I have found a great fuel mix for my stove

[cold front]

Great site been lurking for a while.

I have a St. Croix Prescott pellet stove. The manual lets me burn a 50/50 mix of corn and pellets but, corn mix I have found to be very messy in my stove. A buddy of mine burns all wheat (seeds) in his fancy Tarm stove that he gets from the farmer nearby for $125 a ton. He loves the way it burns over rye (smelly), corn, and even wood pellets and urged me to try it in my St Croix.

Well, I did and I am VERY impressed with it. I get a hotter, cleaner burn with half the fly ash build up, no auger problems, very little build up on the glass and burn pot area just much easier to clean than with all wood pellets. The only negative I have found is I now get clinkers forming because of the wheat, but I just rake them out once a day or so. 40% wheat 60% pellets works best for me. I have a heat setting that goes from 1 to 5, 5 being the hottest. I use to burn at setting 4 with all pellets, I now use setting 3 when burning the wheat mix and get the same heat and cleaner flame. I am saving a hell of a lot of pellets and $ with this mix.

Oh, one other thing, the auto-ignite works with this mix (40/60).

 

[mark d fellows]

What kind of stove do you have? That sounds promising!

 

[cold front]

What kind of stove do you have? That sounds promising!

Yes, very promising! It's a St. Croix Precott pellet stove. I originally wanted a Bixby bio stove but they were too expensive.

Beat them at their own game, burn whats cheap from the farmer and drive the price of pellets down. To tell you the truth if your auger can feed it, the wheat burns a heck of a lot better then the crappy wood pellets . Don't jump in head first, try a little wheat in the burn pot first to see how it burns for you then mix a little in the hopper (when hopper is near empty) to see how it feeds. If it feeds ok then go for it. Play it safe for a while, don't let the stove get too hot (may have to lower your heat setting, wheat burns HOT) check for burn-backs just as you would if you were burning corn/pellets.

 

[Craiger13]

Interesting. I have a multi-fuel stove and have been interested in trying some alternatives as you described above. My biggest question has always been where would i get the wheat? Are there any distributors or retailers of wheat as a pellet fuel source? I'm just not sure where i would get it. Thanks for any guidance.

 

[woodsman23]

I am in western ny also where do you get your wheat from??. I can get it from pierce milling in delavan but do not know the price. Is it wheat seeds???

 

[jtakeman]

I've got an Omega that burns the biomass fuels.

I have found a local farmer that's selling corn and a pellet house that will order switchgrass for me. But can't seem to find anything else.

How did you find the wheat?? Some hints please. I'd like to try it with out driving to the moon to get it.

Thanks in Advance.
jay

 

[woodsman23]

I've got an Omega that burns the biomass fuels.

I have found a local farmer that's selling corn and a pellet house that will order switchgrass for me. But can't seem to find anything else.

How did you find the wheat?? Some hints please. I'd like to try it with out driving to the moon to get it.

Thanks in Advance.
jay

Look for a local co-op or like a feed mill store that sells feed for all animals, check the yellow pages or ask at a local tractor supply store. Best bet ask a farmer...

 

[MCPO]

I understand whole wheat is healthier.

 

[cold front]

Where do you get the wheat, actually wheat seeds separated from the hulls is a good question. The simple answer is direct from the farmer at commodity prices. Cut out the middle man. Ask around in your area for a farmer’s co-op to tap into the network of farmers who grow grains.

The other way is to drive around looking for working farms in your area, look for the silos, that’s where they usually keep the grains (corn, wheat, rye ect..) Dairy operations usually grow many different types of grains to feed to the cows to ensure they get all the required amino acids and vitamins.

Most farmers are salt of the earth type people who are very approachable. Now is a perfect time of the year to stop by and talk to them. Tell them what you want to do with the wheat (seeds) and that you like the idea of supporting your local farmer. Most of them would be happy to sell you some wheat for a little extra “walking around money”, If not I’m sure he or she would be happy to point you to a farm who would. A surplus grain is common most years. Rye seeds burn as well as wheat seed it just smells a little when burned.

Lastly, save all your pellet plastic bags to hall the wheat in your car or truck or make other arrangements. My friend who turned me on to wheat, use to hall 800 lbs of wheat at a time in his Volvo S70! Come to think of it that’s probably why he wanted me to burn wheat; I have a truck.

This is what the wheat should look like:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wheat_in_sack.jpg

 

[cold front]

Oh, BTW I get my wheat seed from a farmer in Penn Yan, NY

 

[EatenByLimestone]

http://forum.iburncorn.com/wiki/index.php/BTU_Values

It looks like it depends on what type of grain you are burning whether you would be getting a noticeable amount of extra heat out of a pound of fuel. But when you factor in the price you are getting a heck of a bargain even if you get one of the low btu varieties.

Check out the BTU in a pound of soy beans!

