HVAC, Heating, Air-Conditioning

This year, Poulsen Ace Hardware in Eaton, Colorado, sold its entire inventory of several hundred corn stoves before Halloween.

Hiscox Sales and Service in the Corn Belt's Valparaiso, Indiana, is already taking fall 2006 orders for corn fired stoves.

Sold out of this year's supply for six months now, Hutchinson, Minnesota based American Energy Systems has already sold 50 percent of its yet-to-be manufactured supply of corn-burning stoves for next year -- an inventory that will be eight times what it was this year.

Corn-fed heating appliance sales are, well, popping.

American Energy, the largest supplier of the a-maizeing appliances, says 65,000 corn stoves sold in the U.S. last year, 150,000 kernel burners will move off the shelves this year and 350,000 will go like hotcakes in 2006.

Like wood burning stoves, corn-fired stoves were once common as alternative heating sources in farmhouses, cabins and other rural abodes where there was easy access to the fuel and ample space for storing it. Then activist types interested in cheaper, renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels gave bio fuel research and development a boost. And, of course, trend-setting home owners with a lot of equity cash to throw around had to be the first on the block in suburbia's hinterlands to have one.

But what really put the pop in the corn-burning heating appliance market was the 2005 hurricane season's impact on traditional oil and gas heating supplies, forecasts for a colder than usual winter and increasing world demand for fossil fuels and the resultant record-high home heating costs.

Built as free standing stoves or inserted into a fireplace to radiate heat into a room or installed as a central heating furnace, corn fed heating appliances work a lot like wood pellet stoves except they burn less expensive corn.

The still steep $2,000 to $3,000 or more cost of a stove is offset by the price of the cheaper fuel.

Corn-generated heat costs less than a fifth of the current rate for propane and about a third of electrical heat, according to American Energy. Homeowners report savings of anywhere from $600 to $1,500 dollars a year, the company claims.

Unlike a wood-burning stove that has to be continually hand fed and tended to keep going, corn burning stoves, like wood pellet stoves, employ an automatic hopper system to keep it fed and, well, popping.

And with corn farm subsidies that generate more corn than can be consumed by the American eating public, there's an ample supply of cobs waiting to be turned into fuel.

That's the good news.

Corn fed into stoves generates heat rather than popping into something you can eat because it is shelled corn.

Like buying a propane- or vegetable oil-powered car, you can't buy a corn-fired heater until you find a ready and steady fuel source, advises corn-burning stove expert Dennis Buffington with Penn State University's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Buffington says you can find shelled corn sources from your local university's extension, feed and seed stores and feed mill and grain elevator operators. Direct purchases from farmers can net you the best deals. Unless you purchase a futures contract, expect prices to fluctuate throughout the year, each year, says Buffington.

Don't forget delivery logistics and the related cost to get tons of kernels trucked to your home.

Likewise on the storage. You'll have to buy shelled corn in lots of 25 bushels (1,400 pounds) to 100 bushels (5,600 pounds) for the best price. That means you'll also need ample storage space for the fuel.

The best shelled corn fuel has a moisture content of no more than 15.5 percent for good combustion and just one bushel of shelled corn with that moisture content 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.

It's not just the size of the space you'll need, but also the type of storage required for the fuel. You need a clean, dry environment that prevents contact with concrete or dirt floors. Bagged corn has to be stacked on a pallet in an area free of rodents, birds, squirrels, and other pests who will use it as their own personal fuel. Container-sealed corn can't be sealed shut preventing circulating air from keeping it dry.

Also, after the corn is burned, you'll have less ash than you would after burning wood or coal, says Buffington, but you'll still need a disposal plan. Corn ash has some value as a fertilizer and as a liming agent you can apply, cooled, to garden areas, flower beds, lawns, and fields. What's left still must be disposed.

After you've obtained a source of fuel, adequate storage space and an ash disposal plan, only then can you begin to shop for a stove.

Buffington offers the following tips:

• Look for UL (Underwriters Laboratory) or CSA (Canadian Standards Association) certification on the label.
• Look at the operator's manual to determine if the stove or furnace will need 100 percent shelled corn or corn mixed with wood pellets and if other fuels can be burned with what adjustments or modifications.
• Determine your workload by obtaining information on how often the hopper will need to be filled to keep the appliance burning at full capacity.
• Know what maintenance you'll have to pull to keep the stove operating at peak efficiency.
• Determine what type of exhaust and ventilation system is necessary and how those requirements jibe -- or don't -- with local building codes and insurance coverage.
• Determine what size appliance you will need for your application. You should know if your home's floorplan is conducive for convective movement of heated air or if a furnace will be necessary to fill your whole-house heating needs.
• Get to know how experienced the dealer is with installing and servicing a corn-burning appliance to you and your home's specifications.
• Also scrutinize the warranty to determine what kind of protection you get from manufacturer defects, and to learn what might void the warranty.

Keep in mind mass producing heating appliances fueled by corn is a relatively new concept. Seek out friends, relatives, business associates, co-workers and others you trust who have a corn burning stove and get their feedback.

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