Cornstove's Blog

Search www.cornstoves.info for a local corn stove dealer. Search www.msnusers.com/cornstoves for corn fuel sources for corn stoves.

Corn stove operation is not convenient as gas or electric. Whole kernel shelled corn must be fed into a corn stove as often as twice a day. Corn stoves are clean, healthy, safe, no smoke, no fireplace required, no chimeny required, vents through the wall, does not deplete the oxygen as do other heaters A corn stove improves the atmosphere and reduces global warming. The result is local if local corn is purchased from a local corn farm.

Until recently, corn stoves were just a small alternative heating source used by farmers. This past year, though, they have began to climb out of the pickup and into the sports car. 2006 will be the year they go mainstream. For more information, especially about where to buy fuel for your corn stove, go to www.cornstovefuel.info You can also email me at roger@@cornstovefuel.com (remove the extra @) Roger

That means in the typical year you will need to buy 200 of the 50 pound bags,
or 250 of the 40 pound bags. At current prices, your annual heating bill will be about $800.

so you burn 200 x 50 = 10,000 lbs = 5 tons of corn for $800 = $160/ton

1 Pound of Coal = 12,000 Btu, so for the same BTU you would burn ~3.6 tons of coal

coal is worth $40-$60/ton, at $60 = $216, plus local delivery charges, lets say $400 max.

half the price of corn.

So you are paying twice as much for being a little greener than using fossil fuels

.In many places in the corn belt waste corn is free, and is buried all the time.

An earlier comment that corn has twice the heat of coal is wrong.

The lowest grade coal is about 7500 BTU/pound. The top grade is about 13,500 BTU/pound

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/coalnews/coalmar.html

Your corn costs are way off. The same amount of corn you state would cost about the same as the cost of coal. The coal would be much more expensive if you add shipping costs. Corn has about the same BTU value per pound as the low grade coal. Corn is cleaner to handle and doesn't pollute the air like coal and it is also a renewable source of energy. Corn cost is about $2 to $2.50 per 56 pounds in the corn market, in bulk. Shipping is an added expense, same as for coal. There are many more corn dealers than there are coal dealers.

In Iowa you can get all the corn you want for free, so it is good economically in that area. Corn sellers get it free and sell it = all profit. Away from the corn belt it costs more in freight. You can also pelletize wood, paper and stuff with a little resins added. So corn stoves are a life style choice instead of good economics.

Coal grades vary. Low grade is like corn, high grade has twice the BTU/pound.

$2.50 for 56 pounds = ~$90 per ton for the equivalent of $15.ton low grade coal. It is cleaner on the hands etc, and you can find your black cat in it.

Corn costs are running much higher this year and the cash price for Central IL corn which serves as the benchmark market price is running $3.40-$3.50/Bushel. The futures market is projecting the price to go higher through next spring. There is some talk of $4.00/Bushel corn. Unfortunately along with the higher price the harvest has been delayed because of wet conditions and adversely affected the quality of corn for residential heating. Expect higher moisture content and more Foreign Material this year because the longer corn stands in the field the more fragile stalks become and the more difficult it becomes to harvest because of down corn.

The good news is that even with higher corn prices consumers relying on Electric Resistance, Propane, Kerosene, or Heating Oil can still save 20-50% on home heating costs using good clean, dry heating corn.

Twice as much as coal ? maybe stinking cruddy soft coal which most cities and municipalities are outlawing for residential heating. Corn is much cheaper than hard / nut coal burns much cleaner burning with less ash to get rid of (cleans up with a shop vac) lets see I heat my whole home with corn for about 350.00 per YEAR Vs. 400.00 per month with gas or 200 per month for hard coal .. Geez I must be a retard not to see that coal is so much better ...you must be a Coal bucket greaser ... Oh BTW corn stoves burn at a far superior rate of fuel vs. output I.E. BTU's than coal. and as far as the environment I really dont give a flying rats ass nor do I believe in global warming, however I do belive Al Gore is a friggin idiot.

I am interested in knowing more about corn stove. Can we generate electricity.

