Trying Corn in My Omega

[jtakeman]

Morning All,

I picked up 5 50Lb. bags($6.00 a bag $240/ton) of corn from a local farmer yesterday. Going to try them for a while. I am posting these for other folks with multi fuel stoves. I for one,, Don't want to get stuck with just pellets. So if pellets go thru the roof again. I will have something to keep the house warm and still be able to afford a STEAK(with some good beer) every now and then.

My first fire started a little slower than the pellets would, But not that much(I have never timed them, just seemed slower). So far I have very good heat from them. The clinkers are there already. There is a;so a lot of unburned corn in the ash pan, The little critters are flying everywhere. Most flew out on the startup. But I still see them hit the agitator and fly over the burn pot cover. They seem to bounce more than a pellet would!

Here are my settings Multifuel mode on 3-5. Draft is the same as pellets. Mode is On/Off. (might give it a little more draft later or try 3-3 setting. there is a black film already on the glass.)

Has anyone else burned corn in an Omega??

I also plan on finding and trying other grains. Wheat and Barley are next on my list. Looking for a local Co-Op in NorthWestern CT. Anyone know of any???

jay

 

[jtakeman]

Any corn burner's here???

 

[woodsman23]

I burn a mix of corn and pellets 60% pellets 40% corn, i burn in manual setting and it works well. Corn here is 100# sacks for 9.90. I will be using again next year unless pellets stay at to high a price then its back to wood.

 

[jtakeman]

I burn a mix of corn and pellets 60% pellets 40% corn, i burn in manual setting and it works well. Corn here is 100# sacks for 9.90. I will be using again next year unless pellets stay at to high a price then its back to wood.

That's why I'm experimenting with corn. I"m burning 100% corn right now. Getting good heat from it. But it is messier for sure. My price here is $240/ton $200 if I buy bulk.

Its still better than wood for me. I got to build a cleaner. Even though he is screening it, it still has fines. I can feed the screenings to the chickens save me a little in feed cost!

jay

 

[woodsman23]

My stove says a 50/50 mix and no more. I agree with it being a bit more messy but the deer love anything i spill. The corn i get is right from the plant loaded right into bags as you wait. I don't have a ton price. The clinkers are also there but they are not a big deal. The corn i gat has very little fines in it.

 

[jtakeman]

Mine comes right from the farm. I could still see the stubs from last years harvest. He was Telling me how much hotter corn burns than pellets, Funny the guy at the pellet house was saying the exact opposite. When I get my temp gun fixed I get some heat values to compare.

Seems to be a good option for me. I really like the fact that it only takes a year to grow the next batch. Not like trees taking 25 to 30 years.

jay

 

[chrisasst]

bet you are going to get sick of eating all that popcorn,,,,

 

[jtakeman]

bet you are going to get sick of eating all that popcorn,,,,

Come on over(if you bring beer), I'll share! lol

Update:

I'm going to have to build a screen or cleaner before I burn any more. But seem to burn good on the 3-3 multifuel setting. I also gave it more air(mag stting to 15.0) to help the dirty burn, Black soot on the glass issue. I've cleaned the glass and ran another 30 LBS. or so and the glass is still clean and doesn't seem to have as much black stuff flying around. Off to find info on a corn cleaner!

I couldn't beleive the crap stuck on the agitator. Hard crusty stuff. Harder than the clinkers

jay

 

[Benski]

I couldn't beleive the crap stuck on the agitator. Hard crusty stuff. Harder than the clinkers

jay

Jay,

You said you bought the corn directly from a farmer. Do you know the moisture content your corn was at?

We are growing corn on our farm and we want the grains to be at 15,5 - 16,5% moisture to conserve good quality feed when the spring comes back (change in temperatures causes condensation in the grain, so we have to vent the silos to bring the mass of grain to a uniform temperature in the entire silo). Etc, etc...

Having said that, I thought the pellets needed to be at something like 10-12% moisture. Is it the same with corn?

