Bucket

Buckets are tools, used for carrying water, lava or milk. Water and lava buckets can only be obtained by using the bucket on a source block; shallow, running fluids cannot be collected. Milk buckets are collected by right-clicking an empty bucket on a Cow or a Mooshroom.

If one is under water and moving forward, filling an empty bucket will create a momentary air pocket. This is enough to refill the player's air meter, allowing them to stay under water indefinitely. To reuse the bucket just dump out the water.

Buckets can be crafted from iron, or found in dungeons. There is, approximately, a 53% chance of finding one bucket in a dungeon chest.

Usage
Empty buckets can be used to capture water or lava springs, getting them out of the way and keeping the source block for later use. Source blocks can also be taken from water or lava lakes. Buckets can also be used as a diving tool: By pointing directly down and filling the bucket the player will be surrounded by air for a short time, thus filling the player's air meter. (Note that this will often produce a "current scar" which may be dangerous for divers.)

Water buckets can be used to extinguish fires in an emergency, and to drain and fill lakes.Water from a bucket can be used to clear and harvest tall grass on small fields, or to harvest wheat, potatoes or carrots. The water can be picked back up when the water has been used. They can also simply be used to create water pools: a single-block pool can hydrate the rest of a 9&times;9 square of farmland. Also, two buckets placed diagonally in a 2&times;2 pool will form an "infinite water source", where you can draw or dump as many buckets of water as you like. A water bucket can also be used to fill a cauldron, which in turn allows filling of potion bottles in the Nether.

Lava buckets have three main uses: Placing the lava can provide a weapon or barrier against mobs  The lava source can be used to produce obsidian or cobblestone. And a lava bucket can also be used as fuel in a furnace -- they are the longest-lasting fuel in the game, and you do get the bucket back.

Milk buckets can be drunk to remove poison, food poisoning, withering, et al, or crafted with eggs and wheat to produce Cake (again, you get the buckets back). Unlike water and lava, milk cannot be placed in the environment.

Types of buckets

 * Water bucket - holds one water source block
 * Lava bucket - holds one lava source block
 * Milk bucket - used to make cake. Milk can be used to cure poison and immediately stop potion effects.

Trivia

 * While underwater, holding an empty bucket and right-clicking will create a temporary pocket of air  around your head for long enough to recover breath. If there is a block within your reach, you can empty the bucket by right clicking on that block and repeating the process, allowing you to stay underwater for extended periods of time.
 * Each bucket seems to be able to hold just over 264 gallons (1 m&sup3;) of liquid.