any corn/biomass stove users

[5030tinkerer]

4 tons of corn in a season? How do you go about storing it?

 

[farmerjim]

thanks for the replys. unfortunately for me wood isn't really an option although we have a good size woodlot, i would need an outside furnace to heat w/ wood as my house/basement isn't really conducive to an inside wood stove. i have looked into those but right now way out of my affordability. since i would be buying the corn direct from the farm, the price is better than pre bagged. storing isn't really that much of a problem either. i did a job for a guy who had 2 3yd rolling dumpsters he had filled w/ corn for his stove, so that may be a storage option. another storage option i was looking at was a used grain hopper or one of those newer poly hoppers, in the 1-1.5 ton capacity as you could fill them fairly easily w/out an auger because of height. or you just go to the farm and fill a few 55gal drums at a time.

 

[4sarge]

thanks for the replys. unfortunately for me wood isn't really an option although we have a good size woodlot, i would need an outside furnace to heat w/ wood as my house/basement isn't really conducive to an inside wood stove. i have looked into those but right now way out of my affordability. since i would be buying the corn direct from the farm, the price is better than pre bagged. storing isn't really that much of a problem either. i did a job for a guy who had 2 3yd rolling dumpsters he had filled w/ corn for his stove, so that may be a storage option. another storage option i was looking at was a used grain hopper or one of those newer poly hoppers, in the 1-1.5 ton capacity as you could fill them fairly easily w/out an auger because of height. or you just go to the farm and fill a few 55gal drums at a time.

2nd season of my using a corn burner, Country Flame Harvester - I would never look back at the decision. Savings on LPG has been phenomenal. Heats the whole 2400 sq ft log cabin w/loft. I have cut my LPG budget to 25 per month from 225.

I use Rubber-maid totes (5 dollar), large Rubber-maid trash cans (4), horse trough and rotate the clean corn in these and then bring into the house. Eventually, I may buy a larger farm style storage silo but it is not necessary. My thoughts are the more you spend, the less that you have saved.

Buy a good reliable stove & install properly
empty ash pan daily - clean stove weekly
enjoy

Research I Burn Corn Homepage - all stoves are not created equal - everyone wants your money.

There is a short learning curve with cleaning, draft etc but it's not difficult - I can do it

There now are several corn furnaces on the market that have larger hoppers, more btu and are seamless with your heating system. Our cabin is open concept with loft and I do not have problems heating it and keeping it at a comfortable level (70+). I live in corn country and am surrounded by corn. I have all of the free wood on my property that I could ever use but for the house and 24/7 heat, I'm a firm corn believer. For the barn/workshop, I may burn wood for the occasional warm up but not for continual use heat. If you averaged it out, last year I spent 1 - 2 dollars per day to heat the house on cold days that required heat. This year, I may spend 2-3 dollars per day but that is only on the days that I need the heat. This winter (so far) has been mild, I've cut back on the draft and have cut my corn usage considerably.

Good Luck