Alternative fuel - grain cleanings?

[turbulator]

Pellet prices are killing me. My main source of heat is a Tarm HS4.0 biomass boiler...we can easily burn up to a ton a week if we let it... At $250 plus a ton, this is not an option... I've talked to a guy who ran one of these before who said pretty much any biomass you can auger feed will burn....

Well, I have a local seed farm who has "cleanings" - i.e. oats/barley/grain cleanings that they cannot use in their final seed product.... Even their floor cleanup has corn, sunflowers, etc in it - Basically they said they'll fill supersacks for me to take for no charge....

Being free, I am going to try this. Not sure what BTU output will be, even if it's half as much as pellets, since free, I really don't care.... More shoveling for me, but again, for the price, I'll take it..
Moisture content will be 13% and below guaranteed.

Anyone try this? I am sort of excited to try....should have test materials Monday.

 

[Lake Girl]

Will they be mixed bio-mass or separate grains in separate bags? Would be interesting to log bulk of burning material vs. temps produced...

 

[bogieb]

Don't know, but would be interested in the outcome. Please keep us informed.

 

[3650]

Sounds like a winner! I bet it burns good. Get the feed and air mixture right, good to go.

 

[Lake Girl]

BTU values per testing at Twin Ports Lab... just to peak your interest more and prepare you for heavier ash!
http://www.pelletmasters.com/faqs/TwinPortsTesting_watermarked.pdf

 

[Wilbur Feral]

How you could possibly burn a ton per week to heat anything less than a gymnasium is what puzzles me. You're in western PA and going through that many BTUs? Is there ANY insulation involved? Good luck with whatever fuel you burn, but it seems trying to hold onto some of it might be the first priority.

 

[Cory S]

You don't even need heat in PA. Not much anyway.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

You don't even need heat in PA. Not much anyway.

Not much this year, although the folks in the western end have had it a bit worse than those of us back east. Nothing compared to you folks, most years. I worked outside and in the garage with the door open yesterday with just a fleece on, and no hat. What a year...

 

[bogieb]

I worked outside and in the garage with the door open yesterday with just a fleece on, and no hat. What a year...

I shoveled snow/sleet/mix in a light sweatshirt yesterday

 

[rona]

Pellet prices are killing me. My main source of heat is a Tarm HS4.0 biomass boiler...we can easily burn up to a ton a week if we let it... At $250 plus a ton, this is not an option... I've talked to a guy who ran one of these before who said pretty much any biomass you can auger feed will burn....

Well, I have a local seed farm who has "cleanings" - i.e. oats/barley/grain cleanings that they cannot use in their final seed product.... Even their floor cleanup has corn, sunflowers, etc in it - Basically they said they'll fill supersacks for me to take for no charge....

Being free, I am going to try this. Not sure what BTU output will be, even if it's half as much as pellets, since free, I really don't care.... More shoveling for me, but again, for the price, I'll take it..
Moisture content will be 13% and below guaranteed.

Anyone try this? I am sort of excited to try....should have test materials Monday.

You might have problems being the different grain is mixed. Example oats is very light weight and would probably blow out of the burn pot if you had it set for wheat or corn since they are a lot heavier. The other thought is sun flowers and soy beans will leave a oily residue and make a mess unless they are a very small percent of the fuel. Usually the waste from a grain screener will be mostly very light material and the heavier will be cracked kernals or fines. I guess if you can make it work you will have free fuel so give it a shot.

 

[Peterfield]

Pellet prices are killing me. My main source of heat is a Tarm HS4.0 biomass boiler...we can easily burn up to a ton a week if we let it... At $250 plus a ton, this is not an option... I've talked to a guy who ran one of these before who said pretty much any biomass you can auger feed will burn....

Well, I have a local seed farm who has "cleanings" - i.e. oats/barley/grain cleanings that they cannot use in their final seed product.... Even their floor cleanup has corn, sunflowers, etc in it - Basically they said they'll fill supersacks for me to take for no charge....

Being free, I am going to try this. Not sure what BTU output will be, even if it's half as much as pellets, since free, I really don't care.... More shoveling for me, but again, for the price, I'll take it..
Moisture content will be 13% and below guaranteed.

Anyone try this? I am sort of excited to try....should have test materials Monday.

Try closing the windows.

 

[3650]

I'll burn 6-7 bags a day in my uninsulated 1200 sq foot home during cold snaps like today. The op may have a similar situation.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

It's not the grain/seed I would be worried about. It is the soil/dirt. With seed comes actual soil from the field. Then ad the floor sweepings to boot, and it will be one dusty mess. A little moisture from a coupe foggy days and it will turn the outsides of the bags to a greasy,muddy slime.

I would suggest that if you must try this experiment, see if you can get one small bag or a couple buckets and see how it goes before taking home a whole tote bag.
IMO.

 

[Cory S]

I'll burn 6-7 bags a day in my uninsulated 1200 sq foot home during cold snaps like today. The op may have a similar situation.

WOW......

 

[TheMightyMoe]

A ton a week? 5-7 bags a day? *_*

I burn 3 a day at most when it is -45 out. typically 6 tons a season. 1,800 SQFT home.

I'd be looking for your heat loss, and fixing that.

 

[bogieb]

I'll burn 6-7 bags a day in my uninsulated 1200 sq foot home during cold snaps like today. The op may have a similar situation.

Wow, and CoryS, along with others, have thought I burn a lot for my size house. The worst is when it is windy - sucks the heat right out and I imagine being in the Midwest, you see much more wind (and more constant) than I do.

 

[Cory S]

6 bags a day would be about 2 MILLION BTU's...... I don't see how 1200 sq ft could require that, even with zero insulation.

That would be $900-1000.00/month in pellets roughly....

 

[Bioburner]

I can see and have seen some crazy consumption rates with old houses. I said before, the best thing for some of these homes would be a match and build new My insulated garage with 2x4 walls and ok attic insulation can easily eat 3 pounds and hour and its only 22 x 24. My 05 house eats half that on average and is over 65 degrees

 

[turbulator]

1800's farm house, about 3k sq ft.. Remodeled about 15 years ago. New replacement windows, insulation, etc. Windows are 8' tall, and there are a lot of them. The system is zoned. It uses old cast radiators. It's a Tarm HS4.0. Now, I would say that my statement of a ton a week could be a bit subjective....was using some local pellets that weren't great. I tried various corn mixes...not bad, still expensive. Right now I'm burning Lignetics - probably will average 2.5 tons a month. I also have an Accentra 52i in the addition room that works very well. 2x propane hvac systems as backup - have been running those a lot because propane is cheaper than pellets.
I prefer the radiant however. The Tarm system doesn't have a "burn pot" per se - it's a massive fire box and a 3" auger that just feeds fuel. If there is dirt, fines, shoes, cows, etc - doesn't matter it'll burn...I do expect to be cleaning the ash more often. I hope to have some of this mix this week.

 

[3650]

Wow, and CoryS, along with others, have thought I burn a lot for my size house. The worst is when it is windy - sucks the heat right out and I imagine being in the Midwest, you see much more wind (and more constant) than I do.

Yup, In the middle of a field, no wind break, split faced block house built in 1912 single pane wavy windows, curtains blow with the wind. Two pellets stoves going nearly wide open on single or negative digit days with 40+ mph winds. I don't burn 6+ every day, just in single digit high winds. I burn 2+ bags on average I would say. I mix corn in too.