Corn-Burning Boiler Heats House, Shop, Domestic Hot Water

2005 - Volume #29, Issue #1, Page #40

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"I get all my heat from corn," says Tim Ziegler, Foreston, Minn., about the corn-burning boiler he made out of an old gas-fired boiler. It heats his home and shop and provides hot water.
  The entire system operates just like any other hot water boiler system. A series of pumps send hot water through pipes that lead to his house and shop, where separate heat exchangers deliver forced air to both buildings as well as to a series of baseboard heaters located in the newest part of his house. The boiler burns extremely hot - at temperatures of more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
  He started with a 1947 Heil gas boiler which he bought for $50. The boiler was originally designed to burn natural gas. He modified the unit to burn corn by cutting 6 in. off the round bottom of the boiler and installing a plate steel fire box. He used 3/8-in. thick steel pipe and 1/4-in. thick plate steel to build the fire pot. Then he built a new housing around the boiler out of angle iron and stainless steel.
  Corn is augered out of a metal hopper he designed and built from scratch that's located right alongside the boiler. A series of DC drive motors power the feed auger as well as a stainless steel agitator inside the fire pot. Everything runs on timers, with variable speed controls regulating speed of the auger, agitator, and blower. "This allows me to produce the optimum flame," he says. The system includes a pair of circulating pumps, with one pumping water to the shop and the other to the house. A 6-in. stainless steel stack vents exhaust out of the boiler.
  "I couldn't be happier with it," says Ziegler. "We burned about 500 bushels of corn last winter in order to heat our 3,000 sq. ft. house, 630 sq. ft. shop, and our domestic hot water.    "We came up with the idea about three years ago after we bought a commercial corn burning boiler. We couldn't get it to work right and the company wouldn't help out or stand behind its product. I lost about $5,000 on it. It made me mad enough to decide to build my own.
  "I spent a lot of time and money to design and build the system but still saved a lot of money. My total cost was about $3,000. A commercial boiler of comparable capacity would probably cost $7,000 to $8,000. However, it's the idea of bio energy and helping out farmers that I like," he says.
  The boiler puts out more than its rated 150,000 btu's per hour because the corn burns so efficiently, says Ziegler. "I think my corn burning boiler produces more heat per bushel of corn than any other corn burning boiler on the market. The fire pot produces temperatures exceeding 2,000 degrees, whereas the hottest corn burning boilers on the market don't reach more than 1,700 degrees. I'm able to get a near-perfect flame because of the way we can control the speed of the agitator inside the firepot. I used stainless steel to make the agitator, after burning up several other agitators that I had made out of 1/2-in. thick mild steel.
  "I plan on setting up computerized controls that will automatically adjust the boiler to the outside temperature."
  He uses 5-gal. buckets to dump the corn into the hopper next to the boiler. The hopper holds a 4 to 5-day supply. He recently bought a 40-ft. grain auger and a 1,000-bu. grain bin so he can automatically feed grain to the hopper.
  Ziegler designed a cleanout system that lets him use a shop vac to remove ashes from the boiler while it's still running. "I run a brush on a metal rod through the boiler from the front side, then remove a door on back to vacuum out the ashes. When cleaning out the clinkers and ash in the corn burning pot, I shut the boiler down, put on a pair of welding gloves and reach right in and scoop them out. Then I use a stainless steel shop vac equipped with a special aluminum hose, and vacuum out the rest of the ashes. I do this every two days to maintain the hottest flame possible," he says.
  He starts the boiler using wood pellets soaked in kerosene. "I fill the corn pot full of corn, then dump a can of wood pellets pre-soaked with kerosene into the center of the fire pot, then push the p

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Corn-Burning Boiler Heats House Shop Domestic Hot Water BUILDINGS Houses I get all my heat from corn says Tim Ziegler Foreston Minn about the corn-burning boiler he made out of an old gas-fired boiler It heats his home and shop and provides hot water The entire system operates just like any other hot water boiler system A series of pumps send hot water through pipes that lead to his house and shop where separate heat exchangers deliver forced air to both buildings as well as to a series of baseboard heaters located in the newest part of his house The boiler burns extremely hot - at temperatures of more than 2 000 degrees Fahrenheit He started with a 1947 Heil gas boiler which he bought for $50 The boiler was originally designed to burn natural gas He modified the unit to burn corn by cutting 6 in off the round bottom of the boiler and installing a plate steel fire box He used 3/8-in thick steel pipe and 1/4-in thick plate steel to build the fire pot Then he built a new housing around the boiler out of angle iron and stainless steel Corn is augered out of a metal hopper he designed and built from scratch that s located right alongside the boiler A series of DC drive motors power the feed auger as well as a stainless steel agitator inside the fire pot Everything runs on timers with variable speed controls regulating speed of the auger agitator and blower This allows me to produce the optimum flame he says The system includes a pair of circulating pumps with one pumping water to the shop and the other to the house A 6-in stainless steel stack vents exhaust out of the boiler I couldn t be happier with it says Ziegler We burned about 500 bushels of corn last winter in order to heat our 3 000 sq ft house 630 sq ft shop and our domestic hot water We came up with the idea about three years ago after we bought a commercial corn burning boiler We couldn t get it to work right and the company wouldn t help out or stand behind its product I lost about $5 000 on it It made me mad enough to decide to build my own I spent a lot of time and money to design and build the system but still saved a lot of money My total cost was about $3 000 A commercial boiler of comparable capacity would probably cost $7 000 to $8 000 However it s the idea of bio energy and helping out farmers that I like he says The boiler puts out more than its rated 150 000 btu s per hour because the corn burns so efficiently says Ziegler I think my corn burning boiler produces more heat per bushel of corn than any other corn burning boiler on the market The fire pot produces temperatures exceeding 2 000 degrees whereas the hottest corn burning boilers on the market don t reach more than 1 700 degrees I m able to get a near-perfect flame because of the way we can control the speed of the agitator inside the firepot I used stainless steel to make the agitator after burning up several other agitators that I had made out of 1/2-in thick mild steel I plan on setting up computerized controls that will automatically adjust the boiler to the outside temperature He uses 5-gal buckets to dump the corn into the hopper next to the boiler The hopper holds a 4 to 5-day supply He recently bought a 40-ft grain auger and a 1 000-bu grain bin so he can automatically feed grain to the hopper Ziegler designed a cleanout system that lets him use a shop vac to remove ashes from the boiler while it s still running I run a brush on a metal rod through the boiler from the front side then remove a door on back to vacuum out the ashes When cleaning out the clinkers and ash in the corn burning pot I shut the boiler down put on a pair of welding gloves and reach right in and scoop them out Then I use a stainless steel shop vac equipped with a special aluminum hose and vacuum out the rest of the ashes I do this every two days to maintain the hottest flame possible he says He starts the boiler using wood pellets soaked in kerosene I fill the corn pot full of corn then dump a can of wood pellets pre-soaked with kerosene into the center of the fire pot then push the p

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