Corn Fired Home Furnaces

[John Pascarella]

Does anyone have any experience with the furnaces that burn dried corn
instead of wood pellets? I am considering installing one in my home, but
I am having trouble finding any objective opinions and information on
them. If anyone uses them, or has in the past, I would like to hear your
experiences and opinions on them. Thanks.

 

[Perry Noid]

Does anyone have any experience with the furnaces that burn dried corn
instead of wood pellets? I am considering installing one in my home, but
I am having trouble finding any objective opinions and information on
them. If anyone uses them, or has in the past, I would like to hear your
experiences and opinions on them. Thanks.

I looked into this. Corn actually takes more fuel to produce corn than
is in the corn, however since the US government subsidises corn farmers,
it is economical burn corn, that is until corn furnaces become too
popular and the government clamps down. A corn furnace is yet another
way to get on the government tit /

However a corn furnace is probably the most economical way to have a
huge food stockpile, one that gets rotated without having to eat old
food all the time / rotated without even eating it. If you had a big
storage thingy, you could afford to wait a year or two for corn prices
to hit a low and then stock up. What kind of food stockpile would you be
happy to have when tshtf?


Are there furnaces that can burn wood chips? from a wood chipper? How
many companies is it an expense to get rid of wood chips? It might be
possible to get wood chips real cheap.

 

[[email protected]]

Does anyone have any experience with the furnaces that burn dried corn
instead of wood pellets? I am considering installing one in my home, but
I am having trouble finding any objective opinions and information on
them. If anyone uses them, or has in the past, I would like to hear your
experiences and opinions on them. Thanks.

My neighbor has one, is extremely happy with it 5 years into ownership.
The only problem he's had was when a work-glove got into the hopper,
shearing the shear-pin on the auger and requiring a bit of creative
language to remove it.

I'll most likely have a pellet/corn furnace installed before this
winter; haven't got any specific brands in mind yet though.

A tip which you might find useful - contact your local coop, see if
they have any (un-treated) leftover seed corn from the previous
year. They won't sell it as seed corn this year, because the
germination rates are too low, and you may be able to buy it for
even less than feed corn.

For me, wood pellets are interesting but corn is where it's at.
Mainly this is due to local availability. I wonder if any of
them burn soybeans?

Dave Hinz
(Wisconsin, USA)

 

[[email protected]]

I looked into this. Corn actually takes more fuel to produce corn than
is in the corn,

Cite, please?

however since the US government subsidises corn farmers,
it is economical burn corn, that is until corn furnaces become too
popular and the government clamps down. A corn furnace is yet another
way to get on the government tit /

If out of pocket expense is less per BTU than, say, propane, I don't
care why the cost is less, I'm gonna burn it...when I'm being too lazy
to make firewood, that is.

Dave Hinz

 

[Scott]

WHAT??? There are people STILL farming in Wisconsin?



Scott, Wisconsin (Bloomer)

My neighbor has one, is extremely happy with it 5 years into ownership.
The only problem he's had was when a work-glove got into the hopper,
shearing the shear-pin on the auger and requiring a bit of creative
language to remove it.

I'll most likely have a pellet/corn furnace installed before this
winter; haven't got any specific brands in mind yet though.

A tip which you might find useful - contact your local coop, see if
they have any (un-treated) leftover seed corn from the previous
year. They won't sell it as seed corn this year, because the
germination rates are too low, and you may be able to buy it for
even less than feed corn.

For me, wood pellets are interesting but corn is where it's at.
Mainly this is due to local availability. I wonder if any of
them burn soybeans?

Dave Hinz
(Wisconsin, USA)

--

Scott
http://corbenflyer.tripod.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ParasolAirplanes
Building RV-4
Gotta Fly or Gonna Die!

 

[Bob Adkins]

Mainly this is due to local availability. I wonder if any of
them burn soybeans?

Whoo! That's gotta stink!

Bob

 

[Steve Spence]

worse than fuel oil? why not soybean oil?

 

[Bob Adkins]

worse than fuel oil? why not soybean oil?

Well, the oil in soybeans burns with little odor. However, the high protein
solids in the bean would certainly stink to high heaven. Perhaps a catalytic
insert in the stove pipe would burn it completely and reduce the smell.

Bob

 

[[email protected]]

WHAT??? There are people STILL farming in Wisconsin?

Well, most of what I can see out the window is corn or wheat, so
it seems like it from here.

Dave (Jefferson county)

 

[[email protected]]

On 27 Jun 2003 01:56:04 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

Whoo! That's gotta stink!

Dunno; it's vented outside. Never burned 'em, I take it you have?

Dave

 

[Bob Adkins]

Dunno; it's vented outside. Never burned 'em, I take it you have?

Not intentionally, I promise you.

Regular dried beans create a horrific stench when burned. Soybeans have even
more protein than other dried beans. The more protein, the more stink.

Bob

 

[[email protected]]

On 28 Jun 2003 19:07:18 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

Regular dried beans create a horrific stench when burned. Soybeans have even
more protein than other dried beans. The more protein, the more stink.

Hm. Scratch that idea; that explains why I don't see any bean-burning
furnaces.

Dave "Avoiding the obvious flatulance jokes" Hinz

 

[Steve Spence]

but if you squeeze the soybeans, you can burn the oil in a modified oil
furnace, and still use the cellulose for something else (feed, compost,
etc.)

 

[[email protected]]

but if you squeeze the soybeans, you can burn the oil in a modified oil
furnace, and still use the cellulose for something else (feed, compost,
etc.)

Hmmm...a biofuel, two or more useful extracted substances from it, that
uses a local surplus turning it into compost (which everyone needs)
and an oil which most people around here could use.

How does one separate the oil from the other stuff, Steve? Is this
a basement-shop kind of thing? (for a basement shop with a variety
of lathes, milling machines, hydraulic presses, and so on)?

Dave Hinz

 

[Steve Spence]

a expeller or a press. don't need much of a shop. I've used a bottle jack.
http://ww2.green-trust.org:8383/2000/biofuel/sunfloweroil.htm

http://ww2.green-trust.org:8383/2000/biofuel/oilhistory.htm

http://ww2.green-trust.org:8383/2000/biofuel/biodiesel_ethanol.htm

http://www.oliveoilsource.com/first_press-more.htm (down right now)