Regrds

Kapoor

Email : jinshui@vsnl.net

Electricity can be generated with corn. Cookers can cook with corn. Corn Grills can grill steaks and cold hot dogs in Hot Lanta where gas grills are illegal. Corn ovens can bake food in China where bakeries are a novelty and fuel is a travesty. Corn mixed with coal will clean upover 90% of the effluents of coal in a dirty ole fossil electric power plant (see files section, German and Ohio Test Results, www.groups.yahoo.com/group/cornstoves)

Coal combustion converted to electricity results in 35-55 tons effluents per person per year. Equal amounts of energy generated by corn will produce about 5 gallons effluents per year per household. (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/cornplace) Corn combustion is 98.6% efficient according to Va Tech Solid Fuel EPA certified testing facility.

Local renewable energy always cost less than transported fuel. A local farmers sell good clean dry corn for $3-5/bu in 2007. The transportation markets, XMarts, Coops, sell corn for $11/bu with 10-30% waste, pellets, cotton, dust, dew, water, etc.

Coal at $60/ton as stated above, is presently selling for $180/ton in most locations. Transportation and highway tax on free coal cost more than local corn cost. Wood and Coal are 50% waste ash with delivered energy representing only 25% efficiency of the advertised 15,000 BTU/#. (www.tva.gov, www.aepsc.com, www.aes.com, www.southernco.com) Ask Jevene Bowling, the AEP CRP performance test engineer about boiler efficiency, turbine efficiency, pump efficiency. Plant Manager, Rick Chaffin reports that AEP is the largest customer that AEP services. AEP uses more energy to generate and deliver electricity than the electrical energy delivered. In short, the BTU value of a pound of coal is a small portion of the energy delivered from a pound of coal. To be fair, delivery cost of any fuel, including corn, is more expensive than the fuel deliviered. Purchase local corn. It takes one gallon of petroleum to deliver each gallon to market. Another 75% is wasted converting the pertroeum to energy.

In short, the savings in corn is because local corn is available. It would not make economical sense to raise corn in Indiana that ships across the globe to produce electricity in Saudi Arabia - er - unless you are a congresswoman living off the taxpayer funns reaping big oil profits for the port fool eh ole. Neither does it make sense to purchase dear corn from XMart that was raised in Illinois, bagged in China, shipped up the Mississippi, and marketed in Pas gall Hoola.

Local fuel is the low cost fuel. A local corn stove dealer is the low cost corn stove supplier. Find one.

Wood pellets were presented as a low cost alternative to corn. Think again. Free wood cost me more to cut, haul, split, load, stack, cure, rehaul, load, light, and smoke up the house. About 80% of wood heat goes up the chimney.

If fuel money is a factor, a wood pellet stove will burn up to 50% corn. A wood pellet stove will not burn 100% corn.

A corn stove will burn 100% corn, wet corn, dust, dry corn, sprouted corn, molded corn, waste corn, dirty corn, clean corn. A corn stove will also burn wood pellets - but why? Why would one run diesel in a corvette? Corn is clean, affordable, healthy, low cost, affordable, and local renewable. Even the Sierra Club likes corn stoves. Corn combustion converts a net positive amount of CO2 to oxygen each year (www.sierraclub.org). The effluents from solar cell production produce more pollution than corn combustion per person per lifetime.

Corn energy may not necessarily reduce the utility bill the first year. If you think the utility reads the meter, think again. The utility claim is that the bill is averaged over a x month period and pencil whipped in between. Always trust the local utility. They have your best interest in mind even while you sleep - unless, of course, a tree limb grounds out the national grid in front of your yard. Yep! A tree limb gets the blame every time. A utility worker drives in from states beyond and never fails to work OT removing the tree limb at great risk of life and limb. It doesn't cost you a dime. Nope. Not a dime - perhaps an arm and a limb and three or four weeks of "blackout" during the worst snow storm of the century. Yeah! Right. Let's be honest here. The utility neglects to trim tree limbs anymore. Who's to blame if all the limbs are properly manicured? Utilities are smarter than big oil Big oil raises prices everywhere at once. Utilities chip away raising prices one place at a time. TVA not only implemented an automatic fuel escalation clause but also, in addition, the TVA Board raised rates across the board. Perhaps the local utility will absorb that increase!! Dream on but brace up for the night mare.

