Stump removal....the fire way

[TNhobbyfarmer]

I have a large stump that I want to get rid of. Since I don't have a BH for my tractor (notice how I worked my tractor into this thread so as to qualify this as a tractor project), I suppose I will just have to try to burn it. Since I have never done this before, I thought I'd ask for opinions. My idea is to drill some holes in the stump, fill with diesel and ignite. Sounds simple enough. Any thoughts? Cautions, criticisms, etc. will be welcomed and duly noted.

 

[clundog]

A guy I work with told me to drill several holes and fill them with used engine oil. Do it for a couple of weeks so the oil can soak in. I haven't personally tried this but he said he's had success going this route. I suppose diesel would work also.
Usually I just dig around the stump and cut it a little below ground level, of course I haven't dealt with much over 6 " diameter.
Good luck!

 

[tallyho8]

If the stump was partially hollow it would be very easy to burn. (see photo)
I burned many stumps after Katrina knocked over a lot of our trees. I found that the best and easiest way to burn the stumps was to pile a lot of wood on top of them and burn the wood. I used pecan wood because I had so much of it and pecan burns very hot and very well. Tallow, hackberry, willow, etc, do not burn very well. Oak, pecan, hickory and others burn great. Burn enough big branches on top of the stump and the hot coals will keep it burning for days. I have had stumps slowly burning underground for 2 weeks until all large roots were gone and all I had to do was throw a little dirt in the hole. Do not stir the ashes until you are ready to put it out because the ashes insulate the slowly burning stump and keep it hot. No expensive diesel or gas is needed.

 

[HickoryNut]

I took a 4' x 8' piece of 18 gauge sheet metal and made a circle held together with sheet metal screws, sort of an extra-large burn barrel. Build a good fire in it and it'll cook a stump into the ground lickety-split.

 

[MarkV]

We have done it by drilling a bunch of 1” holes deep, fill with diesel every couple of days for a week or so, put a bag of charcoal on top, light the bag and let it burn. Helps if the stump is older.

MarkV

 

[EddieWalker]

Diesel is only good for starting a fire. If the wood won't burn, diesel wont change that. In fact, most of the time that I've used diesel, it just burns off the surface of the wood and doesn't even get the wood to burn.

Eddie

 

[dooleysm]

Me and a buddy burned out several stumps at our fraternity house back in college. First we dug out around the stump so that the roots that were above the final grade we wanted were above ground. Then we just piled split wood on top of the whole deal and started a fire. We kept it going for 2-3 days. We would pile it high with wood at night and then it would burn all night and into the next day when we got around to checking on it again. Then we'd pile more wood on to get the fire going and make sure to pile it up before we went to bed.

It worked very well for us. The stump and exposed roots were burned down below ground. We just covered the holes back with dirt and threw some grass seed on top. It's very easy, assuming you've got lots of extra wood laying around. Since we had cut the trees down, we had that wood available. The trees we burned were probably 8-10" in diameter.

 

[turnkey4099]

Diesel is only good for starting a fire. If the wood won't burn, diesel wont change that. In fact, most of the time that I've used diesel, it just burns off the surface of the wood and doesn't even get the wood to burn.

Eddie

Yep, it is a help only until the diesel burns off plus whatever wood it has soaked into. It doesn't penetrate very deeply in green wood.

Harry K

 

[PBinWA]

I had good success with the following:

Cut a ton of deep cross hatches in the stump with your chainsaw. Cut as deep as you can as many as you can.

Pile several bags of charcoal briquets on the stump. For a 20"-24" stump, I'd use 4-5 big bags.

Light them up and let it cook for 2-3 days. Obviously, make sure you are in a safe place to burn.

This would burn my stumps down below ground level.

I recommend this for 2-3 stumps. More than that - get an excavator.

 

[mboulais]

With no intention of burning the stump, I dug a hole in the ground near an old stump to burn some wood waste, plus paper and cardboard. I burned in a pit to facilitate covering the ashes. I apparently exposed a root in the hole and after a couple of burnings in the pit, we started seeing wisps of smoke coming from the stump and some charring at the base of the stump 6' from the hole. The stump was about 28" in diameter and 3' tall. After a few more fires we were seeing more charing and more wisps of smoke despite spraying it with water, and despite rain showers. It burned until it was a hollow shell from the inside out. It would have been easy to remove then (I didn't try, we moved from that property or else I would have to widen a trail).