Furnaces have been around a long, long time. We all have stories of furnaces going out, having to replace a furnace, or moving into a house with an ancient furnace that is far from heat efficient and economical to run.

While corn and flex-fuel stoves have been around for quite sometime, we have yet to experience an average life expectancy for a flex-fuel stove.

You ask the question, “What is the life expectancy of a multi-fuel (flex fuel) stove?”

Well, I don’t really know yet! My MagnuM corn stove has been going for over 27 years and is still operating. There are several hundred thousand appliances in operation today that have been out for 10 plus years and are still going.

The serviceable parts can be replaced and reputable manufacturers like American Energy Systems Inc. have been around for more than 37 years.

It is important to maintain your appliance, have it installed correctly and follow the manufacturers suggestions on how to operate and maintain your unit.

We’ve posted dozens of helpful videos on correct installation and maintainace of your Magnum Countryside or Country Flame heating appliance on YouTube, such as the one featured below.

You should expect a lot of years of toasty evenings without wrapping up in layers of clothes. You can also expect your flex-fuel stove to give your furnace a run for the money both in heat efficiency and longevity!

photo credit: barockschloss

Are you sold on alternative heating and ready to throw your furnace out the window?

Wait.

Even though heating with renewable energy such as corn or wood pellets is a cost effective and fantastic method of heating your home, you don’t want to throw your furnace out the window just yet.

Do I need to keep my furnace if I install a Magnum stove?

The answer is yes you do. There are code compliance issues that require a primary heating system to be installed in your home. Today, there are no insurance or building codes that will allow a solid fuel device to be considered as primary.

This does not mean, however, that your corn/flex-fuel appliance will not heat your entire home.

The best advice is to let your renewable energy appliance do the bulk of the heating, and when you go away on vacation, etc. allow your primary furnace to take over.

There are plenty of design solutions; your corn burning appliance can complement your entire system so that you can stay toasty warm.

Many corn/flex-fuel customers report that their primary furnace runs very little, if at all, even on the coldest of days. So while we do not recommend you throw your furnace out the window, we are excited for you to experience the wonderful heat and savings associated with corn and pellet stoves!

One of our raving fans share how well their corn stove heats their entire home in this video:

photo credit: Keith Williamson