Due to there density corn or pellet fuel won't burn in a pile in a open fire. Therefore to get the fuel to burn, certain manufacturers will incorporate a combustion chamber into where the corn fuel is added with combustion air. Fuel is added by failing from above or auger up from below.

The feeding rate of the auger can be adjusted to increase the amount of corn burnt which will control the amount of fuel produced. This alone will not burn and as mentioned air combustion is required, this is done by blowing in oxygen into the combustion chamber by means of a small fan. Air is feed in from the outside and not typically by the room air.

When the corn fuel burns its by product is a clinker, with the small size of the combustion chambers its recommended you follow the manufacturers requirements n how often to clean. A specially designed poker is used to remove the clinker and with practice the corn stove will not be required to be shut down.

Within the stove a heat exchanger is used to move the heated air and relace with the room air which is then heated. A fan within the stove will be used to do this process.

There are different types of corn stoves that do not have augers to feed in the corn or fans to provide combustion air or move heated air to the room. By there design they burn corn at the bottom of the stove and the heat will radiate to heat up the room. Unlike the auger type of corn stoves that require electric these do not and they won't be affected by power outage.

To vent away the exhaust gases will depend to the particular design but follow the manufacturer's recommendations regarding the type of flue pipe required. It is best to keep the flue pipe as short and straight as possible (keep the number of elbows to a minimum) to maximize the stove's performance.

Corn stoves are more popular in the Great Plains and Midwest of the USA but are now growing in the Northeast and West because of the readily available supply of corn there. Many stove manufacturers introduced new multifuel stoves in the last few years to increase the amount of available fuels options beyond just wood pellets with corn being the next most abundant and widely available fuel source across the country. This was a direct response to wood pellet shortages that have been problematic for those stove manufacturers who only offered wood pellet stoves and saw corn burning stoves and appliances held a market advantage by burning a wider variety of solid biofuels.

Please check the dealers or manufacturer’s directions before trying to burn corn. It can cause some problems, damage, and void warranties if not approved for use by the manufacturer of the appliance because of unique combustion properties.

For many years raw field corn meeting the USDA Grade # 2 Yellow Dent Corn standard was easily ready available fuel for corn stove whch was supplied directly from farmers. The problem with grade #2 Corn is theres no requirement for moisture content and allows fine of upto 3% by total weight. Typically the moisture contnt of 14-15% is the commerical standard before farmers being docked on their sale price when the corn has been sold, but typically corn can have a higher moisture content when harvested from the field. Weather conditions during harvest season can have a major influence on the moisture content and cleanness of corn.

Farmers will not typically dry corn down below a commercial standard of 14-15% moisture because of added cost and lost revenue potential. While some appliance manufacturers suggest customers will experience better performance using corn with a moisture content of 11-12%, most allow for higher moisture content up to 14-15% to be used because of the commercial standard allowed by traditional corn markets.

The problem with some manufacturers is their appliances are advertised with their abiity to burn corn wth a higher moist content of 15%, but its been estimated that approx 90 BTU/per hour will be lost for every one percentage above 15% moisture content. While this may not seem very significant, a 5% moisture variation in a 50-LB bag of corn can mean a loss of about 22,500 BTU of effective heat to a customer.

The challenge with premium heating corn (grade #1) is to take raw field corn, consistently clean and dry it down to optimize is value as a heating fuel, then package and distribute it at a competitive value to wood pellets. Raw shelled field corn will always be available at the lowest price but will come with higher moisture content, more foreign material and fines, and greater variation requiring customers to spend more time handling, cleaning, and adjusting appliances because of fuel quality.

Wood pellets and other pelletized fuels require large capital investment to transform raw materials into useful pelletized fuel. Corn on the other hand is a naturally densified fuel choice with a competitive heat value to wood pellets requiring only cleaning and conditioning to optimize its value as a heating fuel.

While wood pellet mills represent substantial capital investment and are very dependent upon a consistent, readily available supply of wood wastes and sawdust to be economically viable, corn is readily available and can be processed economically by existing facilities to optimize its value as a heating fuel.

The construction time to build new wood pellet mills have a tendency to lag market demand, while corn processing facilities can typically be setup fairly quickly upon identification of market need and a clear standard for what makes corn more fit for use as a heating fuel.

Committed suppliers who specialize in supplying cleaned and conditioned premium heating corn especially for this purpose will be regularly testing corn for its BTU Content, Moisture Content, and Foreign Materials and Fines (Stalk, Cob, Fines, etc.) to meet a higher standard than normally required for raw field corn or shelled corn sold for feed and will minimize contamination with salts and other feed residue typical found in shelled corn ran through feed mills.

