Wood boiler to corn conversion or saw dust

[MS-310]

I was woundering if any of you guys have one of these or know a good site or any info on a Wood boiler converted to an corn boiler???? I guess they make these. With this in mind do you know of any thing that makes your outdoor boiler an outdoor sawdust burner? Or is there a good way to do this?
Thanks

 

[habanero]

There are some Yahoo groups dedicated to wood stoves and boilers, that might be a good place to ask your question. Also at least a couple groups dedictated to wood gasification-which might also be a good place to search.

I highly doubt you're going to find an off-the-shelf conversion kit, though. A proper pellet, corn, etc. burner really requires completely different combustion chamber design from a traditional log burner. Not that a conversion couldn't be done, but I just don't think there would be enough money in it for a manufacturer to invest the time and money in the design and permitting process.

 

[Butch(OH)]

Probably not what you need but Woodmaster has a site dedicated to their corn and pellet burner OWBs that has some info. Go to their main site and look for the link. I have read that theirs is one of the better ones. I looked one over at the dealer and they have lots of gizmos attached to make the thing work and that bothers me.

 

[upandcommer]

is there a unit that can run on chipper chips would any of these pellet burners run on the output from a chipper? I realise the output is usually wayyyy too wet to burn efficiently but if you had a chip pile and raked her and spread her nice and thin and got pleanty of air and sun on it you could probably dry it sufficiently to cause combustion. Just a thought of uses for the landfill green waste.

 

[laynes69]

Im not exactly sure what all it involves, but here are some things that are needed. In a corn or pellet burner you need a burn box with the right amout of air going into it. An auger to feed the fire at a set rate this way things are automated. They would be very complex, but to just throw in corn and burn it in piles??? I wouldnt think it would work. I've heard of sawdust burners, but im not sure how they work. Wouldn't you think they would burn mulch better? Just a thought.

 

[Corley5]

I'd be hesitant about investing in a corn only heating unit for cheap heat in the long term. Once these new ethanol plants start digesting corn the price is gonna go up. Good for the American Farmer

 

[stumpguy]

is there a unit that can run on chipper chips would any of these pellet burners run on the output from a chipper? I realise the output is usually wayyyy too wet to burn efficiently but if you had a chip pile and raked her and spread her nice and thin and got pleanty of air and sun on it you could probably dry it sufficiently to cause combustion. Just a thought of uses for the landfill green waste.

that would be nice..we generate and dispose approx 4,000 - 6,000 cubic yards of chips every year. it would be nice to use it for something.

 

[habanero]

is there a unit that can run on chipper chips would any of these pellet burners run on the output from a chipper? I realise the output is usually wayyyy too wet to burn efficiently but if you had a chip pile and raked her and spread her nice and thin and got pleanty of air and sun on it you could probably dry it sufficiently to cause combustion. Just a thought of uses for the landfill green waste.

I don't know of any home-owner size commercial units to accomplish this, but with a little research and mechanical know-how it wouldn't be terribly difficult to build something that would do the trick. The problem with most commercial pellet burners is the feed mechanism wouldn't handle the chips very well.

Depending on the nature of the chips, a downdraft gasifier might be a better way to go. Do a google search on wood gasification, there are a lot of sites out there dedicated to it.

 

[MS-310]

they do make a boiler to do this, but I want to make or find an retro kit for an outdoor wood boiler. I think it was called the dragon or fire dragon some thing like this, I guess it did burn up to 50% MC wood chips, sounds cool but thats just what I heard from a old dude.
Jack

 

[habanero]

they do make a boiler to do this, but I want to make or find an retro kit for an outdoor wood boiler. I think it was called the dragon or fire dragon some thing like this, I guess it did burn up to 50% MC wood chips, sounds cool but thats just what I heard from a old dude.
Jack

I'm skeptical of the 50% MC claim, particularly with chips. I'm not saying it isn't possible with the right engineering, but let's just say it's a challenge.