anyone mixing corn with there pellets?

[becausemywifecanoperateit]

i am currently running 25% corn, but i am witholding my results until some people chime in !

 

[Xena]

A couple years ago I ran a 50/50 mix.. My stove is approved by the Mfg to
do so. Now that I get my pellets delivered for a nice
price I have zero desire to borrow my sisters truck to run to
the feed/grain place for corn. If it was dirt cheap then I might
be inclined but the last quote I got was $7.50 for a 50lb bag.

 

[Metal]

Corn has definitely become less financially attractive as of late. Some people have great luck with it and use it with no problems, others have issues with vent corrosion due to the byproducts of the corn combustion.

 

[mkmh]

Always wanted to try mixing in some corn, but I have never been able to find it for a decent price. Until I am able to find it for less than wood pellets i'll probably hold off. I've heard that it is a bit messier to burn, and that you need to sift out the fines before you burn it.

 

[jtp10181]

We burned 100% corn in our Mt Vernon AE showroom unit for quite a while. That stuff makes a huge mess when it burns, and this was high quality prepped for burning corn. Unless its half the price of wood pellets I would never use it myself.

 

[Czech]

Been burning corn for 3 years now in the Quad Castile, usually I mix with pellets, but will burn 100% when it is cold and I can run the stove full time (100% will not auto ignite). It does burn a bit dirtier than premium pellets and takes a bit more work, but I can usaully get it for cheap from a friend and I like the way it burns. I haven't quite figured this out as I know BTU's are BTU's, but for some reason it burns hotter in my stove than pellet, I will get occasional high temp shut downs only when I burn 100% corn. May be it feeds more? Lastly, the vent and stove are fine after 3 years, I used the Selkirk vent and I cannot discern any corrosion at all (I took it apart prior to this season to inspect for this reason). I would say as long as you're not messing up your warrenty and you do so safely, try stuff! Heck, even dog food lights up pretty good!

 

[smirnov3]

I would say as long as you're not messing up your warrenty and you do so safely, try stuff! Heck, even dog food lights up pretty good!

What, you got your hands on that melamine contaminated dog food that the pet stores were throwing away?

 

[tinkabranc]

Upon purchasing my XXV the dealer told us we could burn a corn/pellet 25/75 mix in
this stove if we wanted to. But after seeing the price of corn around my area I
have not bothered to consider it. I also do not want to take the chance of my
warranty being voided because I burned corn in a pellet stove.

 

[Czech]

You catch on quick, Anton! Seriously, I've played with lots of stuff that can burn, only certain things burn and/or feed well tho. My thinking is that any pellet stove will potentialy burn any pelletized fuel (softwater salt is NOT a fuel!), but watch the safety and warrenty, and only certain things burn well and are cost effective. I've mixed sunflower seeds, oats, even soy beans with pellets with little problems other than how often you need to clean. Btw, when I typed 'try stuff' above I meant in the burn pot, not through the auger, and go a little at a time. A cup full of sunflower in the pot all at once and I promise you that you'll have a pellet stove doing a very nice but very inefficient secondary burn. Don't ask.

 

[becausemywifecanoperateit]

well.......the mix i tried(25 corn-75 pellet) was.......dare i say .......impressive!..........holy cow does it throw heat!.........i have one of those stack temp guages stuck on the side of my stove.......on average.......it runs 75 to 100 degrees hotter!........the neat thing is, the haze you get on the door glass wipes right of with a rag.........when running just pellets, the haze needs windex to come off.........i was truly amazed at the heat output at lower settings.........this blend did not affect the autostart either.........ash in the stove was no different than pellets........the corn did prevent the huge orange glowing patty i was getting after an all night burn.........the 8 bucks i paid for a 50 pound bag was well worth the extra heat output.......and 50 lbs lasted quit a while at 25% ratio.......so there ya go!

 

[zogboy]

I burn a 50/50 corn and pellet mix in the workshop and 100% corn in my home.
I am paying $180 a ton for corn delivered and $245 for the pellets delivered.
I burn about 100 lbs of corn a day in my home 7-24.
The workshop is heated only 1 or 2 days a week if needed.