I Burn Corn - Forum

Subject: Some observations........... - by: dndcoop

dndcoop — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 05:41:37 +0100

These observations have come from my personal experience with my stove but could apply to others ... when adjusting the stove first you need patience and lots of it second you need patience see above when you look at the fire if it is blue you have too much fuel and it is not burning fast enough also caused by too much draft make small and i meen very small adjustments untill you have a nice yellow flame with no black tips and very active .If you have a bright white flame this is not good as well because you proabably have too much air and not enough corn and it is burning the hot coals out from under the new corn as it feeds in .A slow lazy flame with dark tips meens you dont have enough draft adjust acordingly.A nice yellow active fire that stays pretty much steady as the corn feed will give you the most heat output and best fuel economy It has taken me much trial and error to get were im at today and then every load of corn is different , but the best thing i have done is installed my timer on the auger which gives me more precise control over my fuel feed I hope this helps ,remember patience !

Subject: My experience with St. Croix Auburn - by: JElberfeld

JElberfeld — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 01:14:46 +0100

I bought my St. Croix Auburn in September, 2006. We have had it on all the time, every winter, as the main heat source for an old farm house just west of Albany, NY. We have oil - hot water - as a back up, and use it when needed. One stove can't keep a two story, 180 year old, uninsulated farm house on the top of a windy hill warm when the temperature goes below 0 F.

So far the only problems we've had have been my fault, not the stove's. The first was using corn that was not dry enough. Once we found a good source of dry corn (Frank Lacko in Middleburg, NY) our first problem of a smokey burn pot that sometimes went out disappeared.

The next problem was a plugged chimney. Cleaning the chimney solved the problem.

After that I had a "Flashing 2" problem. I tried all kinds of things, not of which worked, and then I removed the main blower and dug out the air channel - which was almost completely blocked. That fixed that problem.

My chimney had to be replaced, even though I was using a Selkirk pipe designed for corn stoves.

For the last two years, we've been problem free. I clean the stove every two or 3 weeks - banging the back hard to loosen up any ash behind the back plate, and vacuuming as much as I can.

Every spring I remove the blower and really clean everything I can reach. I use a stiff wire pushed through the vents in the back to scrape any ash behind the back plate. Next spring I plan on replacing the gaskets as well.

I currently pay $240 a ton for corn in 50 pound bags. As long as a ton of corn costs less than 100 gallons of oil, (very roughly), I come out ahead in cost. I use about 5 tons a winter, and about 400 gallons of oil. (without corn I was using an average of 950 gallons of oil per heating season.) My wife loves the corn stove in the living room and the light from the flame, so we would probably keep it going even if we were just breaking even, or losing a little.

We are really happy with our decision to go with corn and the Auburn.

Subject: timer installation - by: dndcoop

dndcoop — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 06:27:42 +0100

just finished installing timer on auger motor and running tests seems to burn better that ever and i believe this should have been installed from the factory to better control the fuel will keep posted after further testing

Subject: Knobs for my Auburn - by: Danny_Heartland

Danny_Heartland — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 09:04:24 +0100

I have own a Auburn for about 6 months. There are 3 rods on the front of the stove. 2 for the pot and one up above to clean the top. I have asked my dealer if St. Croix had knobs to fasten on the rods. He looked in his book and said he did not know so I take none were listed?

Does St. Croix sell them and if so how can I order them and what is the cost? If they do not, does anyone know where I can buy them?

Thanks

Subject: corn or pellets in St. Croix Auburn stove - by: milpillas

milpillas — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 03:09:20 +0100

My St. Croix Auburn burns corn great. However due to the high corn price I am burning pellets right now. I don't seem to get as much heat out of them. Has anyone figured a price point where it is no longer economical to burn corn in comparison with pellets? Have you been able to get your Auburn to burn pellets satisfactory?