Nuts and Bolts of Corn Stoves: What is a Klinker
Thursday
Jul 1, 2010
The 4th of July is coming and all of a sudden you have become patriotic and want to heat your home the American way, that is with CORN. You have researched very carefully and have made a wise decision to purchase a MagnuM or Country Flame Flex-fuel CORN stove. You are a genius! Now to prove to all mankind that you really are a smart dude you need to be equipped with the answer to the burning question “ what is a Klinker”?
To Start With…
Because you have purchased the internationally renowned Flex-fuel Corn stove from American Energy Systems, you can impress all your friends and family with the variety of fuels that your appliance can burn. The most popular of course is shelled corn but your appliance will be able to burn wood pellets and wheat along with other specialty biomass fuels. Your MagnuM or Country Flame stove is equipped to change fuels simply by increasing or decreasing the fuel stirrer speed, adjusting the air settings and just pouring in your favorite fuel of choice.
What is a Klinker?
But what about that little buildup that you see on the fingers (that is the fuel stirrer that you see turning in the firepot) and also a buildup starting in the firepot? That my friend is what we affectionately call a “Klinker” But what is this annoying buildup and how can I get rid of it? If you are using the self cleaning firepot system with the fuel stirrer it typically takes care of itself and by adding in a little oyster shells (you can purchase this at a local farm store, or steal some away from the chickens (they like to eat it) ) it will dissolve the Klinker and burn it up. You also can mix in about 10-15% wood pellets and it will help.
If you have the Biomass firepot system you simply roll the Klinker out of the firepot with the cleaning tool and a pair of tongs and you are good to go. You can eliminate or greatly reduce any buildup of the Klinker by making sure that your corn is free from dust, dirt, corn fines, pieces of stalk and other debris. Having your fuel at 11-12 percent moisture will also help out in reducing the Klinker buildup.
But what if I have the fingers on the fuel stirrer solid with buildup and the firepot is full? I have tapped on the Klinker and it has not fallen off? Don’t worry, this is not a big problem. You can cure this in a couple ways. One, let the unit cool completely down for about an hour or so and the Klinker will soften and almost fall off of the fuel stirrer fingers and will be loose in the firepot. If you are in a hurry to get back to heating with corn, you can simply soak the firepot and fuel stirrer in cold water and it will dissolve and fall off. Please do not take a 10 pound hammer and beat on the firepot system as this will just frustrate you and the Klinker will win the battle.
If you have a consistent problem with excessive Klinker buildup it could be that your home itself does not have enough fresh air to allow clean burning of the fuel. This can be fixed by proper makeup air for the home and the appliance. This is a job for a qualified technician to make sure that everything is right. Be sure to check out our technical center online at Magnumheat.com for more answers to these burning questions.
