Outdoor Corn Boiler

I think that the idea of an outdoor corn boiler is a good one. My Father is now concidering getting one but we have no experience nor do I know of anyone around here with one.

Is there anyone here with some advice about corn boilers? Good things, bad things or brands to stay away from.

Thanks

My father in law has a woodmaster brand corn stove for 3 or 4 years and has all kinds of trouble with it going out. Has put on about every part new and still has problems. He wishes he would have spent a little more and bought a Central Boiler Brand, for a little more money. They seem to have better luck and better service, at least in NE iowa

Do your homework. I have a pellet burner, multi-fuel type. US stove brand. This is my 4th winter running it. It is awesome, right now it is 24F outside and it is 73F in my living room.
My pellet burner is in the living room, not outside.

Wood pellets burn Waaaayyyyy better then corn. Corn doesnt burn well and causes crust in the vent pipe. Wood pellets and corn are about the same price. As far as outdoor corn boilers do your homework, be sure to get one that burns pellets and corn. You may want to look at these websites,
www.theoutdoorfurnace.com
www.charmaster.com
Both of these are forced air outdoor furnaces that have large firebox and pipe hot air into the home for under $5k.

Well if your in a position to cut the wood and have a supply of quantity ,I think it will be much cheaper than any corn or pellet stove or furnace in the long run.
I was told the brand Amazing Heat was being built by several different people. I know one version was built in PA and another in IA.

They sell them here in Iowa the specs look good to me the big thing is do you have your own corn as you only get out what you put in. Clean 15% or lower Clean is the answer. People who i know are happy with the burners but they do have their own fuel. I dont know anyone who has the boiler models but they would work fine. Its important who makes them also and dealer yrs of service ect.

Corn wil burn clean you need clean dry corn thats the problem getting good stuff. Dirty and wet pellets dont burn clean either nor does wood thats not clean and dry.

I had bought corn from a local farmer that says he drys it and screens it. But, there is still a little moisture anyway I think.

Pellets can be stored easily, not a food source for mice and I bought 3 tons from a trucking outfit last summer. The only way I will burn corn again in my stove is to mix the corn in with the pellets, about 60-70% pellets and the other % would be corn.

4 dollar corn,fuel oil would be cheaper.Even if you have your own corn you it still cost you 4 bucks a bushel to burn.

Lady neighbor has one. Was fairly successful keeping it going. Heat was excellent. Had it installed within existing fireplace. However, had to screen, or clean corn prior to use, mouse problem in storage barn, and supply no longer available.

Do the math.

Fuel oil is $3 per gallon with 130k btus.

1 bushel of corn is $4 with 450k btus.

That doesn't matter you will still burn more corn than oil in a day.

That's what I always thought about them. I would not want that to be my only heat, but it would make a nice back up to have in place for when corn went back to $2.00. Only down side is that corn and energy were not interlocked in price till the last few years. If fuel oil, propane, or NG all go sky high, corn will do the same.

Dave

G.G. I beg to differ with you. I have had my stove for five years and love burning corn in it. The secret is getting your air and auger in sinc. I am heating 1400square feet on 2/3 of a 5 gal bucket every 12 hours, but I certainly have to agree if any one thinks they can heat with gas, oil or electricity cheaper they are all wet. If the good lord wanted me to spend all my time in the woods cutting down trees he would have made me a beaver!

It pays to do your homework when looking for a corn burner. I used to burn 1000 gallons of fuel oil 3.00 X 1,000=3,000.00. Now I burn 300 bushels of corn at 3.50 a bushel which is 915.00. I have been doing this since 1994 and will continue.
Does anybody think petroleum is going to stay cheap? Corn goes up but still is cheaper then burning fuel oil.
You can buy good dependable corn burners and you can by junk. There are some that start by push of a button and run on a thermostat and some that are manual start and clean twice a day.
You need clean dry corn and a clean stove and exhaust pipe. Most stove problems will be due to wet corn, dirty corn, dirty stove or dirty exhaust pipes.

I guess that burning corn does need a way to get the air to burn it right, but I know that pellets burn better due to less ash and dust in the pan.

i have a Harmon in my living room, have heated so far in IA on 30bu of corn + ~15-20 bags of pellets. I burn a mix, it keeps the chunks in the fire pot a bit softer. The exhaust hasn't clogged up all winter so far. I don't have the best of corn this year, pretty dusty and many finds, but I've not had a problem burning it, I pour it back and forth a couple times to knock the dust off, but that's about it, no screening involved.

My dad has a LDJ, made in IA, forced air furnace, he burns a bit more, but doesn't have near the insulation in his house as I do. Of the indoor furnaces, I feel it's one of the best out there. They also make a boiler as an inside unit. One option would be to put that in a shed, or garage.

They're more work than a fuel oil or propane unit, as you are working with a solid fuel heat source, but I feel much less work than cutting wood all fall. Dad switched from a wood stove to burning corn. He was burning 1/4-1/2 a pickup load of wood a week, and hauling ?? buckets of ashes out of the basement from that wood. Now he's burning 1 bu corn/day and hauling a bucket of ashes out a week. Plus he's not stomping around with chainsaw for days on end cutting wood then handling it 3x (load pu, unload pu, carry to stove) He's acutally now not even touching his corn. He has a box on the back of an old pickup, he backs up to a basement window, hooks up a hose to the box, and can use a vacum to pull the corn inside the house and dump into the stove. In the process, it pulls off much of the dust.

check out the link if it posts, there are alot of guys doing this with a minimal amount of effort, some are doing it and working quite hard at it, but it seems to be as much of a hobby as anything.
corn burners anon...

I have a St Croix corn stove in the basement, and use From 100 to 150 Bu to heat 2400 Sq feet. Have it hooked to a thermostat in the basement, and the heat radiates up to the main floor. Fairly new house, so it is insulated. I have a small bulk bin in the garage and run the auger though the sill board into the furnace room in the basement. Have to carry the corn around the corner and dump into the stove. Use a corn vac when I haul the corn from the big bin and fill the small bulk bin in the garage. Works good.