Thanks Steve; Mountainhunter,you can run just wood pellets in you choose.Wood pellets can burn at a lower setting than corn.Corn requires a hotter fire than wood to burn efficiently. No, you are not going to cook food on it or boil water. All of the heat is coming out of the heat exchanger via of a blower. The stove itself does not get all that hot on top. You could definately burn yourself on the glass door though.