I think I might try running the dryer a little longer this fall for one batch (10t ) to see if I can easily dry further than normally (I don't think that should be too much of a problem).

On another matter: You are mentionning about having to clean your corn. We have a grain cleaning system in our dryer that consists of a perforated plate (just smaller holes than a whole corn grain) surrounding a screw auger. I was thinking of burning the broken grains that are removed by the dryer. Of course, I would have to separate corn bran and "dust" like grains from just unbroken smaller grains...

But I need to buy a stove first!

Lot's of work ahead (I need to dig the basement to create some more space for the stove).

Thanks,

Ben

 

[jtakeman]

Local farmer had his moisture at around 12%. He has been drying it to that for a while now.

The Premium pelets should have a moisture content around 5% or its not considered premium! Ultra Premium is less.

I screened it to 5/16 dia screen. Farmer has also dropped his screen size to the same. He had other complaints. He was at 1/4 inch dia. Little pieces where making my auger stick a little. Anything larger is not an issue. Stove ran with no issues after screening to that size. It will depend on the stove you get.

Good luck
jay

 

[geek]

my Santa Fe can also burn corn, wondering if any santa fe users here that can share their experience with corn.

 

[jtakeman]

Local farmer had his moisture at around 12%. He has been drying it to that for a while now.

The Premium pelets should have a moisture content around 5% or its not considered premium! Ultra Premium is less.

I screened it to 5/16 dia screen. Farmer has also dropped his screen size to the same. He had other complaints. He was at 1/4 inch dia. Little pieces where making my auger stick a little. Anything larger is not an issue. Stove ran with no issues after screening to that size. It will depend on the stove you get.

Good luck
jay

hows the corn tested for moisture content?

I think he invested in the testing equipment over the summer. Previosly was sent to a lab. Each dryer batch was sampled.

I only took his word on it. But it burn decent!

jay

 

[Benski]

hows the corn tested for moisture content?

I use a Dole 400 moisture tester that's got a 0,5% moisture content accuracy. It uses grain capacitance through a very precise mass of grain kernels. That's converted into % Moisture on the Rotary knob (as seen here: (broken link removed)).

Ben

 

[peirhead]

I get my corn from a local animal feed supplier in 80lb bags for about $13 Cdn comparable to the 6.50/40 lb bag I pay for pellets. I run about 70/30 pellets to corn...I find the corn "dust" is a good lubricant and helps the pellets to slide easily in the hopper. No clinker issues with the quad as long as I dump the burn pot regularly.

 

[jtakeman]

I get my corn from a local animal feed supplier in 80lb bags for about $13 Cdn comparable to the 6.50/40 lb bag I pay for pellets. I run about 70/30 pellets to corn...I find the corn "dust" is a good lubricant and helps the pellets to slide easily in the hopper. No clinker issues with the quad as long as I dump the burn pot regularly.

I can get it for $6.00 per 50LBS. bag. $240 for a ton. I have run both straight corn and mixed with pellets. My stove really liked the 60/40 pellet to corn mix.

I have also heard of some corn burners adding some corn oil to there corn. Supposed to help the burn and auger sticking issues. But I haven't found out how they mix it or the amount there adding. I really don't feel its worth it do to the cost of the oil. Has anyone else heard about this???

jay

 

[smoke show]

If you really want a vast wealth of knowledge about corn burning visit www.iburncorn.com forums. Those guys are die hards.

 

[jtakeman]

If you really want a vast wealth of knowledge about corn burning visit www.iburncorn.com forums. Those guys are die hards.

I have browsed over there, But I like it here better! :coolsmile:

 

[sinnian]

I am interested in seeing some results of long term corn burning to see if the reports of burning corn being corrosive and eating away the burn pot, flue, etc.

 

[fedtime]

I have two questions:

1. Can you burn corn in a Harman Accentra? If so, what percentage is OK?
2. Does anyone know where you can buy corn suitable for burning in pellet stoves in Nova Scotia? There was a place in the valley last year advertising corn for sale, but their price was pretty close to that of pellets so I did not even try it.

