Farming '90, 1990-03-21, Page 17Unique corn heaters environmentally friendly
BY L1§A BOONSTOPPEL
If you piled up a mound of corn,
doused it with gasoline and lit a
match to it, it wouldn’t burn. Yet,
corn is the fuel that feeds a unique
heater being distributed by Alex
and Stan Gulutzen of Blyth that
provides constant heat and is
environmentally friendly.
This revolutionary new heater is
called the Dovetec corn heater
which resembles a wood stove and
gives off continuous heat like a gas
furnace but emits no pollution into
the environment because it ex
hausts carbon dioxide.
The amazing aspect of the heat
ers is that they use the renewable
resource of corn to create heat;
even mildewed corn can be used.
The heating concept centres
around corn and oxygen said Mr.
Gulutzen who explained how the
heater works.
“The heater needs a proper air
ration in the combustion chamber
which is 30 parts oxygen to one
kernel of corn," he said. Through a
double vent attached to the heater
and put out through an outside wall
of a structure, oxygen is taken in
and exhaust blown out.
To get the heater going, wood
chips are needed to start a fire in a
small fire box located just behind
the heater's door. Once the wood
chips are burning and the oxygen
intake has increased the tempera
ture inside the heater up to 110
degrees fahrenheit, a room fan and
internal auger automatically start.
The auger slowly dribbles corn into
the firebox which eventually in
creases the temperature up to 1600
degrees fahrenheit inside the heat
er.
The starch from the corn pro
duces the heat, said Mr. Gulutzen.
And while the kernels are burning,
flames can be seen which are
actually methane gas from a mix
ture of methane oxygen. But it is
the starch that creates heat, not the
flame.
“It is quite a unique concept,’’
said Mr. Gulutzen who became
interested in the idea of selling the
heaters after he saw one at a
relative’s place in Ottawa. After
researching he discovered a man
named Carol Buckner from North
Carolina had invented the heaters
and distributors were needed in
Canada. The Gulutzens soon be
came partners and have already
sold about 15 heating units and
they report that there’s been no
negative response to the unit.
That’s understandable consider
ing that besides being environmen
tally friendly, it requires little
labour to take care of. The stove
needs to be filled with corn once a
day (it holds about a bushel of corn
kernels) and once a week, ashes
need to be cleaned. The other
maintenance involved is removing
the corn shells from the firebox
because they don’t burn but solidi
fy into a hard mass called a clinker
which can be easily poked out of
the fire box and plucked out with
tongs. “Then, just throw it into the
garbage,’’ said Stan Gultuzen.
Owners may have to adjust to the
temperature control on the heaters
which is a dial timer. The dial is
From field to fire
This attractive heater uses corn instead of gas, wood or oil to
heat and is on display at McGavin's in Walton who are dealers
for Stan Gulutzen (above) and Alex Gulutzen who are
distributorsoftheheaterinHuronCounty.Sincecornisa
renewable source and the burning of it produces no
environmental pollutants, the Gulutzens believe corn heaters
are the wav to go for heating your home.
located on the side of the heater
and is set in seconds. For instance,
if it was set to three seconds on and
two seconds off, that would mean
for three seconds corn would be
trickling into the firebox and for
two seconds, there would be no
movement. The more kernels
dropping into the firebox, the
warmer the room would be. So like
an oil furnace, the temperature can
be controlled.
Moreover, the heaters are safe
around young children who could
burn themselves on wood stoves.
“You can touch the heater every
where except directly above the
firebox and not get burned," said
Stan.
The heaters are available in a
few colours, said Stan who thinks
the corn heaters would be an
attractive addition to anyone’s
home. They are made out of steel
and come in black, brown, cream
and blue.
Clinker
This solidified mass of corn
shells is called a clinker which
needs to be removed from the
heater twice a day. It is
easily dislodged from the fire-
boxandcanbethrownin the
garbage.
The Gulutzens hope to impress
upon the public the versatility of
the product which can be used as
the lone heating system in a house
or a reliable back-up source of heat.
Those with older homes that have
lots of walls would probably de
pend on the heaters as a back-up
system since the heater is only
designed to warm approximately
2,000 square feet if centralized in
an open room. The pair are hoping
to impress cottagers with the
possibility of the corn heaters for
their part-time living quarters.
The corn heaters can also be
connected to any existing chimneys
on houses and installed as an insert
into a fireplace. There must be an
electrical outlet nearby for the
stove needs electricity to power the
fan and auger. “The stove runs at
110 volts and it draws the power of
a 50 watt lightbulb, said Mr.
Gulutzen.
The Gulutzens have been distri
buting the heaters since November
and already have McGavin’s in
Walton and Ed and John Salverda
from Londesboro dealing the
stoves. The heaters retail at 51,995
and weigh about 350 pounds. And,
now a larger furnace type corn
heater will soon be on the market
which Mr. Gulutzen believes “will
be a big seller.”