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Bixby Corn Stove Proves to be a Bin Buster!
Model 110 - "Amaizing" Performance
New for 2006 - Model 115
Reengineered Biomass Stove will set the standard for the future
| As a consumer, there are
those few rare occasions when a product comes along that not only lives
up to the advertising promises, but far exceeds any expectations the
buyer may have. Such has been my experience with the Bixby Model
110 Corn / Pellet Stove. First, let me tell you this is an
unsolicited opinion from a normally skeptical consumer. I've kept
daily records of every bit of corn fed into a Model 100 stove that I
used in 2003, and records of any problems encountered with its
operation, which were relatively few.
The Bixby Corn Stove from Bixby Energy Systems is billed as a free-standing "room heater." Well, folks, the first winter, 2003, I heated a 2,100 square foot house with a Bixby Model 100, the first generation of the Bixby Corn Stoves. Overall, I was pleased with its performance, and being the first model year I expected a few bugs in the operation. And though these were minor, the payback came with the final tally of 125 bushels of corn, or $250 to heat the house for the entire winter. That's darn good for an Iowa winter! And I like the house to be a bit warmer than normal during the heating season, 75 degrees F or above. Last year, I switched over to the Model 110 upgrade, which looks exactly the same from the outside. Whatever the Bixby engineers did to the internal operation, is truly an amazing feat. The marriage of low-tech fuel and high-tech solutions has finally arrived. All this in an easy to operate, low maintenance, low-upkeep stove. For the winter of 2004/'05, I used under 110 bushels of corn to heat the house; and some of that went to feed the goats and chickens! For 2005/06, I used 45 bushels of corn from October 10, 2005 through January 2006. That's an average of about four gallons of corn a day. |
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Left: Bixby
Model 110 Hunter Green with gold trim.
Initially, it was a tough decision to purchase a corn stove, especially as an alternative to heating with gas. I also wanted to do something to get off dependence on conventional fuels, but really didn't think it was practical, or cost effective. Boy was I wrong! After two full heating seasons with the Bixby corn stove as the sole source of heat, I am fully confident the Bixby 110 will continue to meet my heating needs, and far outperform its predecessor. Last year Bixby reengineered its flagship model, with exceptional improvements to its operational performance. The new model has so far exceeded my wildest expectations that I wanted to relate the experience and facts with anyone who is considering purchasing an alternative fuel stove. And for 2006, Bixby has come out with Model 115. You can read some of the details below and decide for yourself. |
Corn is a renewable fuel, and supports your local farmer.
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Left:
The top loading fuel hopper holds corn, wood pellets or biomass pellets.
A rotating wheel carries a few kernels of corn or pellets and drops them into the fire pot approximately every 25 seconds. This is much less often than with the Model 100. I'm anxious to go through another winter to see if this translates to using less corn for the same comfortable heat. So far, the Model 110 appears to be burning less corn, and much more efficiently. Here's the facts from 2004, with the Model 100: Warmer winter day: .5 Bushel (5 gal) Average winter day: 1 Bushel (10 gal) Coldest winter day: 1.5 Bushel (15 gal) # of days @ 1 Bushel: 28 (Dec 15 - Feb 29) # of days @ 1.5 Bushel 29 (Dec 15 - Feb 29) |
| The fuel hopper above holds
well over a bushel of corn. On a typical winter day, I add a five gallon
bucket of clean, shelled corn to the hopper twice a day, three times on
the coldest days.
Note: Model 100 figures from heating my 2-story, 2,100 sq ft house, newer construction, 6" thick walls, R-21 insulation walls, R-40+ insulation in attic. The stove is not hooked into any duct work. Ceiling fans in each room, turning in reverse for winter, distribute the heat sufficiently. The efficiency of any corn furnace will also vary by the moisture content of the corn used. |
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I replaced my gas furnace with a corn stove.
Above: The flame from the firepot. Right: This ash cake is expelled from the base of the firepot into the ash drawer. The ash cake at the right is the total left from burning 16 hours on medium heat setting. |
What really blew me away about the Model 110 is the substantial increase in the efficiency of the burn. With the model 100, a burned corn cake about the size of a large chocolate chip cookie would be expelled into the ash drawer approximately every 45 minutes. With the model 110, this occurs less than twice a day, substantially reducing the number of times to empty the ash drawer, down to once a week. This means the corn is burning nearly 100%, with little ash being produced. This also means more heat is being produced for the house.
