The Pellet Mill and Corn Crib?

[bungalobob]

Been coming here now for a few months since I ordered my wood pellet stove. Can't help but wonder about the title of this forum. Does anyone burn corn anymore? There are virtually no discussions on burning corn, just an occasional question which seems more out of curiosity from a wood pellet burner then from an actual corn burner. Is it that the cost of corn put corn burning stoves that much out of favor, and most have switched over to wood pellets? Or are they so trouble-free that their owners don't need to visit any forums?

 

[j00fek]

im sure they do in the mid west... i dont have a clue where to get corn, but if i looked hard enough id prolly get some

 

[gw2kpro]

Been coming here now for a few months since I ordered my wood pellet stove. Can't help but wonder about the title of this forum. Does anyone burn corn anymore? There are virtually no discussions on burning corn, just an occasional question which seems more out of curiosity from a wood pellet burner then from an actual corn burner. Is it that the cost of corn put corn burning stoves that much out of favor, and most have switched over to wood pellets? Or are they so trouble-free that their owners don't need to visit any forums?

Generally speaking, corn burners are more work than pellet burners as the corn comes in a lot dirtier, and leaves a lot more behind when it's done burning. While corn used to be, comparatively, almost free compared to other fuels it doesn't have that advantage anymore although prices are moderating lately.

Most corn burners are in the midwest where it's easy to obtain dried corn. When I lived in Iowa, the guys that burned corn picked it up in their pickups in bulk at the local grain elevator.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

N/E Ohio where I am surrounded by corn fields have seen a large drop in the corn price. I have a few farmers I deal with that work their burn corn. That is slow dried under 100 degrees to a moisture of approx 12%. The corn is double sifted and bagged. The going rate is around $210 a ton. Corn has storage issues and tends to bring "friends" into your area. The "friends" have friends that like to eat them. And so on and so on. Next thing you know you have an entire ecosystem in your area.

I am burning corn right now at the store because I get it cheap and make more money selling pellets.

Eric

 

[F350R]

A lot has to do with the supply of fuels in your area, here in the front range of Colorado we have access to corn and pellets. Corn as has been mentioned can be more difficult to handle and store than pellets. I have two stoves one is an American Energy Systems Magnum corn burner the other is a Country Stoves Winslow pellet burner. They both have advantages the corn burner is more work, it's manual lighting, and burns a little dirtier inside. The pellet burner is on an electronic set back thermostat in a room that doesn't circulate air well so that stove is fully automatic and runs as needed and shuts off when not needed. The corn stove puts out roughly a third more heat than the pellet stove so it is my main heat source in the main part of the house. I have a 1 ton dually which I can get two tons of corn in at a time, my yearly supply for the corn burner. I store the corn in one bay of my three car garage in one ton bulk bags that fold down and store easily when not in use. I have never had a mouse problem but do leave traps and poison out for them to eat just in case of a late night party I want them to be well fed before they find the bulk bags. Corn in this area is roughly a third cheaper than pellets, it used to be half but we all know what ethonol has done to that. If you have to buy corn in 50lb bags it will be cheaper to burn pellets, even if your thinking of burning corn / pellet mix if you have to buy corn in bags you won't be saving anything. Plain and simple bagged corn is expensive you need to be able to buy and handle it in bulk to make it work. By the way if your wondering the bulk bags are roughly 3.5ft square and about 4ft tall so they don't take up a lot of room. I have two of them along with my road bike and my ATV in the same bay of the garage. My 72 Chevelle convertable in the third bay and the wifes Jetta still has room to sleep inside in the main part of the garage, the dually sleeps outside.

