Corny fuel idea

[ej0rge]

Years ago, a friend of mine was talking about trying to build a pellet style heating system for a ceramic firing kiln, but fueled with feed corn.

Apparently, there are pellet heating systems that can burn feed corn. Allegedly, the btu-per-dollar is competitive with other heat sources in some markets. He swore he'd done the math and worked out that, where he was living in Phoenix at the time, the btu-per-dollar was better than propane.

50 pounds of dry feed corn is like $18 at the local farm store.

Has anybody tried this? No idea, of course, what it might taste like.

 

[BurntWeenie]

Burning Corn Vs. Wood Pellets

Corn versus wood. In the battle of fuel sources, each choice has its own advantages, but also disadvantages. They're both renewable sources, however, and produce about the same amount of heat.

sciencing.com

 

[SmokinAl]

I would not use feed corn in a pellet smoker. I use the best 100% hardwood pellets I can buy. Why? Because I’m trying to make the best meal I can for my family & friends. Why skimp on something as important as the pellet in a pellet smoker.
Al

 

[ej0rge]

I would not use feed corn in a pellet smoker. I use the best 100% hardwood pellets I can buy. Why? Because I’m trying to make the best meal I can for my family & friends. Why skimp on something as important as the pellet in a pellet smoker.
Al

Didn't say I'd be using it to produce smoke. At 275f my GMG won't be producing sufficient smoke from the firebox anyway. And it's an experiment. We don't know what it would do.

When used in a pellet furnace it's said to produce a pleasant sweet smell and has a hazard of depositing a sugary mass in the firebox.

Could be interesting. Sounds like there's some caramelization into sugars as the starches burn.

 

[sweetride95]

A friend if mine had a corn stove for house heat. The ash will make an ash cake he always called a clinker. It would make a clink sound when he popped out of the fire box and into a bucket.

 

[cal1956]

i use wood pellets to heat my home in winter , living in colorado it sometimes gets well below zero and wood pellets are the cheapest way i have found to heat my house