Hi John

I like the idea of burning swollen pellets as I lost about 500 lbs to a flooded basement due to hurricane Irene. The swollen pellets made for some decent weed killing mulch near my garage. I might try to burn some if I have the opportunity again. The best burning I have had was when I was running a 50/50 mix of corn and wood last season. Corn is just too difficult to come by without a lot of travel in the Baltimore area. I'm going to start experimenting with different pellet types.

The price of corn (and my access too it) has been an issue this year and I have been burning almost exclusively wood pellets all season so far. I have gone through about 2.5 tons already, less about 12 bags I lost to flooding during Hurricane Irene. The heat output is definitely down, though I've only had to run my nat. gas boiler for about 4 hours all winter so far. If anyone has figured out a way to get the pellets to auger faster in the Auburn, please let us know.

I haven't run into any of these problems yet with mine as I'm still in the second season, but I appreciate you posting updates as I am learning a lot. Wish I could help.

Great comments about the Auburn. The is Dr is having with one half blowing hot and one half blowing cold sounds like a blockage. I have been burning an Auburn for 2 years and it entirely heats my 1600 square foot house that is about as drafty as a tobacco barn.

I have burned corn, wood pellets, and a mix and have found wood pellets to burn a bit cooler, but no change has caused the type of trouble you are experiencing. My stoves suck air from outside, however, which sounds like another possible issue.

Good luck!

Hello All,

As I am gearing up for a my second year of burning, I decided that I would burn a wood pellet/corn mix more this year. I bought 3 tons of Hamer's Hot Ones at a pretty decent early season price. I had them delivered. The delivery guys came a day before they were scheduled and delivered the pellets in a rainstorm.

The pellet bags were stacked on pallets with a plastic weather-wrap. One of the pallets had a rip in the weather-wrap, causing many of the bags to get damp. Some of the pellets (in a bag I opened) gained a little bit of moisture (they got big and crumbly). Is this going to cause huge problems for me if I try to burn? Should I just scrap that ton all together?

I imagine the pellet bags protected the pellets to some extent, and without opening all the bags it is really hard to tell.

Please let me know if anyone has ever experienced wet pellets?

Nick

HMVE: So you just dump pellets into the hopper just like you would corn? I thought I had read somewhere that you needed an adapter for the burn pot. Maybe I was just imagining it. Thanks for your help!

Pellets are much cheaper around here. I don't have my stove set up for pellets yet. Maybe next season. If corn prices go up next year (as the probably will), I may convert. Either way, I am saving money and not supporting the local utility as much.

For Maryland Burners:

I joined the Baltimore Biomass Co-op for the remainder of the season. The pick-up is very easy and at 7.25 per 50 lb bag that is pretty comparable to most places in the area.

I also picked up a few bags from Bowman's in Westminster at 9.00 per 50 lb bag. This corn burns hotter and longer than everything I have been burning to date. But at 9.00 per bag...

Tractor Jockey: Provide more information. I'm looking for more sources, even though I have joined the co-op, I will still probably supplement my co-op corn with corn from farms and burners from the surrounding counties. What do you typically charge for a 50 lb bag?

Thanks to everyone for the replies.

Blacksheep: I will definitely try your method of mixing and shaking. I have had the best luck when I use as little starter fuel as possible. Sometimes I use pellets, other times I use fire starter squares. Then I'll pour in my hand sanitizer and stir it together a bit before lighting. Maybe your James Bond (shakin' not stirred) method would get me better coverage. Thanks!

I figured some of you veteran corn-burners would get a kick out of some of my new-burner woes, and maybe also some new burners on here could avoid the mistakes I have made so far. I have had my stove for about a week. I own a St. Croix Auburn. I have been dropping clinkers more than I should, just to get the hang of it. I have been cleaning my stove every few days, just to get the hang of it. And in all of this disruption of continuous burning, I have experienced a few issues.

For a while, every time I would light a new fire, it would burn for about an hour, then smother itself, fill the lawn and at least two rooms of the house with smoke, before I would shut it down and repeat the process. I realized eventually after talking to my stove dealer that I was using too much start fuel/not letting the starter fuel burn down enough. I am now using less fuel and have fixed the problem.

I am still having to drop a clinker about every 10 hours or so when then manual says every 18 hours when running on high. I am still trying to figure that out.

Either way, I love the process and I enjoy burning corn.

I found a fella today in Cecil County that sells 50 pound and 100 pound bags for anyone near the I-95 corridor. We're talking roughly $250-280 per ton.

I bought a half ton. I have yet to try burning, but he was incredibly helpful and friendly on the phone and in person. If that kind of stuff matters to you, I highly recommend checking out the Zartler Farm in Port Deposit, MD.

I live in the Baltimore area and I am looking to buy a few bags of corn before I become a member of a co-op. Do you know any local places that sell bagged corn without requiring memberships?