Had them go out just now, we stupidly trusted Wiki
https://ringofbrodgar.com/wiki/Steel_Crucible.
Yes, stupid mistake trusting wiki, but it quoted the gods in stacks of stacks update.
viewtopic.php?p=917728#p917728"Fixed the old fuel bug and removed the work-around for it. Ovens/smelters/&c. no longer reset their progress when burning out, rather each item therein tracks the average fuel quality it has seen while burning, and uses that upon completion."
&c apparently excludes the Steelbox THANKS MATE
Also, I fully agree, steel really needs a rework, currently it is one of the things that are supposed to be hard, but its only hard for people who don't use bots. And due to the latter, they indeed lose value at an insane pace, you can now buy it for cheaper than low Q cave clay.
Yes, it should be hard to make, so add flux stone, add stirring/remove slag minigames, let us select pictures showing a fire hydrant, I don't care.
But
would be great if the game finally stops exclusively punishing people playing as intended.