So, about these "Multifuel stoves?"

[Dave M]

I bought the Enviro Maxx multifuel stove, I like it. But, I've only used wood pellets so far. I don't see anybody talking about how much better alternate fuels are. Anyone using anything other than wood, and prefer it? What makes it better, in what ways? Corn, cherry pits, grass seed, etc.. Are they worth the trouble? Where do you even find the stuff?

I did read about a grass seed guy in my area. I contacted him, and he says he's gonna throw me a couple of free bags. Now if I could only get the stove settings right, not sure what to do on that either. Hopefully I'll figure it out, and let you guys know how it went.

 

[mithesaint]

To me, the nice thing about a multi fuel stove is the fact that they'll burn any pellet out there, and go for a long time between cleanings. Less fussy then most pellet stoves, and thus make life easier.

Unless you know of a fuel readily available in your area, wood pellets are the way to go. Corn is still more expensive and has storage issues, cherry pits are usually only available in certain areas like northern MI. Grass pellets are pretty ashy and will greatly increase the amount of cleaning you need to do. I burned a few bags of weed seed pellets, but the ash levels were off the charts. More ash in two bags of weed seed pellets than in an entire ton of wood pellets. I've seen posts of members burning cotton seed (hulls?) and Snowy burns nut shells.

Hope that helps.

 

[Bioburner]

Corn has come way down, but to get the best deal on it you need to handle it in bulk. At current market corn would cost about 3.28 for 40lbs,165 a ton. Its a dense fuel so those using a ESP stove wont be just getting a lot more heat but an extended burn time. Negitive is the varmits and possible bugs it can attract. Some batches can have a fair amount of fines so screening may be required. Stoves need to have the air slowed down a bit to burn corn and the ignition temp is around 800 degrees so startup times are a bit longer.

 

[Dave M]

Thanks guys, looks like I'm sticking to wood.

 

[jtakeman]

We had a grass thread a few seasons back. Posted the ash content and it scared us. We all went back to wood pellets. But good to know we have options if we ever need them. We checked out the mill where DJ was making them. We tried to make coffee ground pellets. Had a hoot too!

I agree that a multifueler has nice benefits when burning wood pellets, Even the dirty ones run for days in my stove without messing with the burnpot. Agitator keeps it clean on the fly. I have tried about everything I can lay my hands on just to see how they burned in my beast. Wood pelllets are the cleanest even the standard grade was better than Grass pellets. corn is decent at 1.2% ash content. Grass was between 2 and 3 % ash content. Leaves were over 2%. I tried a few other grains. But they are real pricey(don't remember the ash content off hand).

I'm still trying to find a bamboo pellet, If scored cheap enough they may be worth playing with. Ash was in the approx. range of corn.

 

[allied35]

I have got a VF55 and we burn a 50/50 corn pellet mix. Stove puts out a lot more heat with the corn mixed in, and like others have said we only have to clean it about once a week. It also eats everything I can put in the hopper.

 

[briansol]

keep in mind that the venting also needs to be multi-fuel rated...

 

[allied35]

Forgot to mention that I get corn for free just a little labor on the farm... So the cost is not a factor.

 

[ivanhoe]

keep in mind that the venting also needs to be multi-fuel rated...

X2, by having a multi-fuel vent it opens up your options down the road if the need arises. I'm leaning that way also when the Fahrenheit furnace ever gets installed.

 

[iron stove]

Does anybody have a picture or VIDEO of the agitator working in a Harman PC45 ? Ive never seen one in my area.

 

[Bioburner]

Its just a rod with fingers that goes on the end of the auger extending out through the burn pot so when the auger turns so does the rod-finger assembly.

 

[iron stove]

Its just a rod with fingers that goes on the end of the auger extending out through the burn pot so when the auger turns so does the rod-finger assembly.

Ok, I see. When I bought my P-43, not a single dealer in our area stocked a 45. Not enough demand and a bunch extra cash for a area only really serviced with pellets.

 

[krooser]

Try a 50/50 corn/pellet mix...

 

[serveprotect]

Anyone burn different fuels in a mt. Vernon? I am intrigued with the idea of corn as it is grown everywhere around me. Is it better to mix it with pellets or run it straight? How do you compare the BTUs of corn vs wood and where is the cheapest place to buy it. I am guessing it needs to be dried before burning and buying directly from a farmer may not work.

 

[allied35]

Anyone burn different fuels in a mt. Vernon? I am intrigued with the idea of corn as it is grown everywhere around me. Is it better to mix it with pellets or run it straight? How do you compare the BTUs of corn vs wood and where is the cheapest place to buy it. I am guessing it needs to be dried before burning and buying directly from a farmer may not work.

My in-laws burn 100% corn in an older Mt. vernon, it puts out a ton of heat and they do have to clean out the clinker at least once a day but they grow and dry there own corn. Also the auto ignite does not work with all corn, they put a handful of pellets in the pot and it works fine though. I would guess the cheapest place to buy would be direct from a farmer, make sure it is dry though, we dry ours to about 12% and it seems to work well.

 

[Bioburner]

In order to store corn without it molding in the bin needs to be 13 percent or less. So bin run corn most of time is ok. Sometimes the addition of some pellets keep the pot from having a hard clinker.

 

[Bioburner]

Does anybody have a picture or VIDEO of the agitator working in a Harman PC45 ? Ive never seen one in my area.

with and without the reflecting grate to get straight corn with its higher ignition temp to burn better

 

[iron stove]

Ok, I see. Pretty big burn pot. How good does it work with pellets only, and on a low burn ? I like my 43, but a 45 would be cool for burning those junk pellets out there.

 

[Bioburner]

There is a separate pot for burning pellets and then don't need the end as the ash will just fall off the end. I burnt an average of 1.4 bags per day of some pretty ashy pellets that required ash pan dumping after 40 bags. But I also have the crosslink that the stove bumps the feed rate up a bit to keep the ESP happy. Also have the kit that has a different exhaust fan plate to up the stove btu rating to 50,000. I have the stove feed rate set to 3 and let it go. Set the ignitor to manual and let the slab soak up the heat for the long winter nights.