts, with losses. Complete Ugly Work by scanning both silo blueprints using a Salvage Gyro. Supply electricity and connect an oil tank before running it.
Build recipe: Alloy Frame ×3, Connector Ports ×2, Filtering System ×1, Cooling Radiator ×1, Reactive Core ×1.
Game version evidence: Grinder and oil yields are from the Update 5 era, not yet re-verified against Update 5.5. The Stainless Steel recipe was shown after Update 5.5.
Oil & Stainless Steel Planner
Plan the oil and materials for your next craft. Choose from 12 materials with cross-checked yields. Oil-yield evidence predates Update 5.5; the steel recipe is from after that update.
- Oil for Stainless Steel
- 0 L
- Iron reserved for Stainless Steel
- 0
- Fabricator electricity for Stainless Steel
- 0 Wh
- Copper to grind for oil
- 0
Grinding input is rounded up from the listed yield. Electricity shown covers Stainless Steel crafting only; grinder energy use is not verified. Byproduct quantities and unverified yields are excluded.
How to Unlock (Ugly Work)
Find and scan both missing Recovery Grinder blueprints. The Salvage Gyro is needed to reach the blueprint locations.
Eternal Flame — Southern silo
Find and scan the Recovery Grinder blueprint here.
Dead Breath — Northern silo
Find and scan the Recovery Grinder blueprint here.
Scanning both blueprints unlocks the Recovery Grinder. Both locations belong to the same quest.
Recipe & Requirements
- Alloy Frame ×3
- Connector Ports ×2
- Filtering System ×1
- Cooling Radiator ×1
- Reactive Core ×1
Supply electricity and connect an oil tank to collect the output.
Update 5.5 changed the Reactive Core recipe to use Quantum Crystal instead of Plasma Gel. See the Update 5.5 notes before gathering materials for the core.
Player reports, not yet verified
The wiki alone reports skill level 23, an unlock cost of 4 points and standby power of 200 W. These C-level claims are excluded from the planner.
Oil Yield Table
Yield depends on the input material. These 12 yields come from Update 5-era video and player tests checked against the wiki, reviewed 2026-10-05; they still need a current-version check.
| Input material | Oil yield | Byproducts |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | 20 L per 100 | Iron, Aluminum |
| Iron | 30 L per 100 | Copper, Gold |
| Glass | 10 L per 100 | Silicone, Polyurethane |
| Plastic | 15 L per 100 | None |
| Carbon Fiber | 10 L per 100 | Plastic |
| Rubber | 20 L per 100 | None |
| Fabric | 10 L per 100 | Plastic, Polyurethane |
| Silicone | 30 L per 100 | Glass |
| Polyurethane | 20 L per 100 | Plastic |
| Aluminum | 20 L per 100 | Copper, Titanium |
| Gold | 40 L per 100 | Copper, Titanium |
| Titanium | 30 L per 100 | Iron, Neutronium |
Byproduct quantities vary between tests and may involve randomness. Only material types and approximate ranges are reported; none of these quantities are used by the planner.
Approximate byproducts from 100 input items
- Copper: approximately 44–55 Iron + 18 Aluminum.
- Iron: approximately 47–50 Copper + 17–21 Gold.
- Glass: approximately 24–26 Silicone + 10–11 Polyurethane.
- Carbon Fiber: approximately 500 Plastic.
Player reports, not yet verified — single-player byproduct amounts
One player reported these approximate quantities from 100 input items. They remain C-level evidence.
- Fabric: approximately 29 Plastic + 25 Polyurethane.
- Silicone: approximately 100 Glass.
- Polyurethane: approximately 100 Plastic.
- Aluminum: approximately 53 Copper + 14 Titanium.
- Gold: approximately 26 Copper + 8 Titanium.
- Titanium: approximately 100 Iron + 4 Neutronium.
Conflicting reports — excluded from the planner
- Paint: the wiki lists 200 L per 100; a player test reports 300 L per 100 (VHS Wave paint). Both sources have been checked, but the disagreement remains unresolved.
- Neutronium: the wiki lists 0 L per 100; a player test reports 50 L per 100 (Neutronium). Both sources have been checked, but the disagreement remains unresolved.
Unverified — wiki only
| Input material | Oil yield | Byproducts |
|---|---|---|
| Plasma Gel | 0 L per 100 | Neutronium / Quantum Crystal conversion |
| Quantum Crystal | 0 L per 100 | Plasma Gel / Neutronium conversion |
| Bio Organic | 50 L per 100 | Not specified in the evidence list |
| Bio Waste | 50 L per 100 | Not specified in the evidence list |
| Pear | 10 L per 100 | Not specified in the evidence list |
Stainless Steel
Craft each item in the Fabricator using Iron ×1, Oil 10 L and Electricity 10 Wh. Connect an oil supply to the Fabricator before crafting.
This recipe is corroborated by the wiki and a video dated September 20, 2026, after Update 5.5. Stainless Steel is used in Project Eden frames. Frame quantities are still under review and are not included here.
Player reports, not yet verified: A single video shows a 3-second crafting time and the labels Rare and Item / Material. These C-level details do not affect the planner.
Recovery Grinder FAQ
What does the Recovery Grinder produce?
It converts surplus materials into oil and other materials, with material losses. The outputs depend on the material you grind.
Where are the Ugly Work blueprints?
Scan both missing Recovery Grinder blueprints: Eternal Flame in the southern silo and Dead Breath in the northern silo. You need the Salvage Gyro to reach them. Scanning both unlocks the machine.
What is the Recovery Grinder recipe?
Alloy Frame ×3, Connector Ports ×2, Filtering System ×1, Cooling Radiator ×1, Reactive Core ×1.
What does the Grinder need to run?
Supply electricity and connect an oil tank to collect the output.
How do I make Stainless Steel?
Use the Fabricator with Iron ×1, Oil 10 L and Electricity 10 Wh per item. Connect an oil supply to the Fabricator before crafting.
Sources & Version Limits
Reviewed 2026-10-05. Grinder: Update 5-era video and wiki evidence; not yet re-verified against Update 5.5. Stainless Steel: Recipe shown in a 2026-09-20 video after Update 5.5, corroborated by the wiki. Cross-checked community facts are B; single-source claims are C and labeled above. The Reactive Core change is from the official Update 5.5 announcement (A).
- StormkilGaming, 2026-06-19 — unlock prompt, 3:05 (Update 5 test build)
- StormkilGaming — Ugly Work objective, 3:16
- Beerman’s Lounge, 2026-06-29 — unlock walkthrough, 1:00
- Beerman’s Lounge — recipe and setup, 15:00
- Beerman’s Lounge — material tests, 16:20
- Durandian, 2026-07-02 — material tests from 3:00
- StormkilGaming, 2026-06-29 — grinder tips (exact timestamp not recorded in the supplied evidence)
- HeRo Survival Guides, 2026-09-20 — Stainless Steel recipe, 0:42–0:50
- Community wiki — Recovery Grinder
- Community wiki — Stainless Steel
- Earlier site item record (July 2026): quest walkthrough and recipe evidence
- Site Project Eden guide — material use only; frame quantities remain under review
- Official Update 5.5 announcement, 2026-08-31
- Reddit — TiiMe2tell, 2026-07-25; original post opened and confirmed by the site owner on 2026-10-05
- Reddit — msacks_us, 2026-07-26; VHS Wave paint test, original post confirmed on 2026-10-05