Anyone heat with a corn stove?

[Seasoned Oak]

Corn stoves are very similar to pellet stoves and some even come with conversion kits to use either or.
A local shop here in central pa sells both but swears by the corn stove. He has a conversion BTU chart
that lists all heating fuels cost per 1 million btus and corn is the lowest cost per BTU (at least on his list)
If any one on hearth.com is using this kind of stove i would like to hear about your experience with it.

 

[Northwoodneil]

I have a stove that will burn corn but never has since I've owned it. When corn was $3.50 a bushel it was cheaper but with ethanol being put in gasoline, those days are probably long gone. I know people who mix corn with pellets in the coldest part of winter but it comes at a price. The fire pot needs to be cleaned much more often and the exhaust gases are acidic so your vent pipe needs to be watched for holes, even stainless steel. That being said I think a stove built to burn multi-fuel has one major advantage over some other stoves, they can burn just about any pellet no matter the quality with good results. Just my opinion.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I just picked up the big US Stove American Harvest 6041 Multi-Fueler and got it going for testing. This has the Pot Stirrer motor and a special Corm mode in the digital control panel that re-adjusts the auger timing and draft for corn! So I just called the local feed store and they do have a 50 lb bag of corn for $11.99 ! Not that I will be burning alot of this stuff but I will try to grab a bag and let you know. I saw someone's personal experience with burning alot of corn in this type of stove. He said he got it working real well by adding some chicken scratch to keep the corn flowing good. The only drawback on this stove is the 250 watt ignitor. They say you must throw some pellets in to get it started. The Englander 10-CPM has a Super Hot 525 watt ignitor that can start corn all by itself! That is alot of wattage at startup to be drawing!

 

[ScotO]

Corn stoves are very similar to pellet stoves and some even come with conversion kits to use either or.
A local shop here in central pa sells both but swears by the corn stove. He has a conversion BTU chart
that lists all heating fuels cost per 1 million btus and corn is the lowest cost per BTU (at least on his list)
If any one on hearth.com is using this kind of stove i would like to hear about your experience with it.

several people here in town (and my cousin was one of them) had corn stoves. A couple of reasons they do NOT have them anymore are the cost of corn (it's high, and it's gonna get higher soon), and varmints. You have to worry about mice, rats, chippies, squirrels, and also different bugs that can get into that corn. I'd love to get a small pellet stove for my master bedroom, but not until I have a pellet mill. Even if I have to home-build one. I see people making pellets out of grass, weeds, leaves, sawdust, etc. I'd be into a pellet stove if I could make my own fuel. Heck from the treetops I take to the compost site in one year ALONE, I could probably make enough pellets to last me at least a year or more. I got a guy who has a chipper, would need to pulverize the chips though. Anyway, sorry to sidetrack your thread, SeasonedOak!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Hey Pa - I just got ya some dried shelled corn to help keep us warm! LOL

I will start up a new post with the action shots!

 

[DexterDay]

Corn is not a viable fuel with Ethanol production.

Until it takes a back seat, pellet stoves are the way to go.

Seasoned Oak, I would get a Good pellet stove. Even though some have conversion kits (mainly just a burn pot). The air flow is slower most times through a corn stove. Which makes for a marginal burning pellet stove.

Corn was once a good fuel, but no more....... Look into a Good Multi Fuel unit designed to do all.. (Enviro Maxx-M, Enviro M-55, Enviro Omega, Magnum Countryside (Not the Baby Countryside / Repeat NOT Baby), Englander 10-CPM. These are all stoves that burn a multitude of fuels easily..

What model stove were you looking at? And remember, some dealers (some, not all) are gonna tell you what you want to hear. If I only had Fords in my parking lot, I aint gonna sell you a Chevy. Ya dig?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hello

Hey Pa - I just got ya some dried shelled corn to help keep us warm! LOL

I will start up a new post with the action shots!

Remember when you go for that clinker reducer that you are calling chicken scratch be certain to tell the folks at the feed store you want oyster shell and if you tell them chicken scratch you are going to get a mixture of grains (including cracked corn) which isn't really gonna work to well .

 

[tsmith]

When I first bought my AE, I burned corn. It was around $3 a bushel then and around almost $8 now. It has it's own share of problems. I went to the mill and shoveled corn into 55 gallon plastic drums, then when I got home I had to clean the corn in my homemade corn vac. It also caused some problems in the stove with clinkers and the starches in the corn. It did burn hot and had a nice blue flame but I am not really missing the extra work involved. If it would drop below the pellet prices I might consider it again, but not at these prices. Thats why I bought a multi-fuel stove so I have options.

 

[Don2222]

Remember when you go for that clinker reducer that you are calling chicken scratch be certain to tell the folks at the feed store you want oyster shell and if you tell them chicken scratch you are going to get a mixture of grains (including cracked corn) which isn't really gonna work to well .

Thanks Smokey

 

[DexterDay]

Thanks Smokey

Where is the post Don?? Looking for a new thread? Got a link?

 

[Don2222]

Where is the post Don?? Looking for a new thread? Got a link?

Hi Dexter
Right here! Here is a video of the 6041 doing a corn burn and some still pics also!
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...rvest-6041-multi-fuel-burning-100-corn.91043/
Do you have a video of your stove burning corn?

 

[jlupi]

When I first bought my AE, I burned corn. It was around $3 a bushel then and around almost $8 now. It has it's own share of problems.>

I had a bag of corn stored in my basement for the summer and it became infested with corn weevils

 

[jrsdws]

I loved burning corn when it was $3 a bushel. The savings over LP made it easy to deal with the inherent issues of rodents, clinkers, etc., etc.. While I still have a lot of corn, it will be mainly used in the beast when it gets really cold out. All three of my units are multi-fuel capable (the Baby Countryside is a corn burner but sucked with pellets until considerable upgrades and effort).

Someday maybe corn will come down again and we'll have other readily available fuel sources. Until then, I'm content being a pellet pig.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I loved burning corn when it was $3 a bushel. The savings over LP made it easy to deal with the inherent issues of rodents, clinkers, etc., etc.. While I still have a lot of corn, it will be mainly used in the beast when it gets really cold out. All three of my units are multi-fuel capable (the Baby Countryside is a corn burner but sucked with pellets until considerable upgrades and effort).

Someday maybe corn will come down again and we'll have other readily available fuel sources. Until then, I'm content being a pellet pig.

Oink, when you say that piggy !

 

[Seasoned Oak]

I guess the price of corn is all over the place ,as bad as OIL

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I guess the price of corn is all over the place ,as bad as OIL

You could grow, harvest and dry your own corn and then it is relatively cheap. Buying it is a different matter.

 

[Seasoned Oak]

You could grow, harvest and dry your own corn and then it is relatively cheap. Buying it is a different matter.

Im sure its easier to chop wood.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Im sure its easier to chop wood.

Easier on you maybe but not on those trees .