Why Heat With Corn?
In Wisconsin, we have an abundant source of dry shelled corn.
Requirements of corn fuel The shelled corn must be dry, preferably 15% moisture content or less. Corn which is higher in moisture, will have a lower heat value per unit weight than dry corn. Moist corn may also cause problems with the fuel-loading auger. The shelled corn must be free of fines. Dirty corn, which has a lot of fines and cob pieces, will cause problems with the fuel-loading auger.
Stateline Corn Burner also sells corn, corn screeners and cleaners. Burns Clean-No More Creosote The corn burning furnace and boiler feed the corn into the bottom of the combustion chamber, therefore providing the most efficient fuel consumption. The residual ashes are then spilled over the top of the combustion ring into the ash pan. This process, in effect, self cleans the combustion chamber. Empty the ash pan weekly. Safe, Reliable Heat Your home's thermostat electronically controls the fuel feed system and blower to provide a constant temperature. The furnace or boiler will remain lit as long as the bin contains corn, and will shut down automatically if the fuel supply is depleted. The low stack temperature and absence of creosote buildup eliminates the possibility of chimney fires. A Low-Maintenance, Economical Heating Solution That Makes Sense The corn burning furnace and boiler have many advantages over wood heat. With 100,000 BTU or 150,000 BTU output you could easily heat an entire house or outbuilding. The large storage bin holds up to 10 days supply of corn which is automatically fed into the combustion chamber as needed. There's no need to load the furnace several times a day. The use of corn eliminates storage & handling problems connected with wood fuel. No more chainsaws and time spent splitting wood!
Home Heating Cost Analysis |
Heat Source | BTU Value/Unit | Units to =1 million BTUs | Cost/Unit | Cost X # of Units | Efficiency % | Annual Heating Cost based on 100mm BTU/Yr | Dry, Shelled Corn | 500,000 bushels | 2 bushels | $2.5/bushel | $5.00 | 85% | $588 | Electricity (baseboard) | 3,412/KWH | 293 KWHs | $.08/KWH | $23.44 | 100% | $2,344 | Natural Gas | 1,000/cu.ft | 1,000 cu.ft. | $1.29/ccf | $1,290.00 | 85% | $1,518 | Fuel Oil | 139,000/gallon | 7.2 gallons | $1.25/gallon | $9.00 | 85% | $1,059 | LP Gas | 91,000/gallon | 11 gallons | $1.25/gallon | $13.75 | 85% | $1,618 | Wood (red oak) | 21.3 million/cord | .047 cord | $115/cord | $5.41 | 75% | $721 | Coal | 13,000/lb | .0385 tons | $140/ton | $5.39 | 75% | $719 |
Assumes 100 million BTU’s are required to heat the average home of 1,800-2,000 sq. ft. for one year |
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