Now for those that complain about the extremely high cost of corn - taking food out of the mouths of foreign babbies - high food prices - yep - high fuel prices - petro prices took off like a rocket - blame corn. All those corn burners drive up the cost of food, shelter, transportation!! Blame 83 Cent/gallon Corn ethanol for high gasoline prices. Imagine the price of gasoline if 10-20% corn ethanol were not available!!!

Gabage! Household trash! Tree leaves, limbs, wood, wood pellets, paper, waste paper, kitchen garbage, trash can garbage, old newspapers, Sports, old potatoes, yard clippings, orange peels, apple cores, floor sweepings, dust, spoiled meat, bones - any biomass material will convert to heat energy in the corn stove.

Take the 15 gallons of potash fertilizer solid effluent a corn stove produces in three years. Apply spairingly across the home lawn completely covering all that red clay dirt and gradually converting red clay dirt to dark, loose productive soil. For the average lawn of 1/2 acre, after three years the home lawn will produce enough grass clippings to heat the entire home a full season each year. Hold on! We are not talking Alaska here nor Florida! Somewhere in between also kick in the waste basket trash.

Don't blame corn! Corn combustion is 98.6% complete. A good corn stove will put most of that heat into the home. Some may not. For sure, no coal burner will put anywhere close to 50% of the BTU value of coal into the home. And get real - does anyone believe electrical heat is 100% efficient? Illogical reasoning defies the laws of physics and common sense. A wall resistant heater will put more heat outside than inside.

The true value of the steady heat of a corn stove is fully described only by considering the relative humidity, R value of insulation as compared to the type heater, the ability to control home humidity at a healthy 50% rather tha spending the winter months at the hospital. Those considerations are fully discussed www.msnusers.com/cornstoves, www.msnusers.com/tennesseecornstoves, www.msnusers.com/amaizablazecornstoves. But, then, if anyone just craves the cold air blowing through the air registers on a snowy day or the hummm of humidifiers and dehumidifiers simultaneously cranking the megawatts outta the air, or the high electric bill, or the smell of portable kerosene heaters, or the smoke of wood fireplaces backfiring into the living space, or repainting the ceiling each spring, or spending all the vacation time in the woods with extinct wood peckers and distinct 2-cycle chain saws.

I just like the idea of heating the home with biomass trash that most send off to fill and rebuild the land fill.

For how to generate amounts of home electricity with corn, visit the sites listed above.

I assume from this that you earn your living from the sale, care and feeding of corn stoves?

Why do I say that?

Because it seems self serving and error ridden to me.

Anyone else agree?

Your an Idiot.

I heated my home last year W/6 ton's of corn at 108.00$ a ton.648.00 to heat the house all winter.

160.00 a ton of corn.! Somone saw you comming!

We farm in eastern Colorado, raising about 3000 acres of corn! We are also just about to build a new house and tossing around the idea of a corn fireplace insert instead of an LP gas fireplace insert.

I can see there are quite a few out there and would like some suggestions of what's good, what's not.

Thanks!

Lynne----knlcody@yahoo.com

if you bury corn, why not burn it = free fuel. Farms have many sources of low cost fuel. Gal, Coal, oil cost hard cash.

Idiot? I think not. Corn is a commodity that is source sensitive, the more you truck it the more it costs.

In addition, the data from corn stove sellers might be suspect.

coal still seems cheaper, but it is also freight sensitive.

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/coal/page/coalnews/coalmar.html

Corn can be processed to optimize its value as a heating fuel. Extra Clean, Extra Dry Heating Corn with a moisture content below 12% offers 5-10% more heat value than USDA Grade# 2 Corn. Approximately 90 BTU/LB of heat energy are lost for every 1% moisture in most solid biomass fuels. There is a noticeable difference in heat output between USDA Grade#2 Corn at 15% vs Premium Heating Corn at 11%.

