[Pony]

The thread on corn kernel burning stoves got me to thinking...

I read in an old-timey type book of a woman who used spent corn cobs as fuel in her kitchen stove. I don't recall reading if she just used a regular wood stove, or if there is a special kind of stove for burnig cobs.

At the farm, the folx have a couple of old silos loaded with corn cobs that have been picked clean by local varmints. We were thinking it would be a good idea to utilize the cobs some way, and got to talking about the book I read (and now cannot locate).

Does anyone here have any thoughts or experience with this?

Thanks
Pony!

 

[uncle Will in In.]

We burned a lot of cobs when I was a kid. I never knew anyone who had a cob stove. We started wood fires with them and cooked with them in hot weather in a regular wood type cookstove.
Knew an old man who heated a two story apartment house with nothing but cobs. It takes heaps of them to make a lot of heat, and the fire don't last long.
They will explode in a heating stove if they are dumped in on top of hot coals. The coals cause a gas to form in the cobs. We would dump them in and pour coal oil on them right away, lighting them with a match as quick as possible.
Cobs were free for the hauling from any feed mill when farmers picked their corn on the cob instead of combining it.

 

[almostthere]

My hubby's grandma told me once about how her former husband would use cobs as fire starters, and theres also a way to make corn cob jelly, tho I have never made it or had any of it myself, just heard about it on here.

 

[rambler]

We always save a spreaderful as kindling. As the other person said, they burn fast, hot, quick, & make a lot of ash. Not really ideal for relying on for all heat, but they sure make nice kindling to get a fire going. And yes they can go Whoosh! if they smolder & release gas which then ignites.

--->Paul

 

[Pony]

Thanks so much for the input! Looks like we will be using the corn cobs for more than mulch/compost.

Re: the corn cob jelly, I know there's a recipe for that floating around here someplace, but I am sure we'd need fresher cobs than these, which are at least 4 years old.

Thanks again! :dance:

Pony!

 

[rambler]

They also make good bedding for livestock if you have any.

--->Paul

 

[UncleTom]

When i was 8 years old it was my job to get my cob wagon (radio Flyer) and cardboard boxed and haul boxes of cobs up to the house from the cob shed. About a 100 yards away. I had to fill the big metal hopper on the porch with cobs.We had a fireplace and a cookstove. I miss the warm heat. Still today i have a cob wagon, i dont haul cobs, but sometimes i wish i did.