who burns CORN?

[Slev]

well hell, with everyone wanting to know whats being burnt, I thought I'd throwout what I'm burning, ...CORN while it's our main source of heat, we do have a forced air furnace as back up. When we put it in, we went from 5.5 500lb. tanks of gas to about 2 tanks per year.....! big savings even when the cost of corn goes up

[chas]

Where do you get your supply?How dry does it need to be?Did you get a noisy fan or the quieter one?And what brand?Is there more or less ash than pellet only?
I don't see myself cutting firewood forever and am intrested in a corn wood pellet type for a proposed sun room and conecting kitchen.will have french doors between that can be shut as needed.
And thanks for any direction
Chas

[Slev]

Mine is by American Energy Systems it's a Magnum 75000 http://www.magnumheat.com/magnum7500.cfm mine hooks up to the whole house, but I have friends who have the smaller unit and it heats fine. They actually produce less ash and burn hotter than wood or wood pellets alone. But you do need the pellets at least to start the unit, then depending upon how dry the corn is in your area, I have to add a cup or two per 5 gallon bucket and use a cordless drill and drywall mud mixer to mix it up quick. Then I also cheat and just use a mapp gas torch to really heat things up fast, fast... I have a friend who sells Hearty outside water boiler and guess what, he concerted his over to burn corn. Corn is too easy in Illinois to get. He lives in town and hooks up a gravity wagon and fills it directly to his outdoor unit. I buy 3 ton at a time and get a discount for bulk rather than 50 lb. bags but either way you save hundreds $$$$ per season

[GoldenMom]

We have an AMAIZING Heat, about 5-6 years old. It's very quiet (can't tell it's running). I've had a love/hate relationship with it. HATED it with a passion the first winter (the previous owners put it in and we only got a cursory education). Liked it OK the next winter. LOVED it last winter (partly because we got a bulk bin with an auger into the house!). It doesn't keep up with our sieve of a house when it's windy, but it works great no matter how cold if it's not windy.

Unfortunately we won't be using it this year . Corn is $3.10/bushel right now so Dad isn't going to give us our normal wagon load of corn (it's usually about half that price this time of year in Iowa. I know we could go buy it from the elevator, but at that price I don't think it will save us any money and will be more work than the propane.

[highplains]

We burn corn and it keeps our 2200 sq feet house pretty darn warm. Wish I had more ceiling fans to circulate it though. We had a primary oil heat forced air furnace, we used about 500-700 gallons a winter. Now with the corn stove we use about 1-1.5 dump wagons worth (100 bushel). The stove has paid for itself in 3 years, and that is with keeping it warmer as well. It doesn't keep up when the winds are howling outside, and we kick in the oil furnace as well. We are working on replacing windows next year, and I am guessing that after proper window installation AND some extra caulking, the corn stove should keep up fine then.
I am a firm believer in them - heat my house for corn raised on only an acre or acre and a half of land. This is how we can eliminate at least some of the foreign oil - and SUPPORT farmers at the same time without subsidies. The only problem is burning FOOD, just doesn't seem right, but when corn was and is comparitively cheap to other sources, and I know that I have done my part to keep a few guardsmen home working regular jobs.

[comfortablynumb]

i discovered yesterday that hay cubes burn fantastic.

i had a bag that got a litte damp and went smelly, so i dried them out and wow... those things burn like BBq char coal....

we might be onto an alternative heat supplement fuel for the old wood stove.

[brosil]

Has anyone tried burning grain sorgum? I've been thinking along those lines since the grain is very round and smooth and more easily harvested by combine. I know it's not a popular grain but I thought I'd ask.

[fantasymaker]

corn = $3.50 55lbs to the bushel = 6.36 cents per Lb
Propane =$1.50 a gal 4.5 lb per gal =33.3 cents per lb
fuel oils at $2.50 8.45 =29.58
Coal at $200 a ton =10
Oak at $200 a cord 4800 lbs =4.16
Your mileage may vary

[Highground]

Dried cow patties= free

[crashy]

Ok so the corn is like those wood pellets? And you burn them in pellet stoves?
Can you burn corn in a wood stove? What would happen if you burn cobs? Or the whole ear dried of course. Would it make popcorn?LOL You would have the best smelling somke around!! LOL
If corn can heat like wood I am tempted to plant a bunch of corn and try it out.

[mrglock27]

I think the corn cobs would burn very fast and hot, I'm just guessing because i've never actually burned them. I use dried blackberry canes as kindling and they work great.

[highplains]

Yep dried corn kernels burn great & hot. Cobs burn hot and quick - watch your exaust gas temp on the wood stove!

I did get some corn for our stove, that did have some popcorn in it. As it left the auger to the burn area it popped. Outside it is a pleasant smell, NOT like burned popcorn, since it burns off almost all the gases since the fire is so hot in the cornstove.
If you can get cobs - ask a neighbor and try to get some leftovers from a field. Free trial run that way.
Lots of people out here in SD and western MN heated with corn cobs in the wood stoves, helped get the heat up more quickly and get the wood going as well then.

Originally Posted by crashy

Ok so the corn is like those wood pellets? And you burn them in pellet stoves?
Can you burn corn in a wood stove? What would happen if you burn cobs? Or the whole ear dried of course. Would it make popcorn?LOL You would have the best smelling somke around!! LOL
If corn can heat like wood I am tempted to plant a bunch of corn and try it out.

[comfortablynumb]

Dried cow patties

Ive tried dry horse turds... they burn good too.
if i was a little more clever, I could invent a press to shovel in fresh horse apples, and press a loaf sized cake out the other end for sun drying.

considering how much a horse puts out.... its an interesting possibility.
cow... sun dried inthe field seems to be the less messy alternitive. lol

corn cobs! yes they burn reely well, the old guy I get my hay from tosses them out in a heap an I get a few bags now and then when I think about it.

lots of interesting things to burn....