Help selecting a pellet stove.
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cowboydoc
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Dave the Farm and Fleet store has four units on the floor and six more in the back. They have about 10 pallets of pellets too.
DaveNay
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( Dave the Farm and Fleet store has four units on the floor and six more in the back. They have about 10 pallets of pellets too. )</font>
Those are pellet stoves I believe.
(Specifically which store? Idaho is pretty far from IL.)
I definitely want corn though. More corn than I can use in a lifetime only 300ft from the front door at $1.60/bu delivered. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Those are pellet stoves I believe.
(Specifically which store? Idaho is pretty far from IL.)
I definitely want corn though. More corn than I can use in a lifetime only 300ft from the front door at $1.60/bu delivered. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
OP
_RaT_
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Corn, you mean like corn from the cob. Does it have a high energy content? I don't know if they sell corn fuel here. We grow lots of corn though. Perhaps it just does not get cold enough here to make it economical to do.
DaveNay
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Yep. Whole kernel corn. As it comes right out of the field. It's called "shelled corn", and has to be dried to below 15% moisture content. (lower is even better). Can be bought direct from farmers for the cheapest price, or from grain elevators for a little markup.
This is a very quick comparison of different fuels:
1 BUSHEL OF SHELLED CORN = 5 GALLONS OF LP GAS
1 BUSHEL OF SHELLED CORN = 3.5 GALLONS OF FUEL OIL
1 BUSHEL OF SHELLED CORN = 140 Kwh OF ELECTRICITY
1 BUSHEL OF SHELLED CORN = 4.75 C.C.F. OF NATURAL GAS
A bushel of shelled corn for me is $1.60 and my fuel oil this year is about $2.80 per gallon, or $9.80 for the equivalent quantity of energy.
/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
This document has a nice chart with price guesstimates, just plug in your own dollars to get the real numbers.
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_RaT_
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WoW! Pretty impressive. I wonder if they have any corn engine conversion kits for my Ford F250?
DaveNay
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</font><font color="blue" class="small">( WoW! Pretty impressive. I wonder if they have any corn engine conversion kits for my Ford F250? )</font>
Yep..It's called ethanol (E100) or Biodiesel (B100). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Yep..It's called ethanol (E100) or Biodiesel (B100). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
Just thinking out loud here.
What is shelled corn, or rather how do they shell it?
How do they dry the corn?
How many bushels can you get from an acre or corn?
Is this something an individual could do if they wanted to grow their own fuel source for heat?
It does seem pretty inexpensive to buy....at least in the midwest.
Inquiring minds want to know /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
What is shelled corn, or rather how do they shell it?
How do they dry the corn?
How many bushels can you get from an acre or corn?
Is this something an individual could do if they wanted to grow their own fuel source for heat?
It does seem pretty inexpensive to buy....at least in the midwest.
Inquiring minds want to know /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
DaveNay
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Shelled corn is the term used to describe whole kernel corn that has been removed from the cob. It is harvested using a large combine machine that cuts the stalks, strips the cobs off the stalk, strips the husk off the ear and then separates the kernels off the cob and spits the chopped stalks and husks and cobs out the back of the machine. The corn is stored in a bin and regularly offloaded to a semi or gravity wagon. Ideally, the corn is left in the field on the stalk to dry to the correct percentage. If it is a wet year, the corn might have to be harvested, and then dried in large gas fired driers. In Illinois, the average corn yield is about 150 bushels per acre, but I don't think you could do it on your own as a do it yourself project.
Highbeam
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Dave- Do you know if those equivalence values for oil and such are based on btu content of the fuel alone, or do they include the typical efficency of the machine used to actually use those btus? I mean one bushel of corn shows to have as much energy as 3.5 gallons of diesel BUT by the time it is converted to heat the corn might provide less. The efficiency of a corn burner to a oil furnace is a huge part of the equation.
Those figures are great and many corn stoves can also burn pellets but not many pellet stoves can burn corn.
This is a huge and untapped market that can only increase the demand for our farmer's product.
Those figures are great and many corn stoves can also burn pellets but not many pellet stoves can burn corn.
This is a huge and untapped market that can only increase the demand for our farmer's product.