New here. Looking into a pellet stove or multi-fuel. Many questions. Please help!

[jtakeman]

If you’re looking for pellet stoves, don’t forget to take a look at the Osburn Hybrid-45MF and their exclusive blower combex technology You can find more info here: (broken link removed to http://www.osburn-mfg.com/product.aspx?CategoId=5&Id=539) All the best!

I have heard the Osburn combex has has some issues with the exhaust blower over heating and locking up. Can you confirm?

 

[rona]

I cut and burned wood for heating our home for many years. it's good exersize and keeps a person active but as the years go by and I got older plus my family grew up and out on their own the job seems to have lost the glory. Carrying in a couple pails of corn seems a treat compared to the older method.
The guilt feeling I was supposed to have for burning corn just isn't there. I suspect when I see healthy people getting fuel assistence instead of burning wood has something to do with that. The demand for corn has caused the price to hit 5.00 a bushel locally. This will have a impact on livestock farmers as well as a corn burner trying to pay for his stove. Funny thing about it is if the demand wasn't there the price would drop. There is a world wide shortage of feed grains this season which is causing the demand to grow.

 

[Topshelf]

I burned both pellets and corn last winter. Once I found a good priced source for corn, there was no turning back. Pellets in my area run 250 per ton. Corn is and was 170 a ton from my guy who is a local farmer. He bags it into 60-70 lb bags cleaned and dried. I feel it burns hotter than the Pellet pro pellets I was suing last fall and I had Zero auger jams with corn compared to pellets which I must have had at least one per week.

I hear the price of corn has gone up big time due to the floods out west, but so far I havent seen it? We have a lot of corn grown in my area so maybe thats why its still somewhat cheap compared to pellets?

 

[benjamin]

http://www.hernironworks.com/conifer.html got the 111 in my cellar. itll burn up to 20hrs at a low rate. constant fire burns clean & can burn for a month be4 grates have to be cleaned. control my fore with a Magic Heat with no probs. 111 is only a burner, not UL listed ithink, but once set up, u cant beat the cost of the heat. sawdust requires 2x storage space of wood.
mfrs. bake moisture out of the pellets, homemade pellets might be tricky 2 burn due to high moisture where the fire can go out & reignite in a stove full of gas= boom
@4k Europa is most efficient stove & doesnt self-ignite. Englander 25pdvc is fun toy to play with, my 1999 model has survived well

I'm terribly curious, did you install this sawdust burner or did it come with the house? What is the burner hooked up to? boiler or?

It sounds like you're happy with the way it works. Is there anything you would do differently if you did it over from scratch?

 

[vvvv]

http://www.hernironworks.com/conifer.html got the 111 in my cellar. itll burn up to 20hrs at a low rate. constant fire burns clean & can burn for a month be4 grates have to be cleaned. control my fore with a Magic Heat with no probs. 111 is only a burner, not UL listed ithink, but once set up, u cant beat the cost of the heat. sawdust requires 2x storage space of wood.
mfrs. bake moisture out of the pellets, homemade pellets might be tricky 2 burn due to high moisture where the fire can go out & reignite in a stove full of gas= boom
@4k Europa is most efficient stove & doesnt self-ignite. Englander 25pdvc is fun toy to play with, my 1999 model has survived well

I'm terribly curious, did you install this sawdust burner or did it come with the house? What is the burner hooked up to? boiler or?

It sounds like you're happy with the way it works. Is there anything you would do differently if you did it over from scratch?

attached burner to boiler 25 yrs ago, cast iron leaked 5yrs ago so it was modified to blow hot air, then i had to control it from overheating so it had to burn real slow & long time. a Magic Heat added controlled the burn better & no creosote resulted so to plug the cleaning plate of the MH even though the fluepipe is warm to the touch. storing the sawdust is a hassle even though it will burn fresh from the local mill. me & cat let most of the house go cold now & rarely use the burner which heats cellar & upstairs.
Do over? I'd build the house around the burner & the sawdust pile which makes a regal litterbox!