Here it is! An Alternate fuel source for heating your home! SEED CORN!

[in_cog_ni_to]

There's an article in my local paper today about people trying to get these Corn burning stoves before winter sets in, but they're hard to get because the companies that make them can't make them fast enough. If you're interested in an alternative fuel for heating your home NEXT YEAR, this may interest you, OR, maybe, you could Google these and find one THIS YEAR?

"A-MAIZE-ing HEAT" (Taylorville Illinois, a very small company that can't keep up) and "Golden Grain Stove Company", Merino, Colorado. Just Google "Corn-Burning stove."

These burn seed corn. Seed corn is just dumped in landfills after the first planting season. The corn sells for $70.00 a TON. I'll give you the examples from the paper. One man burned 205 bushels @ $1.92 a bushel backed up by his furnace (propane) and he spent $588.00 last year instead of $2050.00 with his furnace ONLY. Another man used the stove last year to heat his whole house and paid $400.00 for his corn INSTEAD OF $1,500.00 for furnace heat.

The corn is also cheaper than wood pellets. Wood pellets go for $150.00 a TON as compared to the $70.00 a TON for the seed corn. SOME wood pellets are needed to light the seed corn because they are difficult to light, but you can buy 50 pounds of wood pellets for $3.50. This man said he used only half of that last year to light his stove.

ALSO, the "clinkers" of potash that are removed from the stove after the corn burns can be broken up and used in the garden as a fertilizer! Very cool. :)

The stoves sell for around $3000.00, but pay for themselves in 1-2 years depending on your heat source, Propane or Natural gas. SO, there ya go! You could maybe find one for this year? If not, place an order and have one for NEXT YEAR.

ALSO, the Renewable Fuels Act will provide a 25% tax credit on 2006 taxes to those who buy appliances and use such fuels. :)

on edit...
I Googled. Here's a link.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rls=RNWE,RNWE:2005-26,RNWE:en&q=Corn%2Dburning+stove

[AirmensMom]

1. Cool! Thanks for the info!

We are considering building a home in TN and are already looking into alternative heat sources.

[lonestarnot]

2. Wooooohoooo. Where do I get a corn burner?

[in_cog_ni_to]

3. I edited my post. There's a link to my GOOGLE SEARCH! Go see!

:hi:

[lonestarnot]

9. Check'n them out! Thanks!

:hi: :hug: :donut:

[HereSince1628]

4. If you get one, think about the rodent problem that could attend

the storage of a tone of corn...corn is edible to a much larger range of pests than are wood pellets.

This is not insurmountable, but it is an issue that you'll want to address.

[in_cog_ni_to]

5. Great point. rodents...

:scared: They scare the hell outta me! Maybe surround the corn bin with rodent repellent? Surely there's some kind of storage solution?

[lonestarnot]

7. You're on DU... solution for everything!

<>

[in_cog_ni_to]

11. I KNEW DU would come through! The BEST rodent control EVER

cats! yummy.

I'll never forget the time my kitty brought her "catch" into my LIVING ROOM to play with it BEFORE eating it. :puke: I was sitting on back of my couch for an HOUR before she finally killed the sucker! :rofl:

[lonestarnot]

14. My two bring them to the front door and leave them (roof rats) on the

welcome mat as gifts. Yucko!

[HereSince1628]

8. Rodents are always a problem around grain

Rat poison won't be terribly effective since you'll always be recruiting newbies to your stash.

Your defenses could include
-Bins constructed of concrete or heavy metal with heavy metal rodent proof doors,
-abundant sticky traps on rat runways
-Very hungry Tabby cat
-Jack Russel terrier
-A young Luke Skywalker with a blaster

[madokie]

17. The exact reason we went with wood pellets

we're getting a new pellet stove in the next day or so, as I'm told by the dealer, been waiting a month already. We bought our first pellet stove in the fall of '92 and have been heating our house confortably for around 300 bucks a winter. Previously it was costing us more than 300 bucks a month in propane. We're passing our old stove down to the kids.

[Mr.Green93]

6. If we burn up our "SEED CORN!"

what will be planted next season?

[in_cog_ni_to]

10. I guess, New seed corn? The article said that seed corn companies don't

want the seed corn planted beyond the first season. I'm not a farmer, but it sounds to me like companies grow seed corn, sell it to farmers and what farmers don't use, they dumped in landfills. Then next year, they go back to the seed corn company and buy more fresh seed corn? I'm not a farmer so this is a guess. :) I REALLY doubt that we would ever run out of seed corn. ;)

[Blue Diadem]

12. I'd like to get one that burns either corn or pellets

My biggest concern would be keeping the corn at the right humidity level.

Our local small town paper had an article about the furnaces and boilers that burn corn..they mentioned small silo bins for storage.

[No Exit]

13. Kick! Hope everyone gets one of those stoves!!

[havocmom]

15. Interesting and promising!

With the rodent problem solved via well motivated cats, there is one remaining issue troubling me... will the house smell like burnt popcorn?

Be aware, mice and rats not the only critter to guard the corn from. Raccoons love it and are VERY creative. Keeping them out will take some GOOD storage bins. Don't know what to suggest about marauding moonshiners ;)

[in_cog_ni_to]

16. I don't know.

Also, would the smell make you HUNGRY? Make you eat and gain weight? Honestly, I have NO CLUE what burned seed corn smells like.