what ever happened to corn stoves?

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ad356

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Dec 25, 2009
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north java, ny
i remember there being on the market a few years ago multifuel stoves that could burn either corn or wood pellets. now it seems like those stoves really arent being sold very much anymore. i know harman had one of the stoves and it seems like they no longer sell it. how much was corn when it was available because i do not remember ever seeing it available but i do remember the multifuel stoves.

would that not be a viable option today with the cost of pellet rising constantly?
 
St. Croix has several stoves that will burn just about anything (corn, rye, wheat & cherry pits included). Most (or maybe all) Harman's burn pellets or corn/pellet mix and it seems to me there are a bunch of stoves that will do a corn/pellet mix. Pure corn though, I don't know.
 
bogieb said:
St. Croix has several stoves that will burn just about anything (corn, rye, wheat & cherry pits included). Most (or maybe all) Harman's burn pellets or corn/pellet mix and it seems to me there are a bunch of stoves that will do a corn/pellet mix. Pure corn though, I don't know.
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P61 will burn a mixture of corn/pellets but I have read that due to sugar in the corn,
the insides can result in a sticky mess..
 
i have a P61 where would i buy corn if i wanted it, and is it any cheaper then pellets. also can i safetly burn cherry pits in my P61 or is that not an acceptable fuel to be using in my stove?
 
I bought corn for about $130 ton last summer to stock up on as did not know where market was going. Corn is on the way back up. Still new Bixby stoves around but little support. St.Croix still around. Yes Harman dropped the PC45 just as corn went way down and the Cumberland 3800 was dropped too. Corn with its sugars can make for clinkers and has a higher ignition temp. I believe Englander still offers a multifuel. Theres a imported stove that's not pushed as such but a Aussie that's here burns wheat etc in them.
 
Bioburner said:
I bought corn for about $130 ton last summer to stock up on as did not know where market was going. Corn is on the way back up. Still new Bixby stoves around but little support. St.Croix still around. Yes Harman dropped the PC45 just as corn went way down and the Cumberland 3800 was dropped too. Corn with its sugars can make for clinkers and has a higher ignition temp. I believe Englander still offers a multifuel. Theres a imported stove that's not pushed as such but a Aussie that's here burns wheat etc in them.
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The magnum Countrysides and Babies. Low tek stoves. I now have a 3500 countryside. Bought good dry corn for 4 buck this fall here. I paid a customer more than market but he let me use his wagon to haul it home. 175 bu. should last till spring.
 
I was on the Bixby wagon when corn here in Maine was much cheaper than pellets and loved the heat but a few factors stopped me One little to no support after a couple of years from Bixby corn sky rocketed in price,the stove always broke down whether it was burning corn or wood pellets never knew if in the middle of the night it was going to crap out or keep us warm ! Switched to a Harman and have never looked back! House is warmer than its ever been and never ever has it failed me ! thats my story and Im sticking to it !
 
The key with corn is that it needs to be a max of 15 percent moisture to burn efficiently. There used to be a place close to me that sold 50 lbs bags with the less moisture content. I know my P68 is rated for 50/50 but I don't have the vent pipe that will take it as it is very corrosive. It also makes the inside harder to clean.
 
My Hastings will burn pellets, cherry pits or a 50/50 mixture of pellets and corn.
 
Only corn around here is the cornhole game.
 
I use a countryside and a st croix for main heat, corn works fine in them I mix a gallon of pellets with about 40 lbs corn keeps the clinkers down.
I've mixed corn and pellets half and half in an englander 25 pdv without any issues.
 
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Amaizablaze is selling new stoves. Knock on wood the Bixby I got used has only had a problem with the room fan bearings. Got the last program update running and probably would have gotten another Bixby if I have not gotten a job offer for next year in Florida.
 
I am burning a mix in my Sante Fe. Two parts corn and one part pellets. I can burn all corn, but have to start the fire with pellets. The AE on the other hand is a multi-fuel stove. I haven't tried oats or sunflower seeds in it yet to date. kap
 
ad356 said:
i have a P61 where would i buy corn if i wanted it, and is it any cheaper then pellets. also can i safetly burn cherry pits in my P61 or is that not an acceptable fuel to be using in my stove?
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The manual for the P61 what is acceptable to burn. I know my 60A manual says only wood pellets or a 50/50 mix of pellets/corn are acceptable fuels.
 
