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Corn Burner

Gregor62
Thinking of heating with one of these. Any Brand input or pros-cons?
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9 comments

Date Votes
  • spasmcreek
    corn price is going up...have to factor that in...% of moisture of corn you burn has to be right or heat is consumed in eliminating it..need clean corn, no chemicals as in old seed corn, rather have an outside wood burner (safety factor) that you could use different kinds of fuel, not committed to one thing like corn or pellets...my 2cts
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  • River Rat
    It's a pellet stove that is also rated to burn pea coal or corn. I've been out of the business for years, so am out of touch with brands. Personally, I do not like pellet stoves -- too expensive, too many moving parts, need a lot of cleaning, and don't work when the power goes out. But if you have a lot of corn around, you can turn it into heat. If you are not a corn farmer, or can't get it for next-to-nothing, you might look for other options.
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  • Gregor62
    Thanks for the input. I've heard the word "cleaning" twice more than wanted in the posts.
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  • ww2buff9067
    A friend of ours tried a corn burner in his heated horse barn. He also had a propane forced-air heater. When he was running the corn burner the propane unit was turned off, and vice versa. His discovery was that initial cost wise, the propane heater was a much better buy, as the corn burner cost him about 3000 clams just for the unit. As mentioned earlier, the price of corn is a factor as well. Notwithstanding the initial buy-in costs, dollar-for-dollar the propane unit and the corn burner were about even in everyday operating costs. But, as stated earlier, the corn burner is a LOT of work to maintain and clean, and more expensive to get operational.

    Hope this helps....

    Mike
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  • Gregor62
    Point taken. Guess the outside unit might be the direction I'll go. Propane in my area is no bargain $2.29 a gallon. B.S.
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  • spasmcreek
    have central heat unit (propane) at our lake cabin & am considering a ventless 99% efficient unit to thermo on first then central unit to kick in if needed on top of that...guessing central unit at 40%??? efficient...this idea should save some $$ & provide heat also if elec goes off...would this idea benefit your deal??? any suggestions from all??
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  • ccddbb95448
    You need one of these
    http://www.freeheatmachine.com/
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  • gunnut505
    Backup Power.
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  • Mobuck
    I've had a corn furnace for 2 years and I'm glad it paid for itself the first 2 years. It's not going to save much with corn pushing $4. I have developed spinal problems and handling the corn has become a big pain, literally. Although they don't require much care, there IS some tending required. Unless you have a power transfer system you have to pack the corn to the hopper and about every 4-7 days carry out the clinkers. Some are self starting and some need a special sequence to light. Mine uses a timer to maintain a "pilot" by running the combustion fan and feed auger. On warm days it uses less corn but may cause the house to be too warm. You can shut it down and restart each evening but that's pretty slow to warm the system back up. If you happen to have a grouch attack (spouse) like mine, you have to keep an eye on it and if you are away for a few days you need some sort of back up.
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