Cornstove's Blog

Great site about corn stoves

This is recommended as a great site about biomass heat, corn stoves, corn places, fireplace inserts, small business and home biomass heaters

Great question, Tilford. Not all corn stoves are the same. Corn combustion is a unique combustionable fuel. Corn combustion is clean, local renewable, with no smoke, zero opacity, low air effluents at 0.00x MMBTU, low solid particulates at 5-10 gal per year.
Corn is unique in that corn can hardly result in a fire hazard. At combustion temperature with adequate combustion air flow, Corn combustion will self extinguish in less than sixty seconds if not constantly stirred or vibrated. Corn as 34% hydrogen continues to be safely stored as a non-hazardous, non-VOC, local renewable, clean spill, clean combustion, edible fuel.
Corn is also the most stable priced fuel in human history. Farm Corn cost $1/gal in 1816. From 1980 through 2006 farm corn sold at the USDA support price of $0.20/gal. In 2008 market corn prices matched the farm price of corn in 1816 at $1/gal. Farm corn prices in 2008 reached $0.70/gal. but soon began to drop back to $0.50/gal or less. Farm corn prices have never since been higher that the price of farm corn in 1816. In 2008, the equipment and gasoline to cut free wood for fuel will cost more than the cost of farm corn. The hwy hauling tax,federal/state/local tax to heat with free owner's coal, if properly paid, cost more than farm corn. Not unlike wood and coal fuel, the highway tax, local, city, federal, and state "moonshine tax' on corn ethanol fuel cost more than farm corn fuel.
Meanwhile, the convenience of energy plus the scare tactics of energy advertisement continue to cause Mr. & Ms. Avg Joe to spend $2/gal to $4/gal for overly taxed heating fuel that could easily be replaced with $0.50/gal whole kernel shelled farm corn.
Cornstove manufacturers panicked in 2007 when corn prices skyrocked to $1/gal. and, unfortunately, paid for expensive EPA certification for corn stoves to qualify as "multiple" fuel or "multi-fuel" fuel solid fuel or wood pellet fuel combustion. Unfortunately, the price of corn stoves climbed to cover the excessive cost for UL and EPA certification as solid multiple fuel stoves. Equally unfortunate, the distinction became fuzzy between TennesseeCornStoves, multiple fuel, multi-fuel, solid fuel, corn, trash pellet, softwood pellet and hardwood pellet stoves.

Please continue to distinguish between wood pellet stoves and corn stoves as follows.
a. A corn stove will burn any solid fuel because a corn stove constantly stirrs the fuel during combustion.
b. A wood pellet stove will not burn corn but may burn 50/50 corn/wood up to 100% wood pellets but will not burn 100% corn nor more than 50% corn. Wood pellet stoves mix sea shells, lime, etc with wood pellets to maintain cleanliness.
c. Cornstove solid particulate forms a solid "burnt cornbread cake". The solid potash cake is easily removed without extinguishing the flames.
d. Non corn fuels, wood, coal, trash form a flyash residue that can not be removed as a single solid piece.
e. References for cornstove groups and corn fireplace groups
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/cornstoves
www.groups.yahoo.com/group/cornplace
www.msnusers.com/cornstoves
www.msnusers.com/amaizablaze
www.msnusers.com/tennesseecornstoves
f. References for corn stoves:
www.multifuelstove.info
www.cornstoves.info
www.harman.com
www.amaizablaze.com
www.americanharvest.com