Corn Stoves.....opinions?

[Hummin Cummins]

Hey guys



I've been burning wood forever as my primary source of heat through the winter with a forced hot air oil furnace as a backup. Wood used to be easy to get for free around here until the last few years. Now its almost impossible to find free and not even close to cheap to buy. I've been looking at going with a corn stove. They are a substantial up front investment, but could be worth it in the long run. Wood pellets are out of the question, its just as cheap to burn oil. I have enough wood for this winter yet and may make the jump to corn in the spring to be ready for next year. I live in a farming communtity and corn is readily available. Anyone burn corn as a primary heat source? How much corn do you go through in a winter? I would much rather give my money to the local farmers. I enjoy burning wood, but when you have to start paying for it, cut it, split it, rank it, etc. it may not be worth the effort anymore. Not to mention when I get older.



Thanks for any input.

Chris

 

[daveshoe]

About my only comment is a question. How much servicing do you intend to do on your own? I am on a propane boiler at the present and have a reliable subcontractor to steer me in the right direction. I would suggest that you buy a corn stove from an established dealer that can have an inventory of parts. Your situation is helped by having a backup heating source. Also,do not get in a hurry. There are many improvements coming. When they are talking about 85 percent efficiency,that is exciting.

The stove I am considering is a boiler that will be in the garage. The model it replaces was twice the size of this unit. This unit also is self lighting--just add the corn and go. The stove ejects the unburned corn [clinker] to a pit that you clean occasionally. I give credit to this contractor for sending the previous inventory back to the factory at his expense--he wants his customers to have the best available.

Some corn varieties are better for stoves than others. You can make or buy a simple corn cleaner that removes chaff. If you know a small farmer that still picks corn with a picker[leaving the coren on the ear],you can burn that in your woodstove. If you are close to Amish country,those guys are probably your only source for ear corn.

 

[bmoeller]

If you live near a seed corn company, that would be a good thing. You can get cull corn (rogue ears not to be used as seed) very cheap. At least here. The seed company can't sell it as regular grain to an elevator. You WILL need a cleaner for it. Has lots of cracked grain, dust, and ground up cob in it.



Might be able to get seed corn that hadn't been sold the year before at a discount (or free), either from the seed company or local dealer. If it is old enough, the germination goes down considerably, and no good to sell as seed.



I know you could get damaged corn, but you'd want to stay away from the black moldy stuff. Very bad for you. I had to clean a bin out by myself without a mask before, and I had a 103*+ temp for 3 days. Sick as a dog.



With the higher demand for the corn from the ethenol plants, the price of corn has gone up quite a bit.



If you will go through a lot of corn, you could get a small used bulk bin at a farm consignment auction pretty cheap.



Something else to consider, if your current wood burner doesn't use an electric blower, you'll need to have a generator to run the fan on a corn burner when the power goes out.

 

[TowPro]

Hey guys



Wood used to be easy to get for free around here until the last few years. Now its almost impossible to find free and not even close to cheap to buy.

Chris

Head West on 120, stop at the Sproul ranger station and get a firewood permit. Tons of firewood up in Sproul.

 

[Gene Arnold]

My son, who lives in Grand Island, Nebraska has used a corn stove for about sixteen years and likes it. However, with the mushrooming ethanol industry and its demand for corn, the present price of corn no longer makes it such a money-saving operation as in the past. He has had few problems with the stove.

 

[The patriot]

I gotta ask... . why not coal?

Sure you have to buy coal, but it sounds like you'll have to buy corn anyway?

If there are any construction projects (communities being built etc) there is plenty wood free for the taking. This is how I used to get my wood.

Now I have a F'ed up back, and it's $160 a cord. I just turn up the thermostat and pay the gas company.

 

[Hummin Cummins]

Amen to the F'ed up back, I have one of those too and I'm not gettin any younger. In my area corn is cheaper than coal and a whole lot cleaner too. Dont get me wrong, there is firewood to be had around here, but the time involved to go to the woods, cut, haul, split, with the price of diesel, I dont think it's can be justified anymore. There is some talk of one, maybe two ethanol plants going in close to me. I have researched where there is possibility of the corn waste from the ethanol plants (dried corn mash I assume) being made into pellets for corn stoves. I also have several grain drying and storage mills close by. (One I used to work at) I'm not concerned as much about the cost to heat, as one way or another ya gotta pay be it fuel oil, wear and tear on my body and fuel for hauling wood. I would just rather see my money stay local and use my time spent cutting, splitting and hauling wood for other things.



As of this year prices were:

Tri-axle load of logs delivered $ 6-700 (all the mills in my area have waiting lists for wood)(add my time to cut, split, and rank)

Stove coal $ 200 / ton

Stove corn $ $125-140 / ton (figuring 3-4 ton / heating season)