 

[smoke show]

Been coming here now for a few months since I ordered my wood pellet stove. Can't help but wonder about the title of this forum. Does anyone burn corn anymore? There are virtually no discussions on burning corn, just an occasional question which seems more out of curiosity from a wood pellet burner then from an actual corn burner. Is it that the cost of corn put corn burning stoves that much out of favor, and most have switched over to wood pellets? Or are they so trouble-free that their owners don't need to visit any forums?

http://forum.iburncorn.com/

 

[hossthehermit]

Been coming here now for a few months since I ordered my wood pellet stove. Can't help but wonder about the title of this forum. Does anyone burn corn anymore? There are virtually no discussions on burning corn, just an occasional question which seems more out of curiosity from a wood pellet burner then from an actual corn burner. Is it that the cost of corn put corn burning stoves that much out of favor, and most have switched over to wood pellets? Or are they so trouble-free that their owners don't need to visit any forums?

http://forum.iburncorn.com/

Was gonna post this link but ya beat me to it. I check it frequently just 'cause there are several Revolution owners on there. Can't find corn around here, don't know if I'd burn it anyway, unless it was real cheap. Would like to find some cherry pits to try.

 

[glassman]

I am experimenting with a little corn mixed in with wood pellets. corn in northern lower michigan is slightly more than wood pellets, we have a shortage of pellets right now, most places are only allowing you to pick up 5 bags at a time. I burned 2 different brands of wood pellets 2 nights in a row. One brand burned hotter (my house thermostat said 2 degrees warmer) than the other brand, the outside temp was almost identical as was the wind. Trying right now with a little corn mixed in with the cooler burning of the 2 brands of wood pellets. I am really glad I got this pellet stove, I spend a lot of time outside snowblowing neighbors driveways, its nice to come inside and warm right up standing next to the stove.

 

[rowerwet]

MY maxim pellet boiler is also a corn burner, however the maintenance is higher from deposits left by the sugars in the corn, also corn residue is more acid? (CB manual). here in Maine corn is not much of an option, if I lived where my wife is from in central PA corn would be a good choice. (more heat per ton being the best reason)

 

[DiggerJim]

MY maxim pellet boiler is also a corn burner, however the maintenance is higher from deposits left by the sugars in the corn, also corn residue is more acid? (CB manual). here in Maine corn is not much of an option, if I lived where my wife is from in central PA corn would be a good choice. (more heat per ton being the best reason)

Actually, I believe corn has less heat (BTUs) than wood pellets. Back in the old days when I was in the corn stove business the rule of thumb was 7,000 BTU/lb of 15% corn (corn with a 15% moisture content is considered "dry"). A pound of 0% moisture corn has about 8,200 BTU which is very similar to pellets but you can't get 0% corn. So every pound you buy as a bit less than a pound of actual corn + some amount of water.

The last time I looked, OMAFRA (Ontario's version of our Dept of Agriculture) was still using the 7,000 BTU value for shelled corn - up to a max of 7,500 which is the lowest BTU rating I've seen for pellets - one of the hardwoods IIRC (most pellets come in between 8,000 -8,300 BTU/lb).

 

[webbie]

I used some straight corn (locally grown) in my Baby Countryside and it worked very well. I liked the smell.
We had a run up in the price of corn, so pellets took over.....
But now corn is coming down.

Heck, at the current price of oil and natural gas.....folks might not be using wood pellets either!

My hope is that other agri-fuels as well as mixes, etc. become more common...and, if they do, we can change the name of the forum at some time in the future.

 

[EmaZ]

In 2006, I bought a Dell Point Europa. (I know, your answer is "That's your tough luck") But persisting in my madness, I have a question about how to fix it and get it operating, yet again. Is this the correct forum where I should direct my question? My question involves the lower ash extraction and the computer control panel. I don't know if the problem is the fact that I just replaced two stripped augurs (with the help of a professional mechanic) OR if there is simply something wrong or "not tight" with the wiring of the computer control board.
Let me know if you think I can "lay my burden" in this forum. I was directed here...but it seems like you're mostly talking about fuel, not maintenance and repair. THANKS.

 

[webbie]

Emma, this is the proper forum - but start a new topic so your request will be seen. I think member Franks knows a lot about this unit!

 

[Pellet-King]

I am experimenting with a little corn mixed in with wood pellets. corn in northern lower michigan is slightly more than wood pellets, we have a shortage of pellets right now, most places are only allowing you to pick up 5 bags at a time. I burned 2 different brands of wood pellets 2 nights in a row. One brand burned hotter (my house thermostat said 2 degrees warmer) than the other brand, the outside temp was almost identical as was the wind. Trying right now with a little corn mixed in with the cooler burning of the 2 brands of wood pellets. I am really glad I got this pellet stove, I spend a lot of time outside snowblowing neighbors driveways, its nice to come inside and warm right up standing next to the stove.