For more information on the Quality of Shelled Corn and why burn shelled corn click here.

Shelled corn has varying qualities, and to achieve best results the quality of the shelled corn to be burnt in the Corn stove or boiler must be clearly stated.

Moisture Content - The moisture content of the any shelled corn should be no higher than 15.5%. When the Moisture content is high the growth of mold or mildew is higher and especially when in storing corn for later use. The grow of fungi will cause problems as it might result in clumping up of the corn and maynot be feed correctly into the combustion chamber resulting in poor burning. Other health issues like the fungal spores causing or aggravating respiratory problems with the people exposed to the spores.

Another fact with high moisture is the reduction of heat generated based on per pound of shelled corn, approximately 90BTU is lost per pound of shelled corn for every one percentage point above 15.5%

Some models of corn-burning stoves and boilers may require that the moisture content of the shelled corn be as low as 13% to get efficient combustion of the corn. Be sure to ask the dealer or manufacturer about the recommended moisture content of shelled corn for efficient combustion.

Cleanliness of Shelled Corn - The shelled corn needs to be clean, with as little as possible of broken kernels and foreign materials (cob pieces, husks, stalks, stones, and other residue). Small pieces of corn kernels could interfere with proper combustion and likely cause some smoking problems too. The foreign materials tend to clog the flow of the shelled corn into the stove's combustion chamber.

Specify U. S. Grade #2 shelled corn with just a small amount of broken corn and foreign materials (BCFM). If there are problems associated with burning Grade #2, if you have issues with Grade #2 then it might be neccesary to buy U. S. Grade #1 which will have even less BCFM. However, Grade #1 corn will be considerably more expensive than Grade #2. Consult your shelled corn dealer for more information.

Be sure to check the moisture conten as you are looking for shelled corn with moisture content of less than 15% to ensure good combustion characteristics.

Probably the most expensive place to buy shelled corn is from a fireplace/hearth shop where the corn is sold in cute little decorated bags and has ben marked up in price.. In many cases, its best to buy in large quantites of corn to be able to get the best price for the shelled corn. You may have to by 25 to 100 bushels (1,400 to 5,600 pounds) to be able to negotiate the best rate for the corn, but remember to add in the cost of delivery to your home.

The price of the shelled corn will fluctuate though out regions in the USA and depending on the time of the year too, so best to buy to stock up when the price is good.

Secondly As most house layouts dont allow air to ready move though, a centrally located corn stove will not heat the whole house. If this is the case with your house than buy a corn stove to fit the room rather than the house. As a oversized corn stove will make that room unbearably hot.

It's recommended to store your shelled corn in bulk containers, the containers should not sealed completely shut because there must be some air circulation around and through the corn. Inspect the corn from time to time to ensure that there are no insect or disease infestations and that the corn does not develop a musty odor.

Shelled corn is mostly sold by the bushel or by weight. One bushel of shelled corn (moisture content of 15.5 %) weighs 56 pounds and requires a storage volume of 1.25 cubic feet. One hundred pounds of shelled corn (about 1.8 bushels) requires a storage volume of 2.25 cubic feet.

After burning the corn, the ash is produced and will require a proper disposal and is recommended to be done before you buy your corn stove. Burning shelled corn will yield less ash residue than either burning firewood or cinders from burning coal. Corn ash has a modest value as a fertilizer and as a liming agent, with no evidence of heavy metals or any other contaminants. The corn ash (after cooling) can be safely applied to garden areas, flower beds, lawns, and fields and hence is far more environmentally friendly than other fossil fuels.

Why burn corn?

The corn used as a fuel in stoves have two requirements of this corn fuel:

1. The shelled corn must be dry, with preferably 15% moisture content or less. Corn which is higher in moisture content will have a lower heat value per unit weight than "dry" corn. Also moist corn may also cause flow problems through the fuel loading auger.
2. 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.

The storage, moving and handling of grain corn has evolved tremedously now every year farmers harvest, dry, convey, and store millions of bushels of corn. The equipment to do all these things is readily available. Consequently putting a corn storage system together for a home heating set up is possible with augers, conveyors and storage bins which are readily available.

Two reasons why corn is so attractive as a heat source are that dry shelled corn is so easily handled and in plentiful supply. Shelled corn also has a high heat energy per unit weight. Here's how shelled corn measures up to other solid fuels.

You can see from this table that shelled corn has heat energy close to that of wood.