A new breed of multi-fuel stoves are making their way onto the market, harvesting biomass fuels at the household level like never before. While wood stoves have long been a staple of indoor heating (especially in log cabins or romantic restaurants) but they lack consistency in burning temperature and are a challenge to power. Wood stoves and fireplaces are also being banned in some states and prohibited on most new houses due to air quality issues. For anyone who has ever visited his or her grandparent’s farm (if they have one) you’ll also know that fire wood doesn’t exactly chop itself… furthermore, wood logs don’t pack as easily as other units of fuel such as wood pellets or corn which makes them harder to transport and work with.
This new wave of biomass stoves and biomass heaters has created the opportunity for multiple biomass fuel sources to compete. In some circles they are even raising the question of whether energy sources such as corn should really be used for heat instead of food. The concern is that food prices will go up as corn becomes competitive with ethanol and other types of biomass.
Pictured just below is the 52,300 BTU multifuel heater from American Harvest which can hold up to 63 pounds of fuel and burns corn, wood pellets, soy beans, olive pits, cherry pits, bio mass fuel grains, processed silage and almost anything else biomass. With features ranging from automatic circulation exhaust blower, digital control board with built in diagnostics, and nine heat settings with heat and draft control, this ain’t you’re grandma’s stove! This particular model has received mixed reviews and while the technology is still new we encourage you to share your tips about other models and your experience using multi fuel stoves.
