Show your corn mode. - Here is the American Harvest 6041 Multi-Fuel burning 100% Corn

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Don2222

Don2222

Minister of Fire
Feb 1, 2010
9,117
Salem NH
Hello

Trying to compare multi-fueler stoves. I found that No stove has it all! So here is the Corn Burn.
Picked up a 50 lb bag of nice dry shelled corn at the local feed store for $11.95 !

The stove recommends starting the fire with wood pellets due to the 250 watt ignitor that it comes with.
So I removed all the wood pellets in the hopper except the ones in the auger flight chute. That worked fine to get it going. The pot stirrer comes on right away with corn. The control panel has to be set for corn mode. The LED readout shown CR-3 which is Corn heat Level 3

 

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Don, the air temps NEED to be taken about 1" away from the end of the tubes. Otherwise, there is radiant heat and its not an accurate temp. Outside the tube.

No, I have not burned any Corn in the CPM. The Quad, Yes, as an experiment. I had several bags 2 years ago and also some last year. I did some 100% runs and 50/50 runs. 50/50 has almost no clinkers and great heat. 100% created a clinker everyday, and I am not a fan of daily shutdowns and cleaning. So 50/50 if I ever do it again.

I doubt I will be buying any corn to do a test. As Corn is not cheap, and after my experience with the Quad, I dont feel the need. If corn ever becomes a cheap and viable fuel again, then yes, I will burn it.

That flame is tending to the left? Is there baffles only on one side? Also seems pretty slow and tall for Heat level 3?
 
Hi Dexter

Draft fan was on High, and Heat exchanger is above the entire top of the fire chamber. Not sure why flame is so lazy. Maybe some ground up Oyster shells would help this?

Ok, Did the heat output check about an inch away. It really burns my knuckles! Ouch! LOL
I got almost 500 Deg F. That is some good heat output! See 1st pic

Ok, now for the issues.

1. When adding more corn to the hopper on a Low level 1 burn, the auger stops due to the hopper switch. That is ok, but the fire went down and the upper left front corner of the burn chamber dropped less than 110 Deg F so the low limit switch on the other side tripped and shut down the stove with ERR 2 ! ! I shut the stove off and turned it back on. Then took my propane torch and after quite a few mins got the fire going again and the room blower came back on. Not good but an easy fix may be to get a low limit switch that trips around 90 - 100 Degs instead.

2. Burn pot filled up and corn ash formed at the top, almost smothered the fire. I took a Breckwell burn pot scraper and scraped the ash off, and got it going again. See pics 2 & 3
I am sure this problem is from inexperience. Please give me your tips and comments.

Would some ground up Oyster shells help this?
 

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The IR thermo is also inaccurate.

IR measures surface temp.. 90% of people that post temps. Do so with a Thermocouple from 1"-2" out from tubes.

That reading of yours tells me nothing. Other than the body of the stove is hot. Very similar to sticking a T/C probe inside the Exchange tubes. Its inaccurate. Measure the Air temp. No stove will have 500° air temps. Not the actual air temp outside the tube.

As for the pile up. You needed to be quicker. Once the hopper was opened to long, it started to shut down.

The flame does seem lazy though. Amd with the agitator. The pile up shouldn't have happened. Its designed to keep it broke up and burning clean. Have you looked into mods with this stove? The airwash is a simple place to gain more air through the pot? Close some of it off and the pot will get more fuel...m
 
Still not burning yet. I have 100 pounds of corn stashed. If I get bored, I'll get some burning once it gets cold. It's still an option for me as a farmer is growing for corn burners. Last I knew it was around $6 per 50 pound bag. I'll have to see what its going for these days. I also have a fella that makes grass pellets. If I mix them with corn I don't need the oyster shells. The silica in the grass pellets helps break up the clinkers.

No need to start with pellet in my beast. The pressure igniter starts every fuel I have tried to date and its a very long list too. Sorry, Just braggin now! ==c
 
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We get the corn in 80 lb bags for $12 - 14...that equals 6 - 7 for a 40 lb bag....certainly not any cheaper than pellets are here. I use a little corn with my pellets as it helps avoid stuck pellets in the auger tube...otherwise I wouldn't bother with them.....If they were cheaper I would burrn more! I don't have to make any changes to the setup on my Castile when I am burning corn. I have actually burned all corn and it works just fine...just costs me more. I do have to use pellets to get it started though as the ignitor won't start the corn directly. It is importent to be sure your flue is rated for corn!!
 
Don,

first of all, I hope that corn you're burning isn't "treated" seed corn. All that should be burned is shelled corn that has approx 11-12% moisture content.......here's an excerpt from the Englander 10-cpm manual about corn for stoves:

"IMPORTANT: DO NOT BURN “TREATED” SEED CORN IN YOUR STOVE. Seed corn is treated with chemical pesticides that are harmful or fatal if swallowed; therefore, seed corn is dangerous to have in the house, especially where children can reach it. Burning treated seed corn in your stove will void your warranty and will destroy the exhaust system on the unit.........Never burn “deer corn” as it frequently contains molasses/sugars."

Also, from what I see in your burn pot (post #3, pic #2), that does NOT look good. I burned about 100lbs of corn back when I first got the stove, and even though it was a pain and created some corn clinkers, it never looked like that black mess you have. Are you sure the stove is set for corn?

