What and how do you heat your home and possibly shop during the cold winter months??

[5030]

I had a friend about 20+ years ago that was a HVAC contractor but also sold the corn stoves. I thought it was a great idea. I've moved away and occasionally wonder about corn stoves. Iirc it was basically what today's "pellet" stoves are but I don't think they were around yet, at least in my travels.

The old style corn stoves like the long gone Amazing Blaze used a circular burn pot whereas modern pellet only stoves don't and a multifuel unit like I have uses what is called a 'rouser' on the burn pot to 'stir the fuel. If you try to burn corn in a conventional pellet burner all you wind up with is a big hard clinker in the burn pot that cuts off the air supply to the fuel bed and has to be removed quite often.... and with true multifuel units you can adjust the air supplied to the burning fuel as corn not only requires more air but requires a higher ignition temperature as well. The two I own are actually what is referred to as gasifier units. The fuel bed actually combusts above the actual fuel and they have secondary air ports above the fuel bed for a more complete burn. Been fiddling with these things for over 30 years now and I've actually wore out 2 stoves.

I used to buy shelled corn pretty cheap from the Southern States Co Op to feed the deer in the dead of winter when we actually had snow cover (mid Atlantic region) . I'm thinking that between the ethanol business and the high commodity prices that have been created by Washington, it might not be so much of a savings today, at least at the retail level.
5030 you have a great connection. Why do you mix with pellets? Better burn?

I mix corn with the pellets to extract more btu's from a given amount of fuel. The drier the corn is, the better (and cleaner it burns). The off grade corn I get is at 9%RM which is way drier than normal field corn which is usually around 12%RM. Anything over 12 won't burn clean and causes a lot of soot to form. Only time I mix in corn is when it's really cold outside and windy and I only mix in about 1 part corn to 3 parts pellets and the pellets eliminate any corn clinkers that might form in the burn pot. When field corn burns it does what is referred to as 'carmelize'. That is the the meat of the kernel comes out of the husk and 'flows' and ignites, leaving the not flammable husk behind and it's the husk that causes the clinkers.

Because the wood pellets ignite at a lower temperature than the corn, the pellets keep the fuel bed temperature high enough (with the addition of forced draft combustion air) to cause the corn to carmelize and burn.

Interesting to watch the process through the clear high temperature mineral glass window.

Problem with burning field corn is, it's a regional thing and where you live, I imagine corn would be hard to get, plus it has to be below 12% or it won't burn properly so out of the field, field corn don't work as usually out of the field it's anywhere from 15-25% RM depending on when it's combined and the weather.

If my source of off grade seed corn somehow came to an end, I'd just run straight pellets as I don't want to be paying dry down fees on top of buying the corn.

Finally, a by product of burning corn is nitric acid so you have to be cognizant that nitric acid will not only eat up your stove but eat up the venting as well. Why towards the end of the heating season, I run straight pellets for a couple weeks, to eliminate any nitric acid vapor that might have condensed in the stove or venting is removed. Even though the venting is stainless steel lined it will still eat it up over time. I still get a certain amount of corrosion from it, inside the stove and burn pots.

Has it on last night on idle fire and got up this morning and shut it off as the house was at 74 degrees.

I run what is called a 'Therm Guard' on my central furnace thermostat that cycles the furnace blower for 5 minutes every 1/2 hour to distribute the heat throughout the house as the stove is in the greatroom and we have to move the heat to adjacent rooms as well.

 

[5030]

You're the only person I know of that burns corn...can't beat the price! Nothing like that here.

I realize that. My good friend lives near Bar Harbor and he heats with wood as well and he buys it in log length and cuts, splits and stacks it as well. he keeps telling me a pellet burner is in his future, he's 70 and retired too.

There are a lot of pellet burners out your way and I believe you can even get home delivery of pellets. I believe the price of heating oil out your way has a lot to do with burning wood or biomass.

I only know of one other person who burns corn and he's in Kansas of all places. I don't want any others around here as I'd loose my supply of very dry corn then.

 

[5030]

Home is natural gas; shop is wood stove.I also gave a wood pellet stove in the basement.

You know what the issue is with NG and we don't need to explore that on here except to say that until we have an administration change, the price per Cu Ft will keep on going up just like propane, gasoline and diesel.

 

[5030]

It's hard to define cost without clarity as to the structure being heated, the amount of "fuel" being used and the cost per unit of that fuel.

Richard...

If I was to run straight propane (remember I own 3 500 gallon bottles) so I can buy from anyone around here, I'd consume around 1275 gallons during the course of the heating season and lets use the pre buy price I paid of $1.99 per, that is $2537.00 for the season.

