Placement within your home
From Cornburning
Corn Stoves
A corn stove is a freestanding unit and as such, can be placed anywhere in your home. There are a varity of venting options, from Vertical Vent Systems, which is always the best, to power venting, also known as Side Venting Flue Systems that allow you to vent your stove though a side wall.
Putting the corn burner in the basement, heat will rise up, warming the floor. Installations of this type can be really effective. They move the mess involved in solid fuel burning out of the living space and into an area where a little mess is less of an issue. Excellent results have been obtained by using the cold air return on a forced air furnace to circulate the warm air from the corn stove into the living space.
Also people have had good results with cutting holes in the main floor, allowing heat to rise up between floors, however, be aware, this could be against fire codes in your area.
On a main floor installation, a centralized location will heat the house better. It is best not to place your stove into a Dead-end room but instead, to plan around the natural heat convection paths in your home.
Fans are available to provide Heat Circulation to move air within the house. But these fans consume some electricity and if your goal is to be as off grid as possible, it is best to design your placement around convection.
Corn Furnaces and Boilers
Furnace and boiler placement usually involves proximity to the vent stack as it is very important these units vent vertically. The reason for this is, if there is a power outtage, power vent systems will stop venting. Unlike gas furnaces, corn burning fires do not immediatly go out when the power is interupted. A considerable amount of heat and smoke can build up in the burn chamber while the fire does go out. Unless your sytem has some type of Battery backup to keep the horizontal vent system running, this smoke can leak back into your living space. The heat buildup can actually warp boilers and heat exchangers.
Where not to put your corn stove
The garage. Most fire codes restrict putting solid fuel burning appliances, that would be corn, pellet and wood stoves, inside a garage.
