RCMJR & misoilman, tnx for your replies. RCMJR: LDJ appears to have been in business since 1999. According to the LDJ website they claim the boiler is "Great for radiant floor heat systems". I'd be interested in talking to existing users to see how they are getting on with the the system. I took a closer look at their page about the corn boiler and they claim it's thermostat controlled, perhaps it's able to be dialed down. The picture of it looks like a water heater with a hopper sitting next to it. I'll post the url for the corn boiler. The capacity of the water heater portion is eighteen gallons. They also have an option that would allow the boiler to provide hot water for "domestic" use. So would be able to heat water for shower's, washing dishes etc. Right now the utility room has two gas fired water heaters sitting in it, one for the floor heat and one for domestic use, I think. We'd have to talk the heating and plumbing guy that took over from the H&P guy that had been maintaining the system for many years. The retired fellow is still in town and we might be able to talk him into coming over and orienting us with the systems. misoilman: Having the seller comfirm the moisture content of the corn would be the first thing I would insist on when purchasing the corn. I do know from talking with the folks at the elevator, they will not accept corn that is more than 15 percent moisture. I also need to check with the city to make sure there isn't an ordinance that would preclude me from having a small gravity box sitting next to the carport. If the gravity box is small enough, I'd even consider backing it into the carport. Alas, there is no basement on this dream house. Just a thick concrete slab...:-) So We'll probably use a couple of five gallon buckets for transfer of fuel from the box to the hopper. I'd just consider it a form of exercise...:) We're also a bit concerned about the age of the plumbing in the floor as it is original to the house. The impression I got from the house inspector was that the in floor plumbing was put in place then had the concrete poured over it. I'm going to have to have someone that has better eyes than me and know's what they're looking for, look at the blueprints and see if we can find out how thick the concrete is. Luckily, we've secured a "home warranty" from the seller for at least the first year (at their expense), and there is a possibility of extending it through the second year. I should also probably state that the corn boiler is not a done deal as we are still in the early part of the research stage. Although, a friend of ours has suggested we check the website of the Governor of Illinois and see if there are any grants or other incentives that we might be elgible for. Governor Blagojevich (Bla-goy-a-vich, what a mouthful) is very interested in promoting alternative fuels and energy use in Illinois. Here is a link that might be useful: LDJ's Corn Boiler page

Make sure you neutralize the pressure in the room its in by opening a window, if you dont have a pressure problem in the house you may need to extend the chimney. You are on the very cusp of the manufactures minimum rating and you have that longer then average offset..I think thats most of the problem. You extend the chimney buy using a anchor plate and a transition plate. The transition plate would be optional if you have a good way to attach the anchor plate to the current liner. Normally it would be installed like this: Transition plate covers the chimney and the flange for connectiong the liner points down the chimney The anchor plate bolts to the top of the transition plate and provides a connection for the class A chimney,. If it wouldnt look too rediculious i would add 4 more feet. If you have a negative pressure problem in the home, (if cracking the window improved things dramaticly) then you have a complete other set of problems to deal with. go to www.duravent.com and look up the three parts. You will need the transition plate, the anchor plate, and what ever length of pipe you need. This is a whole nother can of worms, but the stove might perform worse in the basement. There are absoluty no guarentees that your basement will provide a better installation then what you currently have. To make a long story short, your house is one large chimney, heat rises in the attic positivly pressurizing the attic, the main level of the home is is a pass through point, and is typically neutral, and the basement is the supply, wich is under pressure because there isnt much air that can get in the basement, making it negative for pressure. That means the new chimney that is way up in the air has a pretty postive pressure at the top, and the stove at the bottem is in a negative room, and becomes the appliance that tries to neutralize the basement. The stove could be thought of as the same effect of opening a window to neautrlize a room. You can imagine the potential draft problems...

Are you happy with the H530? I am thinking of getting the exact same one. Wittus quoted me roughly 3600 for the Optifire and I think 3050 for the H530 from Jydepejsen. These are both workhorses, and I don't think a fan should be neccessary. I went to a local fireplace store and it's appalling the design of American fireplaces... In my old house I had installed an incredible Danish woodburning stove from Hwam. I miss it. High functionality, high design with simple lines that can fit any decor, and a large window so you really see the fire. I imported it myself, which is what I plan to do with my next one. (email me offline if anyone wants info on this) They don't have the zero clearance unit yet, probably not till next year, so I'm trying to work out what to use as a heat barrier as I'm not putting it into an existing masonary fireplace, but I'm pulling out a flimsy gas log unit. My local store didn't seem to have a problem with installing a unit I wouldn't be buying from them. They only carried the Quadrafire which looks I find horrible.

Thinking of this fireplace-- any experience out there? Anyone knowledgeable about them? I really know nothing about these-- we have a masonry wood-burning fireplace and are putting a new fireplace in an addition. I like the look of the panorama model.