If you take the free corn =$0.00 except the tractor fuel to go fetch it (couple bucks) and the cost of pellets which are right now at $400.00 a ton x 3 (which is what I consume during the heating season), I'm coming out to the good about 1300 bucks, give or take which ain't bad and that is based on current costs, which I have to imagine, will climb over the next year.

Current propane here is at $2.67 per, that would be $3404.00 OUCH.

I didn't factor in the electricity to run the units but they only consume about 175 watts per each one.

Even taking the worst case scenario, I'm a grand ahead Stoves are long paid for so I didn't count that. I'd say my ROI ls excellent. Typical useful life of a unit (excluding consumables like burn pots and drive motors) is 30 years on pellets. Less on corrosive corn.

New units cost today about 1500 bucks for a pellet only unit plus an additional 500 for the stainless double walled venting.

If you drive by the farmhouse, you'd probably smell it burning but you never see any smoke because they are so efficient that they make very little particulate exhaust (smoke) except on a cold start. Kind of like a cold diesel...

 

[LouNY]

Coal, supplemented by an oil boiler and mini split electric in the house, oil fired.

 

[jyoutz]

You know what the issue is with NG and we don't need to explore that on here except to say that until we have an administration change, the price per Cu Ft will keep on going up just like propane, gasoline and diesel.

I’m in a major petroleum producing state and natural gas is cheap here. I pay $58 per month under a level payment plan. It hasn’t increased in price from the last administration and oil/gas production here is at record levels this year.

 

[ovrszd]

Before I bought this house I got most of my firewood from my own land. I don't here because (1) Not a lot of easily accessible hardwood at this place and (2) gettin' too old for felling trees, etc. I buy log length from a guy down the road, then cut & split myself. The loads are generally 10-11 cords, and depending on the severity of the winter can get almost 3 years out of a load. I'll supplement it with stuff I cut on the property (dead trees, blowdowns, etc). I'm sure there'll come a point where I won't be able/interested in doing that anymore, but that time hasn't come yet. I'm also 72.
Agreed that buying it cut and split doesn't save much money, but it's still nice to have a source of heat that's not dependent on electricity.

You're the only person I know of that burns corn...can't beat the price! Nothing like that here.

What is log length? How much do you pay for a load?

 

[ovrszd]

I realize that. My good friend lives near Bar Harbor and he heats with wood as well and he buys it in log length and cuts, splits and stacks it as well. he keeps telling me a pellet burner is in his future, he's 70 and retired too.

There are a lot of pellet burners out your way and I believe you can even get home delivery of pellets. I believe the price of heating oil out your way has a lot to do with burning wood or biomass.

I only know of one other person who burns corn and he's in Kansas of all places. I don't want any others around here as I'd loose my supply of very dry corn then.

So how much of each do you burn each year? Corn? Pellets?

 

[ovrszd]

Richard...

If I was to run straight propane (remember I own 3 500 gallon bottles) so I can buy from anyone around here, I'd consume around 1275 gallons during the course of the heating season and lets use the pre buy price I paid of $1.99 per, that is $2537.00 for the season.

If you take the free corn =$0.00 except the tractor fuel to go fetch it (couple bucks) and the cost of pellets which are right now at $400.00 a ton x 3 (which is what I consume during the heating season), I'm coming out to the good about 1300 bucks, give or take which ain't bad and that is based on current costs, which I have to imagine, will climb over the next year.

Current propane here is at $2.67 per, that would be $3404.00 OUCH.

I didn't factor in the electricity to run the units but they only consume about 175 watts per each one.

Even taking the worst case scenario, I'm a grand ahead Stoves are long paid for so I didn't count that. I'd say my ROI ls excellent. Typical useful life of a unit (excluding consumables like burn pots and drive motors) is 30 years on pellets. Less on corrosive corn.

New units cost today about 1500 bucks for a pellet only unit plus an additional 500 for the stainless double walled venting.

If you drive by the farmhouse, you'd probably smell it burning but you never see any smoke because they are so efficient that they make very little particulate exhaust (smoke) except on a cold start. Kind of like a cold diesel...

Good stuff. Maybe you mentioned and I forgot, how much corn do you burn per year?

 

[Yander]

Thanks for taking the time to put all of that info out there @5030, it is most helpful. It also makes me understand why more people don't use corn stoves. It is a little bit of science and learning curve as well as access to the right corn.

I actually live on/adjacent to my MILs grain farm (under 300 acre, not too big) and I allow the farmers who farm my MILs property to farm mine and they pay her for her acreage and for my little two acres. Don't need it and they help me in otherways, not the least of which is that I don't have to mow that two acres.

I'm still not ruling it out but I do need to do some more research. I could undoubtedly buy my corn at a market price from them. I would need to make sure it is dry correctly so I appreciate that info also. I'm going to talk to them at some point and put the thought out there and see what they say. My guess, they would be all for it and help supply me as long as I pay them what the market rate is.