So
Whatcha Want To Know About Our Stove?
(prev | next)
 We
also recommend that you check our forum!
Q.
Does it pop like popcorn?
A. Absolutely.
In fact, when we first purchased the stove, we weren't monitoring it
very
closely and we nearly filled the house with popcorn. Presently
we're working on a way to add sugar to make our own variety of kettle
corn. Ok, not really. Literally everybody asks and we always wanted to
have some clever answer. Popcorn is actually a special variety of corn--the
corn we, and every cow in the world, use is feed corn; just plain old
corn. The corn is also combusted before enough internal pressure could
build up to pop it.
Q.
Is it like a pellet stove?
A. Yes,
it's almost exactly like a pellet stove. In fact, we could only burn wood pellets
in it if we choose. Even though all corn stoves are pellet stoves, "normal" pellet
stoves cannot be corn stoves; corn burns much hotter than wood pellets and
will seriously damage a pellet stove unless it is build to withstand the additional
heat.
Q.
Isn't It Expensive?
A. Depends.
We pay about $5.50 / 100 lbs, in bulk. 100 lbs will last us about 2 days. Assuming
we run the stove for 90 days, that's about 4500 lbs of corn or $247.50. Bought
bagged (instead of 2.5 tons at a time) it would run about $450-$500. Given
oil, gas and electric prices, we're pretty happy (although gas does beat us
out some years). Here's an interesting comparison:
50
lbs of corn = 5 Gallons LP Gas
50 lbs of corn = 3.5 Gallons Fuel Oil
50 lbs of corn = 140 KWh of Electricity
50 lbs of corn = 4.75 CCF Natural Gas
(information from AES's website but it can be verified
using typical BTU/efficiency ratings)
Q.
Is It Dirty?
A. You
betcha. While not nearly as dirty as coal, we do get a fair amount of ash which
tends to find its way to any flat, light-colored, surface. We think this is
probably due to they way we have the draft set up and hope to improve on the
amount of ash actually entering the house.
Q. "You
know they make these things called oil furnaces that run off thermostats
and don't require any work, right?"
A. Yes,
we know and, honestly, we're a tiny bit jealous. Oil, gas and electric heat
is great; simple to use, safe, reliable. What they're not is renewable.
In 180 days, our fuel source is completely renewed. Growing it produces oxygen
(think about photosynthesis), combusting it produces virtually no pollutants
other than ash which is good on a garden (so we've been told...all our ash
has never made it past our icy driveway)
|
