Corn

[Cedarjunki]

Anybody here actually burning a pellet/corn mix in there stove? Specifically a non corn approved stove and vent.
I picked up a bag last week just to try mixing with a pellet i have that doesnt seem to give any heat compared to others. I mixed about 10 -15% of corn in and get a very noticeable change in the amount of heat output. (Im talking about 75-85 degrees difference) Burns fine, no more ash than normal.(which is alot with just these pellets). maybe even a bit less.

My question is, i know corn is corrosive but just how bad? Do i really need to worry at only a 15% mixture? And does corn really burn that much hotter?

 

[Bioburner]

Probably a non issue with lower amount of corn. Some good years of corn the btus can get to and exceed 8600 per pound. This year my area corn is very very good.
Density per cu ft is higher than wood pellets so you may be getting extra fuel fed to the pot too.
Lot of users have found corn compliments the pellets very well. Its a no brainer here with price under $110/T
I also dry my corn to single digits like wood pellets.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Probably a non issue with lower amount of corn. Some good years of corn the btus can get to and exceed 8600 per pound. This year my area corn is very very good.
Density per cu ft is higher than wood pellets so you may be getting extra fuel fed to the pot too.
Lot of users have found corn compliments the pellets very well. Its a no brainer here with price under $110/T
I also dry my corn to single digits like wood pellets.

Its not exactly easy to get here. $8 a bag at stores. But i do have a few farmer family friends nearby.
But even paying the 8 bucks a bag, the bag will last a good while.
Im not looking to burn it all of the time. I just wanted to see if i could "enhance" these pellets and it did seem to work very well. Im just really amazed that adding so little magnified the heat so much.
It does put a bit more strain on the auger at times though.

 

[Bioburner]

Next time you pull the auger, coat it with graphite or moly paint. I have a boiler that recommends using graphite powder to treat some fuel occasionally to help keep the auger and feed tube slippery.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Next time you pull the auger, coat it with graphite or moly paint. I have a boiler that recommends using graphite powder to treat some fuel occasionally to help keep the auger and feed tube slippery.

Planned on it. Ever wipe the glass with graphite? Thought about it today but forgot it at work

 

[Bioburner]

Ever wipe the glass with graphite

I don't clean my glass often enough to be worried about cleaning. I can't remember what glass cleaner for stoves is supposed to have a additive to aid future cleaning.

 

[kappel15]

I burn a mix in my Santa Fe stove, which was a pellet stove only, that can burn corn. You seem to get more heat out of it, but in reality pellets are suppose to burn hotter. On average, wood pellets at 2.74% moisture should produce 8246 btu's. Corn at 13.43% moisture, is suppose to produce 7398 btu's. Wheat at 10.38% produces 7159 btu's. And sunflower seeds at 8%, produce 12000 btu's. Another plus to burning a mix is it keeps things cleaner. I have burned corn for 11 years, and am using the same exhaust pipe I started with. kap

 

[rich2500]

I burned a corn mix in my Englander for 8 of the 10 yrs. I had it.,it did heat better with the mix,that same exhaust vent is 13yrs.old now and still looks great and its not a multifuel vent.

 

[Cedarjunki]

How much did you mix in? More importantly, how did you mix it?

 

[rich2500]

I had a round tub I would mix 1 scoop of corn to 5 scoops of pellets,the tub held 2 bags of the mix that I would then put into a buckets to fill the stove,I burned this in a pdvc

 

[Cedarjunki]

I had a round tub I would mix 1 scoop of corn to 5 scoops of pellets,the tub held 2 bags of the mix that I would then put into a buckets to fill the stove,I burned this in a pdvc

Basically what i did

 

[kappel15]

I had two round tubs, one for corn, and one for pellets. I would use a small hand scoop and put in a bucket and mix by hand. Two scoops corn, to one scoop pellets. When it is warmer out, and stove is not running as much, I need to be more pellet, and less corn, to eliminate misfires. At the moment, I am burning just corn, as pellets are too expensive. kap

 

[Bioburner]

And with the cold weather you probably don't have the need for a shutdown and refire trying to light the corn.

 

[Cedarjunki]

And with the cold weather you probably don't have the need for a shutdown and refire trying to light the corn.

No ignitor on mine. I threw a handful in the pot before i actually mixed any in and it didnt seem to take much longer than some of the harder starting pellets ive tried to get going.

 

[Bioburner]

I was referring to Kaps Santa Fe
I bought a Santa Fe with Kaps assistance. Good entry level stove IMO

 

[kappel15]

You are right Bio. Stove pretty much runs nonstop in the cold. Real cold, I have to turn it on high for a bit. I start with an empty pot in the morning, and by midday, it pays to shut it down and remove the clinker, so it burns better. Then I just throw a handful of pellets in pot, and turn the thermo up. kap