Premium heating corn is now being offered to customers at a competitve value to wood pellets that can save consumers 20-40% in heating costs compared to electric resistance, propane, kerosene, or heating oil even at retail prices with higher corn costs. With premium heating corn consistently processed to the same standard for every bag, consumers do not have to worry about always having to adjust settings or deal with system shutdowns because of fuel variability. No cleaning, no moisture related problems, minimal to no clinker, and more complete combustion of fuel with significantly improved performance of most stoves and furnaces. Learn more at www.heatingcorn.com.

That's interesting about fuel corn. This is the first year I've seen that around here in central Indiana so I had the store throw ten bags in the truck. Now different providers may differ in quality but when I got home I found that the moisture value was 15% and that it was no cleaner, in fact it wasn't as clean as corn out of the famers corn bins. I pulled more larg objects including rocks from that load of corn than any corn I've gotten from around here. From now on I'm going to the grain elevator for my corn and at half the price of the fuel corn. Maybe some day they will get fuel corn from a reputable supplier but as for now it's a rip off in our area.

If the corn you purchased retail was in a plastic bag it states on the package that it has a Moisture Content of 15% or less with a claim it is running between 12-14%. If the corn you purchased was in a brown paper bag with a tag stating it was 12% you will find it running much higher because corn is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. Some are claiming their corn runs between 12-14% but you will never see the 12% because they are relying on air drying in grain bins which at best can deliver about 13-14% in ideal conditions. Propane costs are too high for local elevators and farmers to dry corn down below commercial levels of around 14-15%. With this wet harvest corn is coming out of the fields later and at higher moisture content (16-19%) than is typical in dry years. With each new rain event we saw the mositure content jumps 2-3% and without warm dry weather it just does not dry down. This wet delayed harvest has negatively affected the quality of corn for heating from many local farmers and elevators because of an an increase in field trash (i.e. cobs, stalk, and fines) and higher moisture content.

There is premium heating corn being supplied retail that is below 12% and is very clean. It is growing in distribution through the Midwest and Northeast and can be found when searching the web for heating corn. The company is farmer owned and has invested in unique commercial drying and cleaning that can economically dry the corn down to 11-12% and remove most of the trash larger than kernels of corn. The product has rigorous quality controls and is independently tested to confirm BTU Content, Moisture, and Fines and Foreign materials. The product meets the stringent quality standards printed on the packaging and is also being sold retail in Indiana.

There a lot of corn used for ethanol and that does not care if it has funny genes or toxins(unless they kill yeast). I wonder how the price of corm with ethanlo compares to cron for fuel?

I know there is a subsidy for ethanol from corn = a distortion of the market.

I still hate to see this.

I am gratified to see that the use of biomass for ethanol looks to replace corn in the next 10 years.

Ohio State University presented and interesting study comparing the use of corn in direct combustion for space heating compared to its use in ethanol production. The study can be found by doing a search for "direct combustion corn". The approximately 2 Billion bushel of corn exported annually has the potential to heat 10 million American homes more economically than electricity, propane, heating oil, or kerosene. Corn exports alone have approximately the same energy content as 130 million barrels of oil which is about what was affected by pipeline problems out of Prudhoe Bay early this year.

Government subsidies for oil, natural gas, electricity and other big energy interests represent a grosser distortion of markets than those related to agriculture which are in place to sustain the world's largest and most efficient producer of food. Higher oil and natural gas prices negatively affect production costs for agriculture. Solid Biomass Energy sources have the potential to change this dynamic.

Using American corn to heat American homes has the potential to have a significant positive impact on America's trade balance while reducing heating costs for many Americans , improving the economy of rural America, reducing government susbsidies for heating and agriculture, and reducing greenhouse gas emmissions into the environment. Using American corn in domestic energy markets for the benefit of American families is better than selling cheap corn overseas to feed nations that attempt to extort America with oil.

What is there to hate about this?

The last I knew corn produced less BTU's than coal. It takes 2000# corn to produce 18,000,000 BTU's while it takes only 1384# of coal to produce 18,000,000 BTU's. Given the price of corn these days after it is being gobbled up for ethanol production it would seem that corn is not a good choice for home heating! I think I will stick with propane. Seems eveyone is saying anything to get rich from saying corn is an attractive fuel. It sucks as a source for ethanol because ethanol actually lowers gas mileage on a vehicle.

they burn waste corn, not good for food or anything.

