Thermostat Control. - Most corn stoves aren’t
capable of using a thermostat. This is due to the
fact that corn doesn’t react very well to sudden
increases in the feed rate. A stove that goes from
a #1 setting to a #5 setting will almost always
have problems making that transition. The burn
pot will overload and the fire will go out. The St.
Croix corn stove uses a simple time delay
between each Heat setting to allow the stove to
react to the increase in corn. This allows the stove
to function very well on a thermostat. A Milivolt
type thermostat will work with this control board.
The stove is not fully automatic when running
on a thermostat, when the thermostat is not
calling for heat the stove will drop to the low
(#1) setting as a pilot. For location to connect
the thermostat wires see Figure 3 on page 9.
MAINTENANCE OF THE STOVE
The St. Croix corn clinker theory - And why
we do what we do.
Most manufacturers of corn stoves use
complicated stirring mechanisms to break up the
clinker in the burn pot. We feel that is a
mistake.
Corn doesn’t burn as well when it is disturbed in
the burn pot. Corn needs high temperatures and
proper airflow in the burn pot to burn properly.
That energy is stored in the clinker that is being
formed in the burn pot. It glows red-hot and
provides the heat needed to ignite the corn that is
being fed into the burn pot. When the clinker is
broken up, that constant source of energy is lost,
and now it becomes more difficult to burn corn.
When corn is not burning properly it tends to
stick together and form a clump in the burn pot. It
is impossible for air to flow through this clump
and soon the pot will overload and the fire goes
out.
This is where some manufacturers use the stirring
mechanism to break up the clump of corn to
maintain proper airflow and others use large burn
pots to handle this problem (Smaller burn pots
are better). The truth is neither is needed. The St.
Croix corn burning system allows the corn to be
burned efficiently and completely in a relatively
small burn pot
Clinker Removal.
Once a clinker has formed in the burn pot, the
problem is how to get rid of it. The St. Croix Burn
system is designed to be able to remove the clinker
without loosing the fire in the burn pot. It is a 3-part
system.
1. The coal rake. This is a “fork” shaped
device that will allow the stove operator to
separate the burning coals from the top of
the clinker.
2. The slide out bottom. This allows the bottom
to be pulled out so the clinker can drop out
of the bottom of the burn pot.
3. The program on the control board. To drop
the clinker you set the board on the #1
setting for a couple of seconds and then
return the stove to the desired setting. This
starts a timed delay in the program to allow
the clinker to be removed, the coals to be
dropped to the bottom of the pot and the
Burn pot to become balanced again before
the board resumes on the setting of you
choice.
NOTE: FAILURE TO KEEP YOUR STOVE
CLEAN, AS DESCRIBED IN THIS MANUAL,
COULD RESULT IN POOR OPERATION,
INEFFICIENT FUEL USAGE AND A
POSSIBLE SAFETY HAZARD! IT IS YOUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO DETERMINE
NEEDED MAINTENANCE FREQUENCY.
CAUTION: THE DOOR AND FRONT PART
OF THE STOVE WILL BE HOT. DO NOT
TOUCH ANY PART OF THE STOVE THAT IS
HOT!
This stove requires a minimum amount of daily
maintenance. Required maintenance depends
largely upon the quality of corn burned and the
rate of burn. The amount of daily maintenance
will increase if fuel quality decreases and/or the
burning rate of corn increases. The operator of
the stove is responsible for determining the
frequency of cleaning the stove.
11
Lancaster Operations & Maintenance Manual
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