Calculated My Savings

[F4jock]

Reading all of the input since my last post. All I can say is I don't screen my pellets and, even if I could get corn from a farmer around here I have better things to do than haul it, shovel it and screen it.

IMNTBHO the best heat is baseboard hot water. If oil goes back up again I'll probably get myself a pellet boiler and parallel it with the oil burner. Meantime, oil is $1.60 a gallon which, as I've said, is 40 cents a gallon below my break-even point with pellets so, except for providing atmosphere for slap-and-tickle sessions with my beautiful wife, the stove is off for the foreseeable future.

 

[bags]

providing atmosphere for slap-and-tickle sessions

LOL! Haven't heard that one in awhile. Playing a game of slap and tickle has always been a personal fav here. Almost as fun as Beeotch slapping morons..... but much less expensive and the legal ramifications are much lower.

 

[Lake Girl]

... I have been home since back surgery on the 25th of Nov. so have a fire going all day, where when I was working, no fire. So I am glad corn is cheap to burn. I planned and got most things ready that I could before surgery. I started out being able to carry 10lbs of corn in a bucket. That figured out to 3 scoops with my plastic scoop. After my 3 week visit, I can carry 20 lbs now. Also gives me the only exercise I can do, walk. Can't bend or twist yet. 5 weeks of this till next office visit on the 21st. kap

Take care of you kap! Glad to hear there are improvements but I know it gets frustrating when it's slow progress ... Patience and do the physio when they tell you

 

[kappel15]

Yes Mom.

 

[Lake Girl]

If only my kids would listen to Momma's advice

 

[tmiller164]

I'm heating with 95% pellets. If it weren't for the stove I'd be all electric. No good... I figured last year I saved over 1400. I could get corn for free, being I grow it... But the savings of pellets vs. all electric beats the hassle of dealing with corn, hauling, cleaning, dealing with pests... The convenience of a bag a day is ideal for me.

 

[kappel15]

That's the nice thing about these stoves. To each his own. kap

 

[bags]

And you all thought you had it figured out........ I have this real, real nice farmer down the road that cleans the corn, delivers it, and stops by to load my stove daily for free. NOT!

Yeah there is much to be said for cutting open a bag and dumping it. Corn can be had that way too. For about $8 bucks a 50 pound bag. Not cost effective like buying in bulk with a small amount of effort though.

Let's put some numbers to it. I think I saw where Bio can get a ton of corn for $130 a ton. I bought 7 tons of pellets at $224 a ton IIRC. So my pellet heat costs $1,568 IF I use all 7 tons. The same in corn would be $910. Therefore, $1,568 - $910 = $658.

Is doing a little cleaning worth saving $658 a winter. Probably. Or look at it as a 50 / 50 heating mix. Pellet costs would be $784 and corn adds $455 = $1,239 to run the mix equaling 7 tons.

All corn in the 45 saves me $658. Fifty % corn saves me $329. The $658 is a decent chunk but the $329 not as appealing.

Question is now, How much time would be spent cleaning corn? I still think I'm giving corn a shot just because I can go more than 50 / 50 in one stove and probably cheat the other up some too. Another way to look at this simple numbers thought is my heating season is 6 months. So I could save approx. $110 bucks per month burning corn or about $55 bucks a month on the 50 / 50 mix.

Looking at it this way though makes me think my time is worth more. It is but that damn "free" time throws a wrench in the spokes and being a schmuck trying to win I just may. Or I could heat mostly with the 45 and use more corn for the bulk of the season possibly. Guess it's worth a try. Especially if pellet costs climb. Once the per ton there goes up it makes it easier to justify. Then again the wood starts talking to me again. I also really just like having this option. But I also get the fact of is it really worth that extra savings over 6 months.

Might be time to flip the coin or just pull the trigger and commit to a trial season. Or just throw in the towel and head to a warmer climate.......

 

[kappel15]

I always figure cleaning time is better then sitting in front of the boob tube. Esp. this day and age. And I consider it working for myself. Gives a guy some exercise as well.( I know I need it). lol

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Cleaning the corn as it fills your bulk storage is easier and faster than cleaning it as it comes out and goes to your stove.
I do not know what the normal set up folks use for cleaning heating corn. What do you usually do? Perhaps there is a market for a simple 120VAC cleaner? Maybe if enough people use similar methods for their wood pellets, a cleaner can be made to do both?
But if any of the folks that use corn also like to feed birds and squirrels etc., the "screenings" as we call them locally, would be great bird feed.

It really just depends on each household's individual situation. Some are in an urban setup that perhaps are very restricted to what they can do and very space limited. Some others may be out in the sticks on a 20 acre wooded plot that can do whatever they want. Each will have different needs when dealing with solid heating fuels.

 

[Bioburner]

Simple sluice done outside with some help of the wind. Almost as fast as you can get the corn bucketed in

 

[bags]

I'm out in the woods and have acreage and storage isn't an issue. I would pick corn up in a dump truck and back it into a bin in the barn and dump it. Then have to shovel into buckets and clean it so I'd have a bit of work involved. Just saw where Bio scored his at $110 per ton. That sweetens the deal. That's just cheap heat there.

Kap,
I agree. the boob tube is getting old. Here Time warner Cable is a joke and I'm about to ditch it altogether. Pay a sizable chunk to watch the same old crap over and again plus half of that is commercials. Just no longer worth it and the wife and I were just talking about losing it. Bastards jack the bill up every time you open one. I'm no longer willing to pay to play. Not their games anyway and the crap they push. Ridiculous,

Cleaning corn does seem more entertaining to me. We are gone a lot anyway and only turn the tube on in the evenings and many times aren't really watching it anyhow. There's my corn money right there....

