major new potential large local market for grains

[edbaker]

Hi, all,

Are you guys interested in pursuing a major new market for your grains?

I used to sell corn-fired heating stoves that would heat a fair sized house on slightly over a bushel of corn per day. Cheaply, in most years.

We used to say that we could beat the price of any heating system but gas - or wood that you cut yourself (southwestern Ontario). There are quite a large number of wood-burning heaters around here. But with gas, you hook up to the end of the pipe and pay your bill at the end of the month. Lazy person's dream.

A corn stove, similarly to a wood-fired one, must have corn hauled into the house to feed it. One has to pry a clinker out of the small firebox oftener than once a day, not a difficult task, but someone has to do it. So it must be an alternative heating system for any but dairy farmers, who must be at home twice daily.

A friend, who sold the first corn stoves in this area 12 years ago, is a sharp cookie and built his own stove, the only one to carry several patents and is certified - to burn wheat and rye as well as corn. It's been in operation for 8 years, with very few glitches and minimal demands for maintenance.

Those stoves should have been well received on the prairies where there are few hardwood trees to cut for fuel and natural gas is seldom available in rural areas. His budget didn't allow for major marketing programs.

With the increased price for gas and fears that it will go higher, we ask people why they would buy a heating unit where you must buy fuel from a member of an international cartel, when they can buy one that allows them to buy fuel from any of a hundred thousand farmers - and the operations of the international grain cartel will ensure that the cost of their fuel remains low.

Any comments?

Ed Baker eddbaker@yahoo.com

P.S. Try www.grainstovesinc.com, tell them Ed Baker sent you. EB

[dfarms11]

Hey Ed, how much wheat,barley, oats, rye would it burn in a day. Dont have corn, so I dont know what it would cost

Dwayne

[edbaker]

Hi, Dwayne,

It will burn slightly over a bushel of corn a day in cold weather. I suspect a bushel and a half of wheat or rye: only a guess. I may have heard Alex say, but don't remember, if so.

It's only cleared by Warnoch-Hersey to burn wheat or rye beside that.

I don't know how barley burns, but it's not cleared to burn that. I suspect that the long hull of oats might give some feeding trouble, but not sure. High ratio of hull to grain would likely mean that you'd have to burn more bushels to get same amount of heat.

Highly efficient, uses renewable resources, low level of pollution. High level of safety - insurance companies love it.

Small auger moves fuel from hopper to drop down tube onto top of fire in double-walled firebox about 4" square. If auger turning continuously would turn about one rev. per min, but controlled to turn a few seconds, stop several seconds, drops a few kernels into fire each operation.

Small combustion fan draws air through stove pipe from outside through approx. 6" hole in any outside wall, pushes air through fire - like old blacksmith forge - and pushes air through exhaust pipe, thus drawing products of combustion from fire. Exhaust pipe, usually about 3", sits inside 6" air intake pipe, so only require one hole through wall. No chimney required, but can use if desired.

Build-up of residue in bottom of firebox clogs air holes, grains won't burn unless air pushed through, so fire goes out. So needs to have clinker removed after about 15 hours in cold weather, thus should be alternative heat source , for householder can't leave home long.

Neglected to say in original post that one can use low quality grains.

Ed Baker eddbaker@yahoo.com

[TOM4CWB]

Talking about burning grain,

Why not Canola?

45% oil should burn like heating oil, shouldn't it?

Canola isn't worth much more than wheat, is someone working on this?

Canola with over 20% green seed is worth less than wheat!

[chas]

Now what are the hungary and the poor of the world going to eat.Remember Tom the ones who were going to start world war lll over me selling my grain at a sustainable level.

[edbaker]

Hi, Charles,

I too feel very uneasy about using high priority product that can be used to feed people for a much lower priority use, to provide heat. We can burn wood or coal but (at this point) we haven't learned how to eat them. In partial justification, the stove can use low quality product not fit for human or even animal consumption - but often most of the fuel used is pretty good quality (you guys consistently grow good stuff!).

To get that good quality cereal to the hungry person requires shipping and someone to pay at least cost of production (including depreciation and income for the workers): otherwise the grower goes out of business.

