Anyone burning corn this winter?

[mithesaint]

With the recent dip in corn prices, is anyone planning on burning any corn this year? I'm installing a St. Croix SCF 050 in my basement, and was originally planning on buring pellets. Since the price of corn dropped, I'm considering using corn, especially since the SCF was designed as a corn furnace, or so I'm told.

The biggest issue for me so far is storage. I have a trailer that I could potentially bring 3000 lbs home in, but I can't keep the corn in there without it getting wet, or critters getting in. I was thinking of borrowing/renting a hopper wagon from a local farmer. I don't have a place to put a wagon inside, but a good tarp on top should keep the corn dry. I could buy a wagon, but I don't have anywhere to store it the rest of the year, and I don't really want to look at a wagon all year long. A small bin outside is not an option.

Anyone else gonna burn corn? How do you store it?

 

[Bioburner]

Your idea of getting a box from the farmer at the end of his season and having him or her fill it with dry corn and I stress DRY corn, is what several around here do. Make a very good attempt at covering using something to hoop the top to help shed rain snow etc. Another idea is to have a local feed mill bag some corn or fill some barrels with lids available on Craigslist for around $10 or so each. Can get close to 400lbs. in a 55 gallon barrel. Hope the ideas help as corn is about $100 a ton less than pellets so far and dropping.

 

[rona]

With the recent dip in corn prices, is anyone planning on burning any corn this year? I'm installing a St. Croix SCF 050 in my basement, and was originally planning on buring pellets. Since the price of corn dropped, I'm considering using corn, especially since the SCF was designed as a corn furnace, or so I'm told.

The biggest issue for me so far is storage. I have a trailer that I could potentially bring 3000 lbs home in, but I can't keep the corn in there without it getting wet, or critters getting in. I was thinking of borrowing/renting a hopper wagon from a local farmer. I don't have a place to put a wagon inside, but a good tarp on top should keep the corn dry. I could buy a wagon, but I don't have anywhere to store it the rest of the year, and I don't really want to look at a wagon all year long. A small bin outside is not an option.

Anyone else gonna burn corn? How do you store it?

If you are going to rely on a tarp make sure you have a peak on it so water or snow can run off. Also buy a tarp long enough so you can cover the sliding gate that you get the corn out of. If you don't do that it will leak moisture into the corn or between the gate and sides then when it freezes your door will be froze shut. I just bought 150 bushel of clean dry 2013 crop corn. Around here most of the fields are very uneven maturity from to much moisture and as a result some will be mature and other will be high in moisture making it hard to dry.

 

[harttj]

Some smaller gravity wagons will fit very nicely in a garage. I plan on burning corn this year as well.

 

[mithesaint]

Your idea of getting a box from the farmer at the end of his season and having him or her fill it with dry corn and I stress DRY corn, is what several around here do. Make a very good attempt at covering using something to hoop the top to help shed rain snow etc. Another idea is to have a local feed mill bag some corn or fill some barrels with lids available on Craigslist for around $10 or so each. Can get close to 400lbs. in a 55 gallon barrel. Hope the ideas help as corn is about $100 a ton less than pellets so far and dropping.

Barrels. Of course. I'd thought about that, but discarded the idea after thinking about trying to move a full barrel. I guess if I have an extra barrel or two, I can fill those, and move the now empty barrels in place, and do it that way. 8 barrels is close to a ton and a half, and doing 8 barrels twice yearly would be about 3 tons, which is what I expect to put through the furnace. I'll still be running the free standing pellet stove upstairs, so that will balance things. Might have to find some barrels now and give the local elevator a call.

 

[mithesaint]

Dont use 44 gal drums or bigger as they are too hard to move around. Find smaller barrels. Even if you have to pay a bit more your back will thank you in years to come.

These are ultimately going into the basement, so unless I'm getting a bunch of 5 gallon (US) buckets, they're not going down the stairs full. I was planning on putting them into the basement empty, and then pouring corn down a pipe into the barrels, and then not moving them unless I absolutely have to.

 

[Bioburner]

If you have a decent size trailer, you could find a good sized deep freeze. Easy to fill and solves weather and vermin issues. Horse owners around here are fond of old freezers for those reasons.

 

[lmholmes11]

Anyone know the current price of corn per ton here in michigan?

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

Wish I could get cheap corn in Connecticut. Harmans can take a 50 50 mix.

 

[railfanron]

Depending on the day and where its bought about 200. A ton.
Ron

 

[mithesaint]

Anyone know the current price of corn per ton here in michigan?

No idea locally, but (broken link removed) shows $3.71/bushel today.

 

[Bioburner]

Wow, no wonder Detroits auto industry had a hard time. Corn in greater MN is around $130. Went under $3/bu today. Local buy price is usually about 60 cents under Chicago board of trade. I can buy for 15 to 20 cents above the elevators buy price.

 

[railfanron]

Bioburner the price I quoted is bagged in 100 lb bags from an elevator not the price paid for corn on the commodities market. You may find a farmer that will sell it bulk from his own storage bin but you would have to have a way to haul and store it.
Ron

 

[Bioburner]

Feed mill in area will bag for about $1 a bag, less if you bring back or reuse fiber sacks. I have a small gravity box (150 bu.) the elevator-mill is only two miles away. Could have gotten scorched corn for half that but had already filled the box.

 

[Bioburner]

Failure of the dryer to move corn properly causing overheating and corn getting blackened.