 

[kappel15]

I agree bags. Wife and I have been talking the same thing. I have a tv antenna tower. But to keep internet so you can use things like Netflex or hulu, they jack you up again. grrr

 

[kappel15]

Cleaning the corn as it fills your bulk storage is easier and faster than cleaning it as it comes out and goes to your stove.
I do not know what the normal set up folks use for cleaning heating corn. What do you usually do? Perhaps there is a market for a simple 120VAC cleaner? Maybe if enough people use similar methods for their wood pellets, a cleaner can be made to do both?
But if any of the folks that use corn also like to feed birds and squirrels etc., the "screenings" as we call them locally, would be great bird feed.

It really just depends on each household's individual situation. Some are in an urban setup that perhaps are very restricted to what they can do and very space limited. Some others may be out in the sticks on a 20 acre wooded plot that can do whatever they want. Each will have different needs when dealing with solid heating fuels.

I have two cleaners, one for corn, and one for pellets. Both use shop vacs. kap

 

[F4jock]

Luckily my net comes over DSL and I don't have a package. Direct TV for "entertainment." Actually use it mostly for NFL Sunday Ticket. Wife and I love pro ball.

Anyway, back to corn. We live in NEPA where there are apparently fewer corn growers than in your neck(s) of the woods. Never saw an elevator in all my years here. Even if I knew of one I don't know that I'd go the route of corn. Six hundred bucks a heating season is tempting but . . . . . . .

I spend my spare time trying to improve the efficiency of the various systems that run the place. I try to design and implement upgrades to them. Routine tasks are the bane of my existence so I sincerely doubt that I could haul and clean bulk corn, even for six hundred bucks. Ask my darling wife.

Then there is the storage problem. Living out in the woods we have all sorts of fauna that would delight in munching bulk corn: Racoons, possums, skunks, squirrels, deer, bear, porcupines, you name it, we have it in our backyard. Soooo, to store the stuff I'd need an animal-proof bin that would hold four or five tons of corn. There goes a few years savings, not to mention the cost of renting a truck to haul it all at once and that of constructing a sluice.

Finally, not sure if my Harman would handle 100% corn and, as Bags calculated, a 50 / 50 mix is also less ROI.

Essentially, given my lifestyle choices, the way our hot water baseboard system is zoned and the house is configured such that we always use oil to heat the bedrooms, the present price of heating oil and the availability of bulk corn, unless costs skyrocket, bagged pellets or oil will be our heating fuel for the foreseeable future and, after seven pellet seasons, 100% oil is, at the moment, the most economical choice. As well, I'm thoroughly enjoying the break from hauling, cleaning, distribution fan noise, and having to be there often enough to load to ensure uninterrupted heat.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

I dont even own a tv. Have'nt watched tv for near 15 years.

Bioburner, where did you get that setup? Did you build it?

 

[FirepotPete]

Cleaning the corn as it fills your bulk storage is easier and faster than cleaning it as it comes out and goes to your stove.
I do not know what the normal set up folks use for cleaning heating corn. What do you usually do? Perhaps there is a market for a simple 120VAC cleaner? Maybe if enough people use similar methods for their wood pellets, a cleaner can be made to do both?
But if any of the folks that use corn also like to feed birds and squirrels etc., the "screenings" as we call them locally, would be great bird feed.

It really just depends on each household's individual situation. Some are in an urban setup that perhaps are very restricted to what they can do and very space limited. Some others may be out in the sticks on a 20 acre wooded plot that can do whatever they want. Each will have different needs when dealing with solid heating fuels.

Here's my setup, I really don't have enough room outside to screen/winnow the corn. Once I decided to go mostly corn I invested in the cornvac system and am very happy with it. It takes me about 4 hours per ton to remove from the pickup to the IBC totes. Then I take the cleaner off the secondary tank and move in on top of the 55 gallon barrel and then suck it out of the totes. I just dip a 5 gallon bucket from there and bring in the house as needed. Also have one 55 gallon in the basement full just for the nights were it is very cold outside or just to lazy to go out and get a couple of buckets.

 

[Deezl Smoke]

Here's my setup, I really don't have enough room outside to screen/winnow the corn. Once I decided to go mostly corn I invested in the cornvac system and am very happy with it. It takes me about 4 hours per ton to remove from the pickup to the IBC totes. Then I take the cleaner off the secondary tank and move in on top of the 55 gallon barrel and then suck it out of the totes. I just dip a 5 gallon bucket from there and bring in the house as needed. Also have one 55 gallon in the basement full just for the nights were it is very cold outside or just to lazy to go out and get a couple of buckets.

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That's a great setup. I was going to ask if anyone used totes or not. They are a great storage container. I think it wise to keep that 55 in the basement. I hate to hear of all the injuries people take on when going out when it is just flat wrong to be out.

 

[Bioburner]

I dont even own a tv. Have'nt watched tv for near 15 years.

Bioburner, where did you get that setup? Did you build it?

It came from the company that manufactures Magnum Countrysides. Came with a stove that the owner never cleaned the stove
One could easily build one with a a 1x6 and a couple 2x4s for legs. The mesh is 1/2 over 1/4 inch. So the big stuff that plugs a auger rolls off the top and the 1/4 holds the corn but fines fall through. Could be an easy hour project with a few screws and a staple gun. Got bent up when the horse went after the screeningsHer nick name was "Hoover"

 

[Bioburner]

I agree bags. Wife and I have been talking the same thing. I have a tv antenna tower. But to keep internet so you can use things like Netflex or hulu, they jack you up again. grrr

I have a local library that has a very good collection of movies and they share with a dozen others and the price "0" with a week to view before you get tagged with a $1 day fine. Very competitive with Redbox for the ability or getting current and some oldies. I Have 6 channels on a good night. Ability to view online many magazines too.