corn/Pellet stove ?

[BHD]

to day I got to go to town, and was at one store and they had pallets of pellets, for sale, (OK that good and great)

I do not have a pellet stove currently but may consider one, some day down the road,

but was reading in the build it your self forum on this board and came across tis post, Ultimate Shredder Idea...... http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/build-yourself/297389-ultimate-shredder-idea.html

Ok the one shredder was "making mulch" type wood product and the other was wood chucks post #6 and the term "rebak" which looks like about 2 to 3inch long chunks,

OK I know the REBAK would not feed in a pellet stove, but the mulch might,

does any one know of a stove that could use either of this type of product, as well as pellets and or corn, besides a regular log wood stove? just kicking around some thoughts,

and fi for some reason pellets either were not avabalile or could not afford, could one make there own fuel,

one thing I think I would like with a pellet stove would be the self feed, and only having to load it once a day or so, (or that is my understanding),


Any thoughts?

 

[westcliffe01]

Assuming you can chip your own wood, you still have to dry it and get rid of the "fines". The chip pile would basically have to be continuously "stirred" to expose it to air to prevent rot. Some people do this, but first season the wood, then chip it. One needs a much more robust chipper to chip fully dry hardwood.

Pellet/corn stoves use a near vertical "chute" to separate the auger feed system from the burn pot. This chute is susceptible to be bridged by fines, which may stick to the surface instead of sliding down it. Bridging the chute is a BAD idea since the fire can then enter the auger and hopper. If the chute is too steep (perpendicular) then the fuel is not accurately delivered into the burn pot. Too shallow and the smaller chunks may not make it all the way down and cause bridging.

For the feeding system to work, the size of the fuel has to be carefully managed. Not too fine to cause a problem and sufficiently small to feed easily and burn down so as not to need a huge burn pot.

This whole thing is not a light undertaking. The capital value of the equipment and stove and hopper/feed auger is quite high. Usually this only makes sense for applications needing a LOT of heat. It makes even more sense if it is part of the production cycle. So for instance, a place that grows wood commercially may have large greenhouses that need a lot of heat and a lot of CO2. When they harvest timber, them may sell the bulkiest part of the stem and then chip all the "tops". This is burnt to heat the greanhouse and the flue gasses passed through a scrubber and the CO2 used to accelerate growth of the plants in the greenhouse. It of course also increases the thermal efficiency of the heating system, since flue gasses are not simply vented. I have found that some large grow operations use NG powered engines, which are treated with a urea SCR system to remove NOx and the exhaust then ducted into the greenhouse (in addition to providing heat).

I have a corn/pellet stove sitting in the garage unused since it is not financially viable compared to wood heat or NG. When I bought it, corn was $1.98/bushel and it increased to over $7/bushel the first season I used it. The corn price had previously been stable for many years unto the government started subsidizing ethanol production. Too bad my timing was off... $3600 sunk down a hole I was not aware the government were digging... Now if I did not have NG and wood was not an option, then burning pellets would be interesting. But thats not my personal situation.

 

[nybirdman]

I think pellet stoves are a waste.You are slave to the quality of the pellets.Buy a decent "wood" stove.
Pellet stoves don't work if you don't have power.What I have seen they don't really thro a lot of heat either.

 

[BHD]

I have a corn/pellet stove sitting in the garage unused since it is not financially viable compared to wood heat or NG. When I bought it, corn was $1.98/bushel and it increased to over $7/bushel the first season I used it. The corn price had previously been stable for many years unto the government started subsidizing ethanol production. .

the price was more do to drought than ethanol, price of corn is now again below the price of production, ( and even tho it has not been in the news much the government has been printing money that has devalued the dollar. tell me what has not doubled in the last few years, besides wages,

Thank you both for your thoughts,

I do not have NG, only propane do have some wood not much. but if some one would use the cabin with and not much or non experience with wood log stoves, one can have problems, If they do not know the stove and how to set it,

and was thinking of some thing more "automatic" and the thought I had was if when I was cutting fire wood if I had some kind of chipper, I could clean up the small stuff, and chip it, currently usually just abandon it or burn it as normally the work to cut and feed it is more work than it is worth to me, in the wood stove I use in the house, (the idea is for a cabin I considering).

I know one would have to modify the system some how to handle the larger chips but even if the fuel was stored out side and augered or conveyer in some way, Just thinking, out loud,

Thank you for your inputs,

 

[nybirdman]

I replaced my wood stove with a Vermont Castings "propane" unit.38,000BTU's ,uses no power and automatic with a mili-volt thermostat.Propane here is half the price of fuel oil.I have 20 acres of wood lot and chose propane for the convenience.
Another note on the pellet stoves;who is going to handle the hundreds of 40lb.bags and where do you store them?

 

[Beltman60]

I have a pellet stove and love it
I use a ups and when there is a power outage it doesn't bother me
they do make pellet stoves that don't require electricity, but mine needs electric

I have an LP furnace and the first winter we moved I spent over $1600. in LP while burning wood in a not so efficient wood stove
going into the second winter I installed my pellet stove
that year I used only $400 for LP (mostly for water heater and stove) and $400 for 2 tons of pellets
our house has never been warmer than using a pellet stove

last night it got down to 8 deg F and with my stove on 2 out of 5 heating settings the whole house (2100 sq/ft) was kept at 72 deg F or warmer
I have a programmable thermostat that I have turn my fan on for 6 min. ever half hr. to keep air moving throughout the house
so I think it puts out heat

 

[Beltman60]

I store my pellets in the garage
when I need them in the stove I grab a bag or 2 and take them in

my stove has about a hand full of ash every week when in use
with my wood burner I had half a 5 gal bucket full every day

my stove can run for over 2 days with out needed to put in more pellets
wood stove needed tending ever 4-6 hours

my wife and daughter can start it with a push of a button with no fumes
can say that with a wood burner

 

[Dutch445]

coal burner here,
in the northeast, coal is abundant, and coal heat is quite popular.
my son has a new pellet stove, he likes it so far.
i just installed a stoker coal stove in the house i bought 2 years ago. last year
we heated with propane forced air, OUCH!!!$$$$
my prior home was heated with a hand fired coal stove, old fashioned, needed no
electricity to run, and was more then adequate to heat the ranch home.
coal produces the most btu's for the money around here, not sure where
you live or if it's available.
but, like pellets, we buy it by the ton, in bags, and there is a little more
ash to dispose of than with pellets.

 

[buickanddeere]

Harman PC45. Officially burns pellets and grain. Unofficially also burns coal.

 

[coobie]

I think pellet stoves are a waste.You are slave to the quality of the pellets.Buy a decent "wood" stove.
Pellet stoves don't work if you don't have power.What I have seen they don't really thro a lot of heat either.

NOT TRUE !! Pellet stoves do work if you have a battery backup unit.I also have a whole house automatic generator so no effect on my pellet stove with power outage.Maybe you should enlighten your knowledge on pellet quality and stoves here Hearth.com - Information on Fireplaces, Wood Stoves, Pellet Stoves, etc.