But with pellets at the outrageous price of $6.25 per bag this year (and only headed further higher), I'm prepared to give it a try.

 

[Scoop]

Some things I learned from burning corn last year.

You need pellets to start your corn, and then you should have at least 20 per cent pellets in the corn mixture. If you burn straight corn you are going to have a clinker mess. If you add oyster shell (chicken scratch), no clinkers but a lot of ash.

Corn is a little bit cheaper than pellets and in my opinion b urns hotter. However the residue l;eaves your stove a lot dirtier.

You have to have an agitator in your firebox to burn corn.

 

[jtakeman]

I have two questions:

1. Can you burn corn in a Harman Accentra? If so, what percentage is OK?
2. Does anyone know where you can buy corn suitable for burning in pellet stoves in Nova Scotia? There was a place in the valley last year advertising corn for sale, but their price was pretty close to that of pellets so I did not even try it.

But with pellets at the outrageous price of $6.25 per bag this year (and only headed further higher), I'm prepared to give it a try.

I see no mension of corn in the manual. You can contact your local dealer to be sure. But I would say no to corn.

If the corn is not locally grown, It would probably be to costly to burn. There is also added mess and cleaning required.

jay

 

[jtakeman]

[quote author="Scoop" date="1254555152"]Some things I learned from burning corn last year.

You need pellets to start your corn........ quote]

It all depends on your stove. My Omega has an ignitor designed to start straight corn without any pellets.

 

[Benski]

Any corn burner's here???

Jake,

Tonight I started my stove with a mixture of pellets and corn at 1:1 ratio. Stove is set at 3-3 and multi-fuel setting. I do see burning dust particles flying around above the burn pot. But not that bad.

I have a magnehelic gage but didn't check the draft yet. The chimney is 34ft tall with a 4in SS liner in it. I may have too much draft but I don't know. Just by looking at the flame, it looks very good. And plenty of heat, can't really tell the difference from 100% pellets.

I had to clean the grain because it had lots of dust and broken grains. I have one whole drying batch of it (about 10t), but it is from a poorly drained field so yield and crop quality were poor. It took some 5h to dry it to 15% moisture (usually takes some 2h!). I am therefore left with kernels rather small and some of them are dark brown due to excessive drying time (and probably a little too hot in the dryer).

Anyways, I just wanted to add that I used my shopvac to clean the grains (with a 3X3X2in ABS Y pipe) and that trick worked like a charm.

I'll report my findings later on.

Bye,

Ben

 

[imacman]

I bought a 50 lb. bag of corn back when I first got my 10-cpm Englander, and found out that burning straight corn w/o any oyster shell was a BIG MESS!

Since I didn't have any oystershell, I tried running a mixture of corn/pellets at the same ratio as Jay mentioned (approx. 60/40 pellet to corn), and that worked great! No clinker, and as has been mentioned, the little bit of corn dust left after I ran the mixture through my cleaner made everything slide easier in the hopper.

As far as burning, even though I was burning mostly pellets, I left the stove in corn mode....the stirrer runs more, and seemed to keep the burnpot in good condition.....heat was good.

All in all, unless I found a source of cheaper corn, I'll stick w/ pellets for now....but at least i know i can burn straight corn if the need ever arose.

Jay, PM if you want info on the pellet (and corn) cleaner I made.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I burn a mix of corn and pellets 60% pellets 40% corn, i burn in manual setting and it works well. Corn here is 100# sacks for 9.90. I will be using again next year unless pellets stay at to high a price then its back to wood.

That's why I'm experimenting with corn. I"m burning 100% corn right now. Getting good heat from it. But it is messier for sure. My price here is $240/ton $200 if I buy bulk.

Its still better than wood for me. I got to build a cleaner. Even though he is screening it, it still has fines. I can feed the screenings to the chickens save me a little in feed cost!

jay

Remember to watch the protein and calcium levels if you make a habit of using that as scratch/treats and are keeping layers. I have a small flock for eggs and amusement.