Found corn for a great price today

[Topshelf]

I found corn for $172.00 per ton today. 100 lb bags, cleaned and ready to burn. Good thing because I'm down to about 15 bags of pellets.

PM for info if anyone is intrested. SE Michigan just north of Port Huron is the location.

 

[imacman]

Just curious....did you ask what the moisture content was?

 

[Topshelf]

He said its an average of 12.5 - 13%. He also said they screen it big time to get out the junk and broken kernals. This is dried just for corn burners since they are very popular here in SE Michigan. In the summer corn and soy beans are the two big cash crops locally. I am very very happy to find this guy.

The 100 lb bags are going to create some more labor for me since they will be to heavy to just pour in the hopper. But I have a big rubbermade type bin I can use to store it in while its inside and then just use a grain scoop to fill the hopper.

 

[drizler]

I used corn for a couple years then went to pellets when the gasahol craze drove the price up. It's been well North of $200 / ton at the feedlot for the last 3 years. This year it's been down to 190 in December then 180 last month dirty in the truck which holds about 1.25 tons easily.. The squirrels and birds sure love the fines One thing I have noticed is how much more dry it is compared to when the price of propane was extremely high. My Countryside doesn't burn itself out at all even with a homemade clinker pot. I prefer corn bulk as it's easier for me to screen dump it into a bunker than manhandle those 100 lb sacks. I intend to stock up with at least a ton of reserve before end of season.

 

[Topshelf]

I used corn for a couple years then went to pellets when the gasahol craze drove the price up. It's been well North of $200 / ton at the feedlot for the last 3 years. This year it's been down to 190 in December then 180 last month dirty in the truck which holds about 1.25 tons easily.. The squirrels and birds sure love the fines One thing I have noticed is how much more dry it is compared to when the price of propane was extremely high. My Countryside doesn't burn itself out at all even with a homemade clinker pot. I prefer corn bulk as it's easier for me to screen dump it into a bunker than manhandle those 100 lb sacks. I intend to stock up with at least a ton of reserve before end of season.

The market is exactly why I picked up a multifuel stove. I hate being tied to one source of fuel. Once your invested you screwed if you can only burn pellets or corn or coal....

I'm going to pick up as much as I can afford for next season. I can store it in my barn but I'm worried about mice, raccoons etc. I guess I need to build a safe

 

[Topshelf]

Picked up 700 lbs the other day to get me through march into spring. Burned the first batch last nigh and was very happy.
Nice and clean, burns awsome, bagged in 50-60 lb bags. Great guys to deal with and will be back to load up in the summer for next winters burn.

 

[Clay H]

I would love to try corn sometime but i know little about it...i have a farmers coop in town that would likely sell it reasonable in bulk but i don't know about moisture and such. The corn they would have is intended for feedstock.

 

[Topshelf]

I would love to try corn sometime but i know little about it...i have a farmers coop in town that would likely sell it reasonable in bulk but i don't know about moisture and such. The corn they would have is intended for feedstock.

I would call them. You would be surprised at all the local Elevators and Co-ops that sell fuel corn.
My stove manual calls for 11-12% moisture content for corn.

 

[Clay H]

I would love to try corn sometime but i know little about it...i have a farmers coop in town that would likely sell it reasonable in bulk but i don't know about moisture and such. The corn they would have is intended for feedstock.

I would call them. You would be surprised at all the local Elevators and Co-ops that sell fuel corn.
My stove manual calls for 11-12% moisture content for corn.

Pellet stoves around here are few and far between so i would almost bet if i asked them about "fuel corn" they would cock there head to the side with a big ? on there face. I have never met anyone around here that even knows what a pellet stove it and i have to explain it and then answer 200 questions. I stoped telling people about it for this reason...lol

 

[drizler]

I would love to try corn sometime but i know little about it...i have a farmers coop in town that would likely sell it reasonable in bulk but i don't know about moisture and such. The corn they would have is intended for feedstock.

Think of corn as yellow pellets with more dust. That's about it. To see if feedlot corn is dry enough there is this complicated procedure you have to follow. It involves a hammer and piece of concrete or stone. Take one corn kernel put it on the flat hard surface take out your favorite hammer of your choice. The hard part is not hurting yourself with the hammer if you are of the scientific sort. Look at the smashed kernel and see if it is all gooey inside. It should be just dry mush with no visible water. That's about it though you will find any bagged stuff and even feedlot corn is dry enough right as you buy it. I have stored bags over the Summer sitting on the dry concrete floor a couple of seasons and if anything it gets dryer and better. Mouse attacks are nearly zero and I have to say I have had more mouse damage on bags of pellets and lost all of a couple cup fulls, that's it. The cellar door is as often as not left open though i do have a few cats on premises. My particular stove somehow is approved for regular pellet P-vent and that's what I have now since 04-05 winter. I pull mine down every year clean it and oil the inside. So far all I have is some dark streaks of discoloration but that's all. The big problem with corn is the debris being about 3 times or so of pellets. Corn will form a Klinker and the size of it per day for me is the size of a waffle. I disabled the grinder on my stove and simply leave a U shaped piece of 1/4" steel rod sticking up so its easy to grab with pliers to remove. Klinkers keep the corn fallout to a bare minimum and are easier to deal with and keeps your venting much cleaner too. Corn if a tad wet will burn a lot better if you help it by mixing with pellets. Twice a season I open up the vertical section of my vent and stick the leaf blower up into the pipe and send the giant cloud out the top then put the suction part on the horizontal into the stove open the door and launch. It sucks the crud right out of the stove innards and dumps it outdoors in the yard. That's about the size of it. You will find all this detailed many times in different ways in the iburncorn.com forums often with pictures..