Stump Removal

[wrwelect]

Anybody got ant suggestions on burning out stumps? Chemicals, techniques,etc.

[knucklehead]

How big? There are preparations out there but I haven't used them. I've cut low and buried big ones, let some rot where it didn't matter, and dug out little ones. I had a few 12 - 18" pine stumps up back that I piled brush on and burned out quickly. I built a stone fire ring around one on the lawn and burned it out eventually. I have to do that a couple more times.

[Tom_Trees]

I haven't done this, but my grandfather did for years --

Use an axe to make a bowl-shaped depression in the stump, and then bore an assortment of holes (try to not puncture through the stump, and plug any points where you do). Fill with kerosene (do NOT use gasoline!) and allow to sit overnight. If it's all gone the next day, repeat. If there's some left, it's ready. Add several pounds of charcoal and ignite.

This works best on stumps that have aged a few months. On a new stump you may need to keep adding charcoal to keep the burn going.

Tom

[IndianaPaul]

I have used a couple of techniques which vary depending on location and number of stumps. When I lived in the City, we could not burn them out. We could have them ground down (expensive) or add one of the various chemicals to aid in decomposition. I went with a 3rd option in city....I nailed a strip of edging material around the top of stump, added a 2-3 inches of soil and planted flowers in it. Soil held water in and in about 5-6 years, stumps had rotted to point a wood maul/ax made short work of what was left.

Now that I live in country, we can burn them (I use the drilled holes and kerosene method).

IndianaPaul

[wrwelect]

Hey All,
I sure appreciate the ideas!!! Any of ya'll ever hear of boring holes and using Potassium Nitrate???
Thanks,
wrwelect

[Hayseed]

What is potassium nitrate?

[mikim]

another method I just heard about (around here somewhere [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img] )is to put a barrel over the stump with no bottom or top - fill with brush and sticks and burn -

[GaryM]

Potassium nitrate, also known as "saltpeter", is an oxydizer. It is applied as a solution and when it's dry the stump is ignited. It burns better. There are some commercial products that work that way.

[egon]

Add a little charcoal and sulphur to that saltpeter and put it in a hole in the stump,cover with some mud attach a fuse,ignite with match and stand well back.

Egon

[manganos]

A stump. When I find a stump I go into the barn start up the tractor, hook up the backhoe, and dig the stump out [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img] I forgot to look where you were at. If we are close I could lend a hand [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]