Corn is not wel suited to alcohol, only the subsidy makes it work

Corn has approximately 8000-8500 BTU/Lb of heat energy on a bone dry basis according to most objective information available on the subject.

Approximately 90 BTU/LB of effective heat energy are lost for every 1% of moisture content contained in most solid biomass fuels according to most information available on the subject.

Cleaner, dryer heating corn delivers more effective heat energy with better combustion efficiency just like comparing seasoned firewood to green firewood and improves performance of most major brands of stoves and furnaces.

Premium heating corn with a moisture content of 11-12% offers 5-10% more heat value than standard USDA Grade #2 Yellow Corn with a moisture content of 15-16%. There are approximately 6800-7354 effective BTU of cleaner energy in every pound of corn based upon moisture content between 11-15% or about 396,000 BTU of energy in every 56 pound bushel of dry corn. Corn hybrid selection and consistent processing to optimize corn's value as a solid biomass heating fuel could offer improved BTU content.

1 Bushel (56 lbs) of Corn has an approximate energy equivalent to …

30 LB of Anthracite Coal (13,000 BTU/LB)

4 THERM of Natural Gas (100,000 BTU/Therm)

3 GAL of Fuel Oil (140,000 BTU/Gal)

3 GAL of Kerosene (125,000 BTU/GAL)

4 GAL of Propane (91,000 BTU/GAL)

115 KWH of Electricity (3412 BTU/KWH)

Energy efficiencies of various heating appliances must also be factored in to accurately determine potential cost savings. Improving appliance heat transfer efficiencies by just 5-10% can dramatically improve energy value of all fuels. We've have seen these heat transfer efficiency improvements occur in traditional HVAC equipment during the 1980's and have room for continued improvement in pellet and corn stove/furnace heat transfer efficiencies.

In general consumers can be expected to save 20-50% using renewable solid biomass fuels such as corn or wood pellets based on typical retail prices for these fuels compared to current average retail prices reported by the Energy Information Association for Electric Resistance, Propane, Heating Oil, or Kerosene. Environmental considerations are actually better for renewable solid biomass fuels such as corn and wood pellets which have nearly a zero net effect on greenhouse gas emissions.

In this era of high and extremely volatile energy costs controlled by a few large international energy corporations and influenced by the whims of unstable governments in much of the world at the expense of average American consumers, Corn and other renewable solid biomass fuels offer better value to many Americans and hope for a cleaner environment if used wisely. They are being used more widely throughout Europe and Canada to replace dependence on volatile oil and natural gas and reduce greenhouse gas emmissions.

Economics 101 teaches that people will find alternate materials and methods to meet wants and needs when prices for existing options become too high. Electricity, Oil, Propane, Kerosene, and even Natural Gas Prices have become to high and seem likely to remain so with environmental costs becoming of increasing concern. Let the free market work its magic in allocating these increasingly scarce resources.

Coal combustion power plants deliver 25% of the power available per BTU. With 75% waste, the BTU value of coal is a rather irrevelant statistic. Consider the inaccurate and deceiving method of calculating fuel BTU value of solid fuels and become further informed.

The BTU value of corn is consistent. With a factory adjusted fuel/air mixture for corn combustion the air effluent waste of corn combustion is less than 1% for corn combustion. Solid waste plus air effluent waste is less than 2% total waste from corm combustion. Combustion efficiency of corn combustion is 98.6% efficient. If you dislike accurate empirical data, go argue with the EPA certified Virginia Tech solid fuel testing facility. The Hokies have no biased reason to falsify measurements of the combustion effluents for solid fuels.

No two pieces of coal have idential BTU value. Volumetric measure of coal is not accurate enough for efficient combustion.
Gravimetric coal feeders are not nearly accurate enough to control combustion temperatures within the thermal range to reduce coal combustion NOx to BTU. Bottom line is the 75% waste in the most efficient coal burners available.

The BTU value of coal is irrevelant considering the inaccurate fuel/air mixture of the variable BTU ratings of coal sources combined with the inaccurate "hole in the wall" method of measuring air flow in a coal burner power plant.