Adding the oyster shell ("chicken scratch") will help reduce the clinker, but it sure looks like the stove is either feeding too fast, or has too little air.

Hopefully, Mike Holton will see the thread and chime in.Oh, maybe take a look at some older posts about corn burning in that stove on the "old" Iburncorn website.
 
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Corn likes air, maybe you need to increase the air to the burn pot. You want less fuel and more air in the mix.
 
Your corn also looks dirty. I clean all my corn before mixing with pellets
 
imacman said:
Don,

first of all, I hope that corn you're burning isn't "treated" seed corn. All that should be burned is shelled corn that has approx 11-12% moisture content.......here's an excerpt from the Englander 10-cpm manual about corn for stoves:

"IMPORTANT: DO NOT BURN “TREATED” SEED CORN IN YOUR STOVE. Seed corn is treated with chemical pesticides that are harmful or fatal if swallowed; therefore, seed corn is dangerous to have in the house, especially where children can reach it. Burning treated seed corn in your stove will void your warranty and will destroy the exhaust system on the unit.........Never burn “deer corn” as it frequently contains molasses/sugars."

Also, from what I see in your burn pot (post #3, pic #2), that does NOT look good. I burned about 100lbs of corn back when I first got the stove, and even though it was a pain and created some corn clinkers, it never looked like that black mess you have. Are you sure the stove is set for corn?

Adding the oyster shell ("chicken scratch") will help reduce the clinker, but it sure looks like the stove is either feeding too fast, or has too little air.

Hopefully, Mike Holton will see the thread and chime in.Oh, maybe take a look at some older posts about corn burning in that stove on the "old" Iburncorn website.
Click to expand...

Thanks Pete
I know the assistant Mgr at the local feed store and he told the kid I needed the very dry shelled corn for burning so I know I got the right stuff. This 6041 stove has alot of adjustments! It certainly is a true Multi-Fuel stove however it must be adjusted properly. I say a post on the web somewhere and the guy was a genius because he got the older model 6039 working very well with corn! So I know this stove can do the corn thing. He used oyster shells and I should too.

I probably should have opened the air intake damper more for corn than pellets.

Do you think the draft fan should be on high (Level 9) for CORN ? ? That is what I had?
 
jtakeman said:
Still not burning yet. I have 100 pounds of corn stashed. If I get bored, I'll get some burning once it gets cold. It's still an option for me as a farmer is growing for corn burners. Last I knew it was around $6 per 50 pound bag. I'll have to see what its going for these days. I also have a fella that makes grass pellets. If I mix them with corn I don't need the oyster shells. The silica in the grass pellets helps break up the clinkers.

No need to start with pellet in my beast. The pressure igniter starts every fuel I have tried to date and its a very long list too. Sorry, Just braggin now! ==c
Click to expand...

Thanks Jay
I would be very interested in your corn burning results! I would say that this 6041 stove may not be the best Multi-Fuel stove, but the new LED digital control panel makes it a good contender.

Did you see the nice diagnostics this stove has?
 
Yes Don.. The Air should be wide open. If it was, then the stove may have an air leak? Bad gaskets, Burn pot liner not snug, ash pan gasket, etc...

That looks like a mess. Oyster shells will not help the stove burn better. It helps the clinker. But what you have there in the pot, is a black unburned mess. A clinker will not look like that.

You need to increase air (by a LOT!) Or decrease fuel (by a LOT!) If you were on 3, then its not economical to go down on heat ,so I would shoot for more air. Mod'ing the airwash or looking for burn pot bypasses.
 
DexterDay said:
Yes Don.. The Air should be wide open. If it was, then the stove may have an air leak? Bad gaskets, Burn pot liner not snug, ash pan gasket, etc...

That looks like a mess. Oyster shells will not help the stove burn better. It helps the clinker. But what you have there in the pot, is a black unburned mess. A clinker will not look like that.

You need to increase air (by a LOT!) Or decrease fuel (by a LOT!) If you were on 3, then its not economical to go down on heat ,so I would shoot for more air. Mod'ing the airwash or looking for burn pot bypasses.
Click to expand...

Hello Dexter

You hit the nail on the head! I had the air closed down for wood pellets! LOL

Thanks for the Good Info ! ! !
 
Is your aurger working?
 
Millsk said:
Is your aurger working?
Click to expand...

Yes, the auger motor is working fine. The problem was, I did not have the air damper open all the way. Why do you say that?
 
The pot looked very full, this is what happened to my M55 when the auger isn't running.
 
Oh, Yes the Burn Pot agitator was going. In corn mode it starts right away. I guess corn being starchy and sweet makes the corn ash a sticky wicket! LOL So if I gave it more air to burn it would be fine. I would like to try it but I found a new home for it in Portland ME. :)

Anyway, on to the Archgard rebuild!
See pics. Very nice machine!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/archgard-optima-ps1-revival.92843/
 
Don if you get a chance and are interested in a multi fuel, take a look at the St. Croix Lincoln. Ive burned wood pellets, corn, and cherry pits in one and ir burned really nice. I also tried switch grass in it but did not get good results with it.
 
papa bears stove said:
Don if you get a chance and are interested in a multi fuel, take a look at the St. Croix Lincoln. Ive burned wood pellets, corn, and cherry pits in one and ir burned really nice. I also tried switch grass in it but did not get good results with it.
Click to expand...

That sounds interesting. What is wrong with the switch grass pellets?
 
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