Harman PC45 will burn corn but likes 13% moisture. St Croix was made for corn as was Country side and Bixby. Bixby was a corn only but after software updates it will burn pellets or corn. it can be finicky but once you understand how they work they are pretty trouble free. The ability to adjust fuel and air flo for conditions can be hard to understand but once you figure out how to set them they are pretty trouble free. When you look at the price of corn- how it fluctuates and the last few years of high grain prices the stove companies have had pretty tough going. It seemed to be a feast or famine market and while several stoves were made in the US it wasn't long before you seen companies that made certain parts in one country and other parts in a different company depending on price.
Burning corn can bring its own problems. Ever here of mice and weevils? You can burn corn just fine but be aware You can put perfectly good corn in a drum for storage and end up with weevils or small white moths flying around in your house. A cat can be your best friend if you have mice.
 
rona said:
Harman PC45 will burn corn but likes 13% moisture. St Croix was made for corn as was Country side and Bixby. Bixby was a corn only but after software updates it will burn pellets or corn. it can be finicky but once you understand how they work they are pretty trouble free. The ability to adjust fuel and air flo for conditions can be hard to understand but once you figure out how to set them they are pretty trouble free. When you look at the price of corn- how it fluctuates and the last few years of high grain prices the stove companies have had pretty tough going. It seemed to be a feast or famine market and while several stoves were made in the US it wasn't long before you seen companies that made certain parts in one country and other parts in a different company depending on price.
Burning corn can bring its own problems. Ever here of mice and weevils? You can burn corn just fine but be aware You can put perfectly good corn in a drum for storage and end up with weevils or small white moths flying around in your house. A cat can be your best friend if you have mice.
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What if you get white mice flying around your house? LOL
 
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When the price of corn went up really killed the corn stoves and boilers. My boiler was initially marketed for corn but now is marketed for pellets.

I filled up for $130 per ton also, but will need a refill in January. Current cash price here is $124 per ton.

During the peak corn was $300 and pellets locally were $175 from Menards. Like everyone else I switched to pellets for a couple years.

Tim
 
One word for what happened to corn/multifuel stoves- ethanol! The crap that is killing small motors also drove up corn prices. Prices are getting back to the point where it is a toss up which is cheaper to burn. BTW my Greenfield ran great on straight corn and even put out more heat than pellets!
 
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KodiakII said:
One word for what happened to corn/multifuel stoves- ethanol! The crap that is killing small motors also drove up corn prices. Prices are getting back to the point where it is a toss up which is cheaper to burn. BTW my Greenfield ran great on straight corn and even put out more heat than pellets!
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I suspect you don't like ethanol because it drove up corn prices. Do you actually believe it drove up corn prices to 7 or 8.00 or did it bump the price of corn .25 or .50 like it was planned? Quite possibly the jump in corn price was the massive flooding a few years ago in some areas and drought in others. Look at this falls price of 3.25 is that cheap enough for you to keep your house warm?
Funny thing is I have 11 small engines that use ethanol 10 % blend and I use sea foam in them ever since Minnesota made a 10% blend mandatory and so far had to replace only one fuel line. I also have nine vehicles from 1968 to 2005 that use the same fuel and haven't had problems with them either other then changing filters once in a while which is maintenance in my book.
 
rona said:
Do you actually believe it drove up corn prices to 7 or 8.00 or did it bump the price of corn .25 or .50 like it was planned?
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"In 2007, the global price of corn doubled as a result of an explosion in ethanol production in the U.S. Because corn is the most common animal feed and has many other uses in the food industry, the price of milk, cheese, eggs, meat, corn-based sweeteners and cereals increased as well. World grain reserves dwindled to less than two months, the lowest level in over 30 years."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/its-final-corn-ethanol-is-of-no-use/
 
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BrotherBart said:
"In 2007, the global price of corn doubled as a result of an explosion in ethanol production in the U.S. Because corn is the most common animal feed and has many other uses in the food industry, the price of milk, cheese, eggs, meat, corn-based sweeteners and cereals increased as well. World grain reserves dwindled to less than two months, the lowest level in over 30 years."

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/04/20/its-final-corn-ethanol-is-of-no-use/
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This is pure BS. The corn used in Ethanol is used for feed for livestock so it is not wasted. To blame ethanol for doubling the price of corn is a figment of someone's imagination similar to global warming. This would be like saying why has the price of corn dropped this fall? Is it because all the ethanol plants shut down? Of course not its because most of the ag communities had a decent crop for a change and exports have dropped.
 
Feed stock requirements for the dwindling herds of cows and hogs dropped like a rock. A disease killing pigs and drought in cattle country pushed corn supplies over the top.

Yawn.
 
ND and Mn combined took out almost 2 million acres of CRP and put into crops. The top two states for putting land back into production last season. That's a lot of corn and beans.
 
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