What’s the exhaustive set of items I can use to make Dwarven Metal Ingots

the-elder-scrolls-v-skyrim

I know there are a series of items that can be melted down to make Dwarven Metal Ingots, but I'm not sure about all of them (levers, cogs, etc.) What is the exhaustive set of items that can be smelted to produce these ingots?

What are the best item(s) I should be preferring over others given its weight-to-ingot ratio?

Best Answer

From UESP, here are all the items that can be smelted down and their ingot/weight

  • Small Dwemer Plate Metal (1.5)
  • Large Decorative Dwemer Strut (0.1333...)
  • Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal (1.5)
  • Large Dwemer Plate Metal (1.5)
  • Solid Dwemer Metal (.2)
  • Large Dwemer Strut (.15)

Of the three items that melt down to a ratio of 1.5 ingots/weight, they all weight 2 and produce 3 ingots from the smelting and thus are the most valuable to collect.

Of note from the uesp entry:

You are liable to find many other items in dwemer ruins that look metallic but can't be smelted. An easy rule of thumb is that if it starts with the word "Dwemer" (dinnerware, cogs, gyros, etc.), it can't be converted, not even Dwemer Scrap Metal . Bent Dwemer Scrap Metal can be smelted. The Small Dwemer Lever is an exception; its name doesn't start with Dwemer, but it still can't be smelted.