Is your house old and drafty? Did you give up a long time ago on trying to save money while heating your farmhouse?

There’s something to be said about living in an older house with tons of charm and loads of character. Drafts are not part of that charm, however, and many people find that updates to the insulation and roof don’t completely eliminate those pesky drafts.

Many people, grain farmers included, have discovered that the warm heat of corn or pellet stoves works well to fight a cold, drafty house. If you have corn or wheat (or both) that you’d like to use to heat your home, then the line of Magnum flex-fuel heating products is an excellent solution.

According to Holly Harz, “The Countryside stove keeps us warm even in our big old drafty house! It’s our primary source of heat all winter, and it even LOOKS nice in our central Family Room. I miss the fireplace from my childhood home, and being able to see the flames warms me inside as well as out. The Countryside paid for itself in savings the first year, and continues to keep our heating costs down. It has it all;  lower cost and ease of use! Thanks for your service…”

“We have a Countryside Magnum,” says Lee Horton, “and we love it. Your safety measures work. Ran the stove on higher setting than they said we could, the stove got hot, shutdown and restarted with no problem. We had a different stove 2 years ago, and was nowhere close to being as good ~it keeps this old farm house warm.”

We had no trouble finding people willing to share their positive experiences with heating older homes. It seems that people across the country are finding corn, pellets, and wheat a viable solution to a warm, toasty home. “We purchased a Magnum Countryside. We don’t even turn on our other heat! If you don’t have a Magnum bio-fuel stove then you are throwing your money away! What a superbly engineered product!” words from Pete Raskovic another happy Countryside owner.

If you have questions about how to get started heating with renewable fuel, you can complete this Great Discounts, Heat Savings form.

Some grain farmers have opted to earn additional income by helping us sell corn burning appliances. Farmers then can build a network of local people to whom they can sell locally grown fuel. If this interests you, please email us at information@magnumheat.com

photo credit: ellenm1 (house)

photo credit: J D Mack (grain)

I think we all can sympathize with Anne Murray when she sang “A little good news today”. We live in a world where bad is good when it comes to media attention. Heating your home with renewable energy and saving money is not NEWS while the EPA slamming down on those “dirty” burning wood stoves makes for newspaper sales. Well Anne, there is a little good news today and MagnuM delivers that good news with a lineup of clean burning, environmentally sound wood stoves, pellet and corn appliances and gorgeous fireplaces that will keep you toasty warm and clear the air.

American Energy Systems Inc., manufacturer of the world renowned MagnuM and Country Flame line of renewable energy product participated in several EPA wood stove changeout programs where consumers were paid to take out that old dirty burning wood stove and replace it with a efficient and clean burning wood stove, pellet stove or corn stove. American Energy Systems Inc. won an award for the Libby Montana project where it was proven that we CAN clean up areas where the air is polluted and also improve the indoor air quality of your home.

You can go to hpba.org to read several articles on wood stove changeout programs and the amazing results where we have cleaned up the air to bring the area into air quality compliance, improved the air quality in the home and provided an economical means of saving precious energy. There are numerous changeout programs coming up so you will want to be checking in with us to see if you qualify.

Extra! Extra!

Maybe someday soon the headlines will read: MagnuM and Country Flame clear the air while providing safe affordable heating for your home. Homeowners go on vacation with the savings. Now that’s news!

If you liked this article, you might like: Saving Money on Heat Bills Isn’t Just for Your Home

photo credit: TheTruthAbout…

Everywhere you look and read, someone is talking about “going green”.

Most traditional methods of heating homes and offices rely on fossil fuels, which has garnered attention in the “green movement”. As we all start to focus our attention on alternative energy options…

…there has been a lot of discussion about using corn as a fuel.

Universities across the nation have done studies along with environmental groups, and the consensus is that the life cycle of corn burning results in a neutral or slightly positive effect on our environment.

What does that mean? It means that the emissions are very low compared with wood burning, and it also means that the end cost to our environment and to our economy is positive.

There is a high cost associated with our traditional ways of heating. Political, social, environmental impact are only a few ways we pay the price for sticking with “tradition”. When we take a look at the cost of war associated with protecting our traditional fossil fuels alone, using renewable energy right here at home takes on a broader meaning.

Have you considered using a corn stove to heat your home or business?  What is stopping you?

photo credit: jessicareeder

Many people who own corn stoves or who are considering buying a corn stove ask this question:

Can I buy corn directly, in bulk, from a farmer?

Farming is the backbone of America, and many people view buying corn directly from farmers as a way to support the industry, spend money locally, and save money by buying fuel in bulk.

The answer is yes, you can buy corn directly from farmers to fuel your corn stove. Farmers are a great source for getting corn directly. Many farmers have turned this opportunity into a business and sell corn and appliances.

I have not met a farmer yet who does not like to have someone stop by for a visit. Be prepared though for about two hours of great stories, hot cider, and oh yes, taller stories.

photo credit: Martin Pettitt

photo credit: Waypoint-zero

Many people are excited about the prospect of saving money and burning corn for heat, but have questions about how alternative heat and fuel accessibility works for people in larger cities. After all, they don’t necessarily have corn fields in their backyards like many mid-westerners.

So how do you access and/or buy corn if you live in an urban area and want to use a corn stove?

Corn and other Bio-Mass/Agri-Fuels have been distributed world wide for many years. The industry today is providing several alternatives for getting the fuel of choice right to your home or local distribution centers. Bulk delivery, bagged fuel, and personalized service are part of the package when purchasing a corn stove these days.

American Energy Systems was instrumental in putting a corn silo in downtown Tacoma Park, Maryland in full view of the White House to show that fuel can be supplied anywhere people want to conserve energy.

There was a great blog post written a while back in support of corn stoves, alternative energy, the corn silo project in Tacoma Park, and American Energy Systems by Mike Tidwell. You can read his article here, called “Maryland’s First 90% Renewable-Energy Home; The story of how one Takoma Park family is fighting global warming on a budget, and how you can do it too”

Here’s a quick video tutorial in helping you decide if heating with renewable energy is right for you and your home:

Click here to view the embedded video.

You’ve heard the stories from centenarians of living through the depression and other tough economies. Many of those stories revolve around saving money on food and getting by on cheap fuel to heat their homes. So many people tell stories about chopping wood and throwing corn cobs in their stoves to keep warm. With corn fields plentiful and corn cobs considered useless, why don’t flex fuel stoves burn corn cobs?

If you spend a little time on the Internet looking for information about this subject and search for articles about  burning corn, you’ll no doubt find a common question about burning corn cobs. Why is it recommended you burn shelled corn (or other approved fuels) in your flex fuel stove, and why wouldn’t you burn corn cobs?

Here’s the Answer

Corn/flex-fuel appliances today are designed to burn shelled corn instead of corn cobs. Farmers are harvesting their corn now with combines, shelling the corn right away, and chopping up the cobs to be returned to the earth. This is factored into the design. I know this, because I designed and built the first certified corn burning appliance in the industry.

Corn cobs carry a high level of starch in them which does not convert easily over to BTU’s. The shelled corn carries a level of starch and sugar which converts easier into usable heat units. The technology for using corn cobs is so much different from using shelled corn, that appliances can not easily adapt between the two.

Video Help on Choosing Your Corn and Other Flex Fuels

Click here to view the embedded video.

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