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The Corn Burning Wiki
How to become a corn burner in a few easy steps. A community project developed by corn burners, for corn burners. After reading this wiki you should have a good idea if corn burning is for you, and some general ideas on how to proceed. If you are already a corn burner, you will have a better understanding of how your stove works. This wiki is a resource, not an interactive forum. You don't ask questions here, if you have specific questions, ask them in the Corn Burner's Forum This whole project is an off-shoot from the I Burn Corn web site, about the experiences of a John Abbott, a first time corn burner.
If you want to know, What the heck is a Wiki?
Contents |
Before you Buy
Things you need to know before becoming a corn burner.
- Why should I burn corn?
- Why should I not burn corn?
- Is corn burning or alternative heat for me?
- What types of stoves are out there?
- What stove is the best?
- Figuring out what size corn burner you need.
- Budget Considerations
- What about Pellet Stoves?
- How will a corn burner effect my Insurance Rates?
- How about Building Codes?
- Directions for Posting Forum pictures on the forum.
Installation
If you are thinking of installing your own corn burner, there are resources available.
- Placement within your home
- Considerations in installation
- Supplies available
- Boiler install diagrams
Those First Fires
Buying corn
- Should I buy, or Grow my Own?
- How to contact the Grain elevator or farmer. What you are looking for and the questions to ask.
Moving Corn
Hauling corn, how are you getting your corn home?
- Small quantities in barrels, bags or other methods.
- Larger quanitities in corn hauling wagons.
Getting your corn from your transportation system into your storage system.
- Vacuum based systems, using a shop vac or other method to move corn.
- Auger based systems, a grain auger and it's advantages and disadvantages.
Cleaning Corn
- How is corn Screened and what are some ways to do it?
- Home build corn screeners and how to build them.
- Pour dirty corn in front of a Fan Cleaner.
Storing Corn
- Small quantity storage systems, enough corn to last a couple of weeks at a time.
- Large quantity storage systems, corn to last an entire burning season.
- Long Term Storage, keeping corn between seasons.
- Rodent Control how to keep the pests at bay.
Daily Operation
- What about pre-burning? My dealer says do it.
- The First Fire
- Starting fires in your corn burner
- What is Klinker and what do I do about it?
- What is Oyster Shell and how does it apply to corn burning.
- Building a handy poker for moving and removing clinker.
- Positive Pressure how to not blow soot all over when you open the door.
Keeping your stove running
- Weak fires and what do do about them.
- Not enough heat. Am I getting as much out of my stove as I should?
- To much smoke or ash. Tuning your burner
General Corn Stove Operation and Maintainance
BTU Values of agricultural grains.
Burning other grains instead of corn.
Burning other stuff like Wood Pellets, Switchgrass Pellets, or Other Pelletized Biomass
Accessories for making your Stove work better
Stove Cleaning
Freestanding Stoves
- Cleaning Glass on the front of your freestanding stove.
- Using the Exhaust Fan to clear out the ash when cleaning
- Tips on cleaning a free standing stove: Stove Cleaning
Boilers
Special considerations you need to think about when running a corn burning boiler.
- End of year cleaning
Cleaning Accessories
Chimney Cleaning
Corn does not burn with a sticky creasote material, such as happens on a wood stove. Still, good chimney maintaince should include removal of fly ash.
Brand/Model Specific Operations
- A-Maize-ing Heat Corn Furnace by LDJ Manufacturing
- AES Magnum Countryside Corn Burners
- America's Heat corn furnace by LMF Manufacturing
- Bixby corn stoves
- CornGlo Corn Burners
- Dell-Point Europa 75
- Endurance corn stove or furnace by Fahrenheit Technologies
- Genesis Corn Burner by Burns Best, Inc
- Nature-Heat Thor Outdoor Corn Burners
- Nesco Amaizablaze Cherokee Model 2100 Corn Burners
- Traeger Corn Burners
- QuadraFire Corn Burners
Advanced Users
Advanced Stove Use
- Draft and the Roll of oxygen in the burning process.
- Power consumption of a corn burning stove.
- Keeping that fire going, Battery backup electricity.
- Measuring chimney draft. What it should be, and what to do about it if it is too high or too low.
- Side Venting Flue Systems
- Corn additives to aid the burn or operation of the stove.
- Corn/Wheat Pellet Mix as an alternative for wood pellets.
- Other Oddball Fuel like Dog Food or other Misc.
Other Corn Burner Use
- Heating swimming pools with corn
- Electrical Power with corn
- Other Corn Burning Appliances
Stove Building
- Firepot design, materials and construction
- Heat Exchangers materials and construction
- Corn Transport systems, augers
- Patents on inventions
Other Building Projects
- Drum Based Projects creative ways to use a 55 gallon drum.
- Pelletizing Research building or buying a small scale pellet maker
References and Glossary
Reading List
- Peak Oil and General Energy
- Solar Heating
- Stirling
- Wind Generation
- The Ravaging Tide: Strange Weather, Future Katrinas, and the Coming Death of America’s Coastal Cities] - http://www.simonsays.com/content/book.cfm?tab=1&pid=534262 - Good chapter on Corn Stoves
Wiki Stuff
Documentation about how to use this Wiki.
Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.
