The State Fair

Welcome back everyone. It has been a long summer but it is time to start thinking about corn burning again.

The Minnesota State Fair.

I took off work an hour early today, since it was my day to sit in a cubical in St. Paul, and took a trip to the Minnesota State Fair. It was an enjoyable trip.

My first stop was at Freier's Fireplace Store where I ran into what I hope to be my next corn burning purchase. A Quadrafire Mt. Vernon fireplace insert. It is a beautiful stove and seemed to be very well made. It has a very nice design in the front made out of cast iron. I am heating an old house here with dark woodwork, I think the antique look of this stove will fit in perfect. The sales guy was very friendly. Seemed to know his stuff. I would buy there if I was closer.

I also hit the outdoor boiler circuit. Let me start by saying I don't know about any of these units. I am not interesting in outdoor boilers. Putting a building outside my house with the fire in it.? Ummm, part of the checking the enjoyment of corn burning is checking the fire. There is no way I could rig up a series of mirrors that far! So, what I am saying is I didn't look into the guts of these units. Unless noted, mechanically lets call them all equal.

So, with that caveat, Outdoor Boilers:
Central Boiler was the highlight of the customer service. The sales guy had literally no voice at all above a whisper. Yet he whispered his pitch, pointing out his products benefits. I looked at the Maxim. It is less of the garden shed look than most of the other brands. I also walked through the Woodmaster booth but the sales people were all involved in conversation. I saw the Heatmor and talked to the fellow there a bit. Pardon me. I just can't get enthused. Don't let me turn you away from one of these units. They have lots of advantages. They just arn't for me.

Last, of the outdoor units, I talked to a disarmingly beautiful sales woman who knew her product very well at the Aqua Therm booth. They carry the European manufactured Verner boiler. They make a product that seems very solidly built, though perhaps a little off in external looks. Yeah, yeah, I know, this is something that sits in your basement. But remember people, I do computer graphics for part of my living... So, I look at external design too. It could be I have to think about the fact eventually all of these corn burners will need to be worked on. Maybe having a less wrapped up design would be very practical when it comes to repair. So, I encourage you to take a look at this boiler. It is expensive, compared to what I am used to in indoor boilers. But I admit, I didn't price any of the others outdoor units. Maybe they are all more expensive. Also, this unit can't just sit in the outdoors. It needs to sit in a building. So you have to build your own garden shed for this unit. Humm. Before buying though, I would like to know how common the parts are for this unit in the states. If I can go down to Grangers to buy parts, I am happy.

Moving indoors, I talked to a fellow at the St. Croix booth that really seemed to know his stuff. I looked at their SCF-050. It seemed to be well made. The corn hopper is maybe a touch undersized by current standards, but, this is only a 45,000BTU unit, so a 200lb hopper might not be so bad. The St. Croix looks like a solid unit.

OK, I apologize for what I am about to do. I am going to gush. I don't have $11,000. I don't have anywhere near $11,000. But if I did.... I would spend it on an HS Tarm boiler. This boiler is a thing of beauty. The fit and finish was first class. Closing the door on an HS Tarm is like closing the door on a Mercedes. You turn the handle and the door gives you the impression of sealing, pressure cooker style. The paint was thick and professional looking. The metal was heavy. The feed auger seemed strong enough to chew up entire cornstalks if you really wanted. The heavy insulation and thick firebrick in the door would stop heat loss and increase efficiency. The hopper is tall. I would no longer be able to bucket the corn into the boiler.

I have to give credit where credit is due. My neighbor Jason first saw the Tarm boilers. He came home gushing. But, Jason is a touch more prone to gush that I am.

But, I do have to grumble a touch. The sales people at the HS Tarm booth were totally disinterested in my presence. I did flag down one sales person, saying to him "Wow, these units are incredible! I have only seen them in pictures, never in person!" Which is a pretty positive sales line to hear from a potential customer. But, the sales guy just grunted and walked away. I dunno. Maybe it was the pony tail. And, I like I said, I don't have $11,000, maybe it shows. And, to be totally honest, it was the end of a day, a few days into a state fair. But being a former employer of sales people, seeing this sort of thing show up doesn't bode well for customer service. Make sure you like who you are dealing with.

Absent, or maybe I just didn't find them. Bixby, and Energy King. I would have loved to see Energy King there. After all, I made the drive from Chippewa Falls, couldn't they? Bixby, were you there?