I spent several years in Korea helping a few hundreds, of hundreds of thousands of refugees who'd left everything in another part of the country, often including their family because they, as community leaders who'd feared for not only their jobs but their lives, feared to take the whole family - too conspicuous - down over the mountains through a defended border on a windy night in the rain or the snow.

Imagine not getting a snippet of information about your family for now 50 years. Afraid to draw attention to them by even sending mail via a third country.

Half of the population (but lower of the refugees) were farmers, but there were very few square metres of arable land in the south previously uncultivated. Many factories and businesses were closed due to the war so many were underemployed and unemployment was high (probably 35% guesstimate).

You can understand my abhorrence of wasting food! But - as some farmers say, with disgust when prices are low, "We may as well burn the damned stuff - we can't get a decent price for it!!"

Tried to call Alex to find out about canola, but he and his wife are showing the heater in that big farm show in Louisville, Kentucky. Farmers go by the busload from here in southern Ontario - huge show - one could get lost in those three or four huge halls.

Don't know about canola: perhaps one could mix it, but I doubt that it would feed well alone. Don't know how it would burn - not well, I think, for he hasn't been able to clear it with Warnoch Hersey, the equipment evaluators for CSA standard, for soybeans, I think.

One more thing: Thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you who support the Food Grains Bank and other support measures for the dispossessed of the world! And there are so many, these days! (more or less retired) Ed

eddbaker@yahoo.com

Look at www.grainstovesinc.com

[edbaker]

Hi, Charles,

I too feel very uneasy about using high priority product that can be used to feed people for a much lower priority use, to provide heat. We can burn wood or coal but (at this point) we haven't learned how to eat them. In partial justification, the stove can use low quality product not fit for human or even animal consumption - but often most of the fuel used is pretty good quality (you guys consistently grow good stuff!).

To get that good quality cereal to the hungry person requires shipping and someone to pay at least cost of production (including depreciation and income for the workers): otherwise the grower goes out of business.

I spent several years in Korea helping a few hundreds, of hundreds of thousands of refugees who'd left everything in another part of the country, often including their family because they, as community leaders who'd feared for not only their jobs but their lives, feared to take the whole family - too conspicuous - down over the mountains through a defended border on a windy night in the rain or the snow.

Imagine not getting a snippet of information about your family for now 50 years. Afraid to draw attention to them by even sending mail via a third country.

Half of the population (but lower of the refugees) were farmers, but there were very few square metres of arable land in the south previously uncultivated. Many factories and businesses were closed due to the war so many were underemployed and unemployment was high (probably 35% guesstimate).

You can understand my abhorrence of wasting food! But - as some farmers say, with disgust when prices are low, "We may as well burn the damned stuff - we can't get a decent price for it!!"

Tried to call Alex to find out about canola, but he and his wife are showing the heater in that big farm show in Louisville, Kentucky. Farmers go by the busload from here in southern Ontario - huge show - one could get lost in those three or four huge halls.

Don't know about canola: perhaps one could mix it, but I doubt that it would feed well alone. Don't know how it would burn - not well, I think, for he hasn't been able to clear it with Warnoch Hersey, the equipment evaluators for CSA standard, for soybeans, I think.

One more thing: Thanks from the bottom of my heart to those of you who support the Food Grains Bank and other support measures for the dispossessed of the world! And there are so many, these days! (more or less retired) Ed

eddbaker@yahoo.com

Look at www.grainstovesinc.com

[TOM4CWB]

Hi Guys,

I have no problem keeping people alive in Western Canada by burning Canola Oil!

People do not directly eat canola!

People do not eat Canola meal! It is used for livestock feed.

If burning Canola would efficiently compete with natural gas, and it would burn clean and efficient, I do not know why anyone would object to using it as a fuel!

[edbaker]

Tom,

No argument.

But I suspect that you're going to have to design your own stove.

I don't think that the Grain Comfort stove will burn it. In any case, it hasn't been certified by Warnoch Hersey for CSA standard, as have rye, wheat and corn.

Off topic: Any of you fellows/gals interested in being dealers? Alex needs some in Western Canada.

Hope you're all enjoying winter. Ed