Liz- the cord is for the computer brain controling the feed auger, fan, and exhaust. I still need to get my battery-backup for it.

Alaskan - yep, straight out the back thru the wall. As it is a total combustion system ( maybe a coffee cup of ash a day ), it doesn't require a conventional chimney.
And since the firebox is small and in the front, it can have plants set on top and be up to 2" from a wood wall. Think of it more like a forced-air fireplace as opposed to a conventional radient heat wood burner.
Thanx for the pat about the walls. I'm a wood-kinda guy.

We had the wood burner up until this reconstruction project, this is a combination unit that will either consume wood pellets or shelled field corn. And since I live in the middle of corn country....

Bean - anything except a regular fireplace by itself, they suck more hot air out the chimney than they heat the room. You want to have an enclosed insert in a conventional open hearth fireplace if you are gonna have it for more than just looks. Go for a stove like Lisa has and I had.

Oh MY! That's a pretty stove MHG!

From what I've seen, Muddyfeet has the prettiest fireplace on here! But I'm sure there are more to see! Can't wait!

Oh yeah, Mhg, so who gets to sit there shelling the corn? You or the wife? How long would one cobs worth of corn provide heat?

One more question, does it provide a little heat, if say, you wanted to set pots on there for germination, you know, a little bottom heat? Or maybe not?

Actually Lisa, I've got access to 300,000 bushel shelled out in the drying bins already. Them big silver things you've seen in the background of some of my posted pics. So hand shellin' isn't something we spend time doing. Actually, here in Eye-Oh-Wah, the Land Between Two Rivers, we grow our corn without cobbs, so we can skip the shelling step..... And one ear wouldn't last very long....hahahah !!! I'm burning a couple bushel (shelled) a day.
And yes, the top has just enough warmth to it to make a perfect germination platform. But it's hardly big enough for me to mess with. Besides, if it's not warm enough to germinate out in my greenhouse - it's still too early to be doing it.

One nice aspect to my new stove; the house smells slightly like we're always making popcorn.

Oh MY! Yes I guess germinating seeds for acres of ground, that would not work! HaHa I was just thinking about my own little spot of dirt! Lost my mind there! Forgive me! Well, if ya just wanted to experiment with one little thing, you could do that! Just to get a tad of lettuce or something going to test for germination or something?

I'd have the whole darn thing filled already ! Lordy!

quote:

Originally posted by MooreHaven Gardens:

Alaskan - yep, straight out the back thru the wall. As it is a total combustion system ( maybe a coffee cup of ash a day ), it doesn't require a conventional chimney.

Fall on the floor in a dead faint!

ONE COFFEE CUP OF ASH!

We produce oodles of ash.. We are stuck burning spruce (that is what grows here), but we sometimes toss in a bit of coal for the extra heat..that spruce just burns too fast (soft wood).

We can go through a full sled of wood in one day.

The coal burns much hotter and longer, but I don't like using it so much since it is such a giant pollutant. So we use it very rarely.(and we use free beach coal, which is even worse pollutant wise...don't beat me)

MHG, what the heck is shelled corn? I am not picturing it.

Alaskan - google corn pellet burning stoves. Mine is pretty plain compared to the flashy Cadilacs we could have bought.

I don't discount you for using what you have on hand, beats the hell out of freezing. If you have an interest and can grow even marginal field corn ( not sweet ), then try growing some, harvest the ears, dry them in the sun, then toss whole into your stove along with your spruce. But not too many at one time as they burn very hot. Around here, a pile of corn catches fire, it has to be buried to snuff it out, too hot and deep for just water. Won't creasote your chimney either, and actually since you are burning a "cold wood", it would help minimize that threat.
I know what you mean about wood consumption. Up until this year I had to dedicate a month in the fall to harvesting hardwood deadfalls to get split and stacked to get us thru the winter. My stock pile had a minimum diamention of 5'high x 8'wide x 16' long before I felt good about going into cold weather. Never ran out, but have gotten within a couple weeks of it a few times.
The ash factor is what my DW is liking the best, her dusting lasts more than a day now.

Dave - Cobless corn. Kernels. Shelled: to have been removed from the cob.

Corona time, buddy.

So let me get this straight. Even though you have a natural fuel source, if the power goes out, you freeze? I'd get the battery.

Just got a back-up for my computer today. Nearly the same difference. Then friend gave me one (smaller and more portable, so slightly different use) for Valentine's Day. Yesterday, none. Today, two. Dilemma.

You get a bunch of snow yesterday, MHG? We got about 6", our first real hit of the season.

Liz - I have a 1300 btu kerosene heater that I use as a backup. The battery-backup will be in next years budget.

No snow yesterday, was actually almost "balmy" by our standards.
Today was a diff. matter as a cold north wind came roaring in, we're hoping to get up to 6* tomorrow.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by MooreHaven Gardens:
Dave - Cobless corn. Kernels. Shelled: to have been removed from the cob.

Corona time, buddy. [

you just scoop in dried kernels? don't they pop? I think I got too much sun today without a hat on

Ok, well I feel better now.

I guess that's how these weather patterns go. Balmy, wind, freeze buns off. That's what we've had, too. Hopefully we're just about to come out of the FBO phase.

Field corn doesn't "pop", it's a diff. critter from popping corn.

Yes, the stoves largest component is the hopper that holds my fuel of choice, wood pellets and/or dried corn. I'm using a 50/50 mix tonite as it's so cold and the corn seems to create more BTU's than straight wood pellets, but the pellets facilitate a cleaner burn of the corn, which can sometimes "klinker" up my firepot when burned straight and I happen to use a corn with a slightly higher moisture content. Corn tends to somewhat "melt" as it burns.
The computer brain controls the rate of feed of the auger from the hopper to a chute that drops the fuel into the firepot corresponding to the thermestat setting I chose. It also controls the fresh air intake to create a good burn at that setting.

MHG sooooo technical...but I actually understood what you were saying....must have read too much about wood stoves

As to corn HAHAHAHA! Don't make me cry! (or laugh hysterically)..

There *IS* one guy around here that manages to grow corn. But he is 1,000 feet lower than I am. He also has his garden totally walled in with plastic panels.

I have tried to grow corn. Luckily, the one year (I think 3 years ago???) we tried corn and pumpkins was the hottest summer on record. We did manage to get one pumpkin (small plant, so I was able to baby it more easily). But the corn, when we were forced to harvest, the ears were just slightly larger than those 'eat the entire thing' baby corns in oriental food.

This year I am going to try corn again. Indoors, in a pot. Can we say CRAZY LADY!

...wouldn't it be easier if I just sent you a picture......???? lmao !!