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Corn Storage and Handling:
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An 18-gallon Rubbermaid Roughneck container full of corn is kept by the stove at all times. I keep the operation fairly low-tech, placing ten of these Rubbermaid containers in my pick-up once every two or three weeks, when I go on a "corn run." The rest are kept in the storeroom until needed. For additional outside storage, I use two 60 gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks, which I set in the pickup bed, and pull under at the auger to load. These are good to keep enough corn stored for back-up in the event the poor driving conditions. |
Other low-tech ideas for handling:
| Using Clean, Dry Corn: Using shelled corn, at approximately $2.00 a bushel, is a very efficient and cost-effective fuel for the corn stove. Depending on when and how corn is harvested, it can end up with pieces of cob, the red "bee's wings," and other foreign material they call "fines," as well as high moisture content. While the Bixby stove is very forgiving toward these items, any mechanical equipment will perform optimally with clean fuel. I was able to purchase the hand-cranked corn cleaner at right for a very small investment at a local auction. The corn is poured into the funnel at upper left, moves by auger through two screens in the tumbler, where the fine materials drop out, and the corn exits fully cleaned at the bottom of the other end. |
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Bixby's High Tech Solutions for Energy Independence:
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The technology that goes on the inside of the Model 110 has been simplified for 2004. The same fundamental components are in place, such as the oxygen concentrator and automated ash removal from the firepot. |
There's a number of reasons
that investing in a Bixby corn stove makes perfect sense. Among
those would have to be the technology behind the product. And
the technology doesn't stop with the on-board computer, the easy
diagnostics, or the improved ash removal. The oxygen
concentrator ensures a smooth, efficient burn, so that you get the most
for your money whether you use corn, wood pellets or biomass
pellets. One key factor in my decision to buy a Bixby is the product
safety. The stove exterior is warm, not hot to the touch, when
the unit is in full operation. The blower technology keeps the
heat flowing out of the unit, along with the twelve heat exchanger
tubes. All this combines to create a product that can be installed
in close tolerance (3" from walls on the side) and provides optimal
air circulation.
The 3" exhaust pipe on the outside is warm, but not so hot that I can't hold my hands around it for several seconds. A 5" intake pipe surrounds the exhaust pipe; the "pipe within a pipe" intake / exhaust flue system is cool to the touch when the unit is operational, and is easy to install. |
A contrasting viewpoint from another customer:
| As with any consumer
product, not everyone is satisfied. I urge any potential buyers to
"test drive" the stove they plan to buy, regardless of brand. See
it in operation at the dealer's, or don't buy it. I've heard from
many satisfied customers about the Bixby who have also owned other
brands of corn stoves, and found the Bixby to be superior. But
this doesn't necessarily tell the whole story.
While my own experience has been overall positive, the market for corn has affected my own use of the stove. Up until 2007, I could get corn for $2.00 a bushel. Now it is well over $5.00 a bushel. The corn stove is no longer my main source of heat.
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I've agreed to post the
following experience from a not-so-satisfied customer: "My husband purchased a Bixby stove last July at the cost of $4000. The unit was installed in august (we thought we'd help the dealer out in avoiding any rush). We started it up in October, smoke in the house. They came out and the plate had fallen down on installation and they "fixed" it. I have to tell you we have had nothing but problems with our unit. The dealer said they came out 12 times before December. Finally, after they got the computer program they "fixed" it. Actually, it did start to heat the 12X15 room about 8 foot away. This was short lived. The unit shut down about once a day, either just shut itself off or over-filled with corn. We called the dealer and they would tell my husband to do this or do that adjustment. They said they would come out at least 3 times and never showed up. We burned our winters supply of corn (I don't know how much but we built a bin from a hay wagon and it was full) and two lp tanks of fuel and it is now the beginning of March. With the corn burner running at #8 the thermostat 5 feet away says 70 degrees and it is 20 degrees outside with no wind. " "I sent the dealer a letter two weeks ago and we have contacted Bixby (who said we had to deal with the dealer or mail the unit to them). The dealer contacted us 4 or 5 days later and came out and re-set the computer. We have sent them daily e-mails as to how the unit was working. Most days when I returned home from work it was either over flowing or shut down (after he came and re-set it). You can stand 3 feet from the unit and not feel any heat. Today the dealer offered to trade us the Bixby for a St. Croix they know works or take the unit back and return our investment. I'm opting to just get my money back. " "I feel sad as I believe this to be a bad unit. I read your post in the fall and again today searching for information on the Bixby. According to you and others it should work. Your home sounds to be about the same as mine. I'm just writing to let you know my experience is not what yours have been. I would like to make other people aware that it may not be as perfect as you have printed it to me." - Bixby Customer |
FAQ's about the Bixby Corn Stove from visitors to this web site.
Read about a $39.95 Corn Cleaner
This site last updated on January 27, 2006