Now that was a meaningless grab bag of stats. ELectric power stations based on coal are not 25% efficient. They are 40-42% efficient at maiking electricity, and they burn all the coal to ash, 99.99999% ends up burned. You say corn burns 98.4%...big losses. Corn stoves make zero electricity, they make heat.

corn is variable in BTUs as it varies with water content, and is usually lower than coal, but very soft coal is on a par with corn.

You know the motto, starve a child, burn some corn.

I work at a very respected fireplace store, Old Smokey's in North East Indiana. We have serviced, sold, and installed corn units for 25 years. We have a very experienced staff and darn near all employees have corn burners. You can visit our website www.oldsmokeys.com

email: kristina@oldsmokeys.com

800-876-6539

St Croix have the BEST units out there. www.stcroixheat.com They are simple to operate and maintain. The Lancaster ($2285 - $2496) and the Auburn ($2895 - $3038) models both heat up to 1800 square feet, pumping out up to 40,000 BTU's. The basic difference between these models is hopper capacity, with the Lancaster at 50 lbs and Auburn at 90 lbs, but you can get a hopper extention. I have the Lancaster model in a 3-bedroom ranch home, and I keep my heat at about 76 deg in the winter. I use about 3 ton / year. I live in North East Indiana and the cost for corn fuel is about $170. I love getting a $25 gas bill in the winter time.

Basic maintainence of these St Croix units are as follows:

Fill hopper (goes thru about 1 - 1.5 40 lb bags per day) 1 min

Clean grate (pull a lever at top of unit) 5 secs every day

Empty Ashes (pull lever at bottom of unit drops ashes, known as "clinker", slide ashpan out, empty ashes) 2 min every 2-3 days

Clean glass (we reccomend "Speedy White Hearth and Stove Cleaner") 5 min whenever you think it needs cleaned. It doesn't mess with the efficiency of the unit, but the longer that black stuff stays on the glass, the harder it will be to clean.

Service unit (you should have a certified technician do this for you, or you can try it yourself. The manual goes thru how to do it, but does not mention cleaning the combustion fan, which any smart tech should know to do. This should take the tech about 1 - 2 hours. Our company charges $159 for this) Service the unit every ton. Rule of thumb is if you go outside and tap the exhaust pipe, no residue should fall out of the pipe. If it does, you need it serviced.

If there are any questions, feel free to give us a call!! Corn is a great way to go if it's cheap in your area.

Corn over 4.00 a bushel, looks like the economics of Corn vs propane just got a little worse. Now that we are going to feed the ethanol plants corn, fat chance prices will come down.

1 Bushel of Corn has approx. energy equivalent to 4 Gallons of Propane.

Average Residential Propane Cost as of 1/15/07 per the Energy Information Administration is $1.99/Gal X 4 Gals = $7.96. Although the economics is not as favorable, corn is still readily available for heating at 30-40% less than average residential propane costs and even better compared to Electric Resistance heating running around $0.10/Kwh. The energy calculator provided at the Energy Information Administration's website comparing alternative fuels for residential space heating is a good place to go to get a dynamic comparison of energy costs. Plug in your numbers and see how they compare for yourself.

I've been heating my house for years with a corn furnace, we just paid $3.85 a bushel today. There was a drought is South America this year so corn is high right now, normally it is $2.00 - $2.50 for a bushel which is 56 pounds.

There are approximately 36 bushels in a ton of corn. A ton of corn should run somewhere between $72 - $90 in an average year, this year it is running $139, if you are paying more than that you need to shop around.

Don't buy your corn from someone who sells corn stoves and don't buy it from the grain elevator, find a farmer! Why pay the middleman?

Our prebuy rate for propane this year was $1.95/gal. at that rate it would have cost me $2,300 to heat my home based on 1100 gallons + tax which was my average amount for one winter.

Now I average 9 tons of corn per year, in a normal year corn runs $2.25 a bushel and it cost me about $700 to heat with corn. This year corn is high $3.85/bushel = $1250/year.

I'm still saving $1000+.

What's not to like?

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