pellet stove to corn or other non wood pellets

[coolnuke]

ok Pellet grus, what are the pros and cons of just using corn instead of pellets in a conventional pellet stove? i realize the corn would have the additional concern of burning the sugar in the kernels but is there any other issues?

ok commence discussion!!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

ok Pellet grus, what are the pros and cons of just using corn instead of pellets in a conventional pellet stove? i realize the corn would have the additional concern of burning the sugar in the kernels but is there any other issues?

ok commence discussion!!

Corrosion issues in the vent system and the stove.

 

[coolnuke]

ok what if you mixed corn and pellets?

 

[imacman]

As Smokey said, the stove & exhaust needs to be corn-rated. Corn is more $$ than wood pellets right now, unless you grow & dry your own.

Some stoves will allow up to 50/50 corn/pellets, but you still need that rating & the exhaust.

 

[jtakeman]

Most likely you won't be able to even get the corn to light without starting with pellets first. Clinkers like lava rocks and much more ash. Corn burns slower so you'll need to adjust feed or you'll get backups. Corn also burns with more corrosive that will eat at the stove and the vent. Not to mention that corn is too expensive these days

IMHO if the stove isn't rated for corn don't even bother. At best you'll be able to burn a 50/50 mix. But I'd go 60% pellets and 40% corn.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

A different burn pot to minimize corn clinker formation or allow biscuit cutting or ash extraction.

Don't forget some oyster shell or other calcium containing stove safe compound.

 

[coolnuke]

oyster shells, really?

 

[Czech]

Ah come on guys, I for one miss corn. And so do the mice in my garage. It was great when it was $1.70 a 56lb bushel, sure made the pellets go a long way. The quad had no issues with 50/50 or even more and like Smokey says, the ground oyster shell helped with clinkers. The baby has a different pot, but never used it because the last I checked corn was close to $8 a bushel and I'm getting decent pellets for sub $200 ton. The day will come again when corn doesn't get gov subsidy, but don't hold your breathe I guess. It did burn blue like a gas stove and smelled like the county fair corn booth I tell ya!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

oyster shells, really?

Available at any store that sells chicken feed .

 

[DexterDay]

If your stove isn't rated for burning Corn (and your venting) its better off you avoid it.

If a problem were to arise and you were burning a fuel that your stove is NOT UL Listed for, it will cause certain issues will your insurance agent

Corn stoves burn corn (multi fuel) and need the proper venting required to do so.

That said, Corn is a great fuel and a 50/59 mix in my Quad was a Dream. Great Heat and a White firebox!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I had a US stove 6041 and when burning corn I used the corn program which change the auger speed for corn. The burn pot had a pot stirrer to breakup the huge corn clinkers and if that was not enough, I had to run the damper wide open to get enough air to burn the corn without it backing up. Also I only had a 250 watt igniter that is not high enough to start 100 percent corn, you need a 525 watt ignitor for that. Then the white starch in the corn is soo messy. The premium corn that is dry enough to burn cost me $12.00 per bag and it must be stored where bugs and rodents cannot get to it! What a PITA ! ! !

So I sold the stove and made a few bucks on it.

 

[nailed_nailer]

Dex no wonder you liked corn so much
You had it running at 109% (50+59 mix)

j/k

My stove and vent are rated for it but never tried.

---Nailer---

 

[Don2222]

Dex no wonder you liked corn so much
You had it running at 109% (50+59 mix)

j/k

My stove and vent are rated for it but never tried.

---Nailer---

Hey Nailer

Can you try it and tell us how it works. What is the wattage of your M55 ignitor? ? ?
see pics of mine. (Show your corn mode post)
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...lti-fuel-burning-100-corn.91043/#post-1191406

 

[nailed_nailer]

Hey Nailer

Can you try it and tell us how it works. What is the wattage of your M55 ignitor? ? ?
see pics of mine. (Show your corn mode post)
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/...lti-fuel-burning-100-corn.91043/#post-1191406

Lets see Don....

---Corn 2x the price of pellets
---Need to add calcium to mix to prevent clinkering
---Slimy grimy ash plugging up the stove and combustion path
---Stove and vent corrosion issues


Think I'll pass.
Pellets are in abundance here why mess up a good thing.

According to my manual my igniter is 400 watt
---Nailer---

 

[Bioburner]

Come on, who doesn't like uninvited guests, moths to entertain the cat, mice to swipe the carmels and plug the stove fresh air intake, tree rat chewing its way into the garage to upset the dog and pee on the cabin air intake of the car while it eats the insulation off the wiring like a five year old through licorce. I miss the blue flame but not that much.

 

[PoolGuyinCT]

Quad castile can burn others fuels besides wood,

Unfortunately the dealer made point of this when selling & did not install multi fuel safe vent on my insert.

Embarrassingly it took me a few seasons to realize this, fortunately I've only torched anew sacks of novelty chery pits...

Sometimes I'm tempted to rip him a new one for fun, but its been 6 years, 4 of which I was uneducated typical homeowners sucker. I say this being a contractor who puts faith in other contractors knowledge and ethics, shame on me.

 

[Bioburner]

Thats why one can now get some first hand knowledge of the stove and possible installations before going blindly into market and getting bambouzzled. This site seems to keep its cool and give help without to much bias.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Snip ... This site seems to keep its cool and give help without to much bias.

Hey what ya mean by that? What's this cool stuff? We are all about heat and plenty of it? You are on the wrong site for cool. That is handled on FreezersRus.com .

 

[Bioburner]

Seems that people are feeding thier window acs with pellets and burning the house down.Cool or hot?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Seems that people are feeding thier window acs with pellets and burning the house down.Cool or hot?

Bad stuff.

 

[Don2222]

It must be installed safely, something the firemen may not be able to tell from all the damage!