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Source: Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food

A Saskatchewan company is now offering the first ever Saskatchewan-built grain burning stove for sale to the public and dealers.

Delmer and Janet Hering operate Prairie Fire Grain Energy Inc. from their farm home near Bruno. They have been involved with grain-burning heating systems since 1993, and Delmer says their experience drove the need for this new product.

"We were selling an Ontario-made stove for 14 years, and decided that we could make some improvements on it," Hering stated. "Also, they couldn't keep up with the demand, so we decided it was time to make them here in Saskatchewan."

The Herings teamed up with Mifab Manufacturing of North Battleford, a company primarily known for making and distributing plumbing hardware, to manufacture the new stove, known as the "Prairie Fire Model PFG-060."

Hering says it's the first stove designed to burn grain.

"Most of the stoves are either converted wood pellet stoves or burn corn," he stated. "This is the first certified grain burner. We can also burn bin-run grain, whereas the other one had to have clean grain."

Prairie Fire used the opportunity of starting from the ground up to add improvements to the design, such as a bigger glass door, better air flow and a heavier burning pot. It was also built so that it could be certified for use in mobile homes.

Prairie Fire rates the new grain-burning stove as being capable of heating approximately 2,000 square feet, burning about one bushel of grain per day. According to Hering, the stove pays for itself in energy cost savings.

"It's about four times cheaper than using natural gas, and seven to eight times cheaper than propane, diesel or electric heat," he said. "If you're heating with propane, diesel or electricity, [the Prairie Fire] will pay for itself in probably two years. Compared with natural gas, it might be three to four years."

The grain-burning stove has an operating life expectancy of about 20 years.

While the new stove is designed to burn wheat and rye, Hering says it doesn't need to be fed number one grade.

"The trick is to use poor quality grain," he noted. "If you can find something that's been downgraded, like wheat with fusarium, or grain that's partly heated or mouldy, it will all work."

The stove is designed to be a do-it-yourself installation for most users. It can be situated in any open area, and is vented directly through an outside wall, eliminating the need for an additional chimney. Heat output is controlled by a timed release system that feeds the grain into the firebox from a hopper, and circulated by a variable-speed fan.

"They hold a bushel," Hering stated. "You pour it into the hopper, fill it up, light it, and away you go."

Hering says the primary market for their grain-burning stove is the farm, but they are also selling to owners of cottages and acreages, as well as to a few town-dwellers. Prairie Fire Grain Energy also sells two different sizes of grain-burning boiler systems, which operate outside the home or shop, heating water which is then piped into the buildings to provide heat.

Potential buyers or those interested in becoming dealers can contact the Herings via their website at http://www.grainburningstoves.ca/, or give them a call at (306) 369-2825.

For more information, contact:
Delmer Hering, Owner
Prairie Fire Grain Energy Inc.
Phone: (306) 369-2825
E-mail: prairiefire@sasktel.net
Website: http://www.grainburningstoves.ca/