Matt

 

[krooser]

I have a feed/seed dealer six blocks fom my home...I'm going to check this out. My St. Croix is also a multi-fuel stove.

 

[cold front]

http://forum.iburncorn.com/wiki/index.php/BTU_Values

It looks like it depends on what type of grain you are burning whether you would be getting a noticeable amount of extra heat out of a pound of fuel. But when you factor in the price you are getting a heck of a bargain even if you get one of the low btu varieties.

Check out the BTU in a pound of soy beans!

Matt

I'm putting soy beans down on the list of things to try. I'll have to check into the variety of wheat that I am burning. The wheat is noticeably hotter then the pellets I have burned. It could be I'm getting a more complete burn with the mix or pellet quality is on the downside of the range.

 

[cold front]

I have a feed/seed dealer six blocks fom my home...I'm going to check this out. My St. Croix is also a multi-fuel stove.

keep me updated I want to know what you think

 

[stoveguy2esw]

FWIW wheat ash is lighter and does evacuate the burn pot better , but it will tend to accumulate in the flue and heat exchagers , pay close attention to those areas of your system to avoid issues down the road

 

[cold front]

Thanks for the heads up. I'm a nut about keeping my stove clean!

 

[jtakeman]

I found some wheat at a coop. There price is $206/ton. The only issue is it has the hull on.

So I quess thats not what I want.

Am I looking for just the seed no hull?

jay

 

[magsf11]

going to try this going to see if tsc or the local feed store has any weat seeds. I also found that the corn was a problem in my st. croix. I found that a 40/60 mix corn worked well with the stove

 

[cold front]

I found some wheat at a coop. There price is $206/ton. The only issue is it has the hull on.

So I quess thats not what I want.

Am I looking for just the seed no hull?

jay

No, You're looking for the wheat seed only. $206 seems a bit much for the seed. The farmer tells me that commodity price right now is $125 a ton.

I've been burning the wheat/ pellet mix when the temp. is 30 F or lower, it burns best (cleanest) when the stove is set to its mid level heat (3 for St Croix) on manual setting, which is way too hot for me when the outdoor temp is over 30 F. I burn straight pellets if I'm turning the stove off a lot or if I'm using the temp/stat. setting. Burning it on low is dirty judging by the glass build up.

 

[cold front]

going to try this going to see if tsc or the local feed store has any weat seeds. I also found that the corn was a problem in my st. croix. I found that a 40/60 mix corn worked well with the stove

I have not tried a corn mix yet. What problems have you had with burning corn in the st. croix?

 

[magsf11]

harder to clean, build of clinkers, and the build up on the glass was a sob. thats why i cut the corn down to 40 %. do you know of any farmers in the buffalo that have weat seed?

 

[jtakeman]

No, You're looking for the wheat seed only. $206 seems a bit much for the seed. The farmer tells me that commodity price right now is $125 a ton.

I've been burning the wheat/ pellet mix when the temp. is 30 F or lower, it burns best (cleanest) when the stove is set to its mid level heat (3 for St Croix) on manual setting, which is way too hot for me when the outdoor temp is over 30 F. I burn straight pellets if I'm turning the stove off a lot or if I'm using the temp/stat. setting. Burning it on low is dirty judging by the glass build up.

Well I kind of figure that would be the case, Oh well. That is all I can find. I will as some local farmer to see where or what coop there using. I have the Enviro Omega and it has a multifuel mode. So I should be OK if I can find some to try. I might spend a fortune at Blue Seal feeds, But I think I can get a few bags just to try.

Thanks for your info.
Jay

 

[cold front]

harder to clean, build of clinkers, and the build up on the glass was a sob. thats why i cut the corn down to 40 %. do you know of any farmers in the buffalo that have weat seed?

I don't kow of anyone near Buffalo but, I'm sure there are a lot.

If you don't mind drive east out to the penn yan area, I can hook you up with my farmer and you can take home as much as you want for $125 a ton. He also has a lot of corn and rye. I think the soy is too expensive to burn right now.

 

[cold front]

harder to clean, build of clinkers, and the build up on the glass was a sob. thats why i cut the corn down to 40 %. do you know of any farmers in the buffalo that have weat seed?

I don't kow of anyone near Buffalo but, I'm sure there are a lot.

If you don't mind drive east out to the penn yan area, I can hook you up with my farmer and you can take home as much as you want for $125 a ton. He also has a lot of corn and rye. I think the soy is too expensive to burn right now.

I should say as much or as little as you want.

 

[ugenetoo]

I found some wheat at a coop. There price is $206/ton. The only issue is it has the hull on.

So I quess thats not what I want.

Am I looking for just the seed no hull?

jay

as i recall, there is no hull on wheat seeds as they are harvested from the field. barley and oats have a hull that is difficult to remove, but they will burn just as well.