Thats tough, real hard times in michigan since all the Big 3 crashing down.

 

[EmaZ]

Thanks! I need to learn how to start a new topic, I'm sure it's easy but I haven't done it before.

 

[imacman]

Thanks! I need to learn how to start a new topic, I'm sure it's easy but I haven't done it before.

Look at the top right side of the main forum page....you'll see a blue button labeled "New Topic"....hit that and fill in your Topic title at the top (include Make & Model of stove or brand of pellets, etc, etc), add your questions/comments and hit Submit at the bottom of the page.

Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy

 

[EmaZ]

Thanks! Once I saw how easy it was, I felt a bit embarrassed that I said "I need to learn..." but every site is different (have you ever tried to register for automatic payment on the ATT cell phone site? Sometimes it's easy and sometimes it's not!!...technology) Anyway, this was "way easy" and I have unloaded my startup problem into cyber land. I appreciate your patience.

 

[mr cob]

3 years burning the gold nuggets, in the Bixby

 

[briansol]

Corn is availble here, but it is more expensive than top of the line pellets. My stove can burn up to a 50/50- ratio of corn to wood, so if i need to buy wood anyway, might as well just burn 100% wood.

 

[trylon]

I burn both corn and wood pellets.- I like burning corn when its in the teens or below outside. My stove was built for both- but really like the corn flame-much more pleasing to the eye. corn produces about 10x the ash though. They say its less BTU but to me it just feels warmer when I burn corn. Keep corn crib in the forum name.

 

[teetah222]

I've never seen corn up for sale, in the Northwest, for burning in stoves. Feed bags only.

 

[curtthegreat]

I am experimenting with a little corn mixed in with wood pellets. corn in northern lower michigan is slightly more than wood pellets, we have a shortage of pellets right now, most places are only allowing you to pick up 5 bags at a time. I burned 2 different brands of wood pellets 2 nights in a row. One brand burned hotter (my house thermostat said 2 degrees warmer) than the other brand, the outside temp was almost identical as was the wind. Trying right now with a little corn mixed in with the cooler burning of the 2 brands of wood pellets. I am really glad I got this pellet stove, I spend a lot of time outside snowblowing neighbors driveways, its nice to come inside and warm right up standing next to the stove.

Where in nothern Michigan are you? There are plenty of suppliers in my area with pellets.

 

[Corny]

They don't call me Corny for nothing .

Here, corn is under $200 (+ 0 tax) per metric tonne (2205 lb) while the best pellet price is $5.35 (+ 13% tax) per 40 lb bag by the 75 bag pallet, or $5.99 by the bag. Therefore, corn still wins, but I enjoy having options.

The Bixby is a troublefree multifuel burner when properly installed. Autostarts. Autodumps the clinkers. No auger to jam. Very clean, with very little ash and clinkers when burning corn. It can be monitored and even reconfigured, or its software upgraded, by serial link to a laptop. It uses only a single burn pot. No stirrer nor need for one. Almost everything about that stove is public domain, including the compiled software and detailed illustrated repair and service procedures; all posted on a WIKI: http://forum.iburncorn.com/wiki/index.php/Bixby . No, I'm not a dealer and have no interests in the company. I'm just a happy customer. It is truly a lazy man's stove when properly setup, as another ibc member, Rona, says.

The Bixby is not the only winner. The http://forum.iburncorn.com forum has reports from many other happy users of multifuel / corn stoves. These include models of the St. Croix and the Harmon.

Note that it was announced ( http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=13721 ) that the iburncorn forum will close permanently to input within a few days. The webmaster is starting a new forum using new software.

 

[peirhead]

I burn a little corn along with my pellets as it makes the pellets slide easier in the hopper and easier to auger up. Here corn is about the same price as pellets and once the stove is burning I can go 100% corn if need be...I like ability to have an alternate if pellets go out of sight in price!!