Need ideas to get rid of a couple of maple stumps

[JPRambo]

A few years ago I bought <7 acres in NW georgia.
I found out from a neighbor that some trees were harvested for a home the previous owner built close to 50 years ago. I am clearing about a 1/4 acre for a eventual home site. I found stumps at ground level. I dug 3 to 4 feet deep around the stumps and was able to brake off the root at that depth. 50 years and not rotted away. Smaller on top than they were when growing. But definately not rotted out.

 

[Snobdds]

Don't waste your time by doing anything other than digging them out. Even with fixing the lawn...it's the fastest.

 

[stuckmotor]

I've tried three methods with some and good success. First I tried burning. It worked too well. It burned under ground via the large roots and I ended up having to dig it up to put it out.

I've often wondered why underground fires can't be put out by simply covering the air access holes with dirt. Apparently this doesn't always work.

 

[stuckmotor]

A few years ago I bought <7 acres in NW georgia.
I found out from a neighbor that some trees were harvested for a home the previous owner built close to 50 years ago. I am clearing about a 1/4 acre for a eventual home site. I found stumps at ground level. I dug 3 to 4 feet deep around the stumps and was able to brake off the root at that depth. 50 years and not rotted away. Smaller on top than they were when growing. But definately not rotted out.

Can you identify the species of tree?

 

[turnkey4099]

Try calling a tree service to grind it if it is accessible. Last one I had done was around 30" (spruce) and only charged $50. But then it was right by the highway and he stopped on the way to another job so... I have had him here several times so I'm a 'good customer'

 

[sixdogs]

I've considered renting a stump grinder but I don't think they grind all that deep and it seems I can burn them equally as deep. These are a little big for the backhoe on my JD790 and I would have to make a real mess getting them out. That's where I'm at.

We have very dry ground here in the summer and I feel if I drill the top edge to edge with 1" holes it would get me that much deeper to start with. When I have dug them out n the past, the roots all looked dry and these stumps look dry and weather checked. I could also let them sit for a few years and I'm sure they would pop out easier.

 

[wngsprd]

I left a 16" diameter red maple stump for 3 or 4 years after gylpho-ing the sprouts. It was about 6" tall, and it pushed over easily with the FEL this spring... broke off from the roots a few inches under ground and broke into pieces. Very different and easier experience than oak or even pine when it has the core that turned into lightwood (fatwood some call it).

Good luck with yours.

 

[Bigkrank]

I have a ripper on my backhoe but it makes a mess of a yard. I have burnt a few but had no luck two years ago drilling and doing the oil/diesel fuel soak.

Ended up having 13 stumps ground out by a local guy with a big Vermeer grinder, one was 4 feet across, for only $125. I have used the smaller ones powered by a Wisconsin engine before, no comparison. It took him longer to move from stump to stump than to grind. I had to take care of the cleanup of dirt & chips (good sized holes) and put dirt in and reseeded. looks fine today.

It would have cost me much more to rent a grinder for my skid steer than just watching him do it.

 

[Streetcar]

My stump was 18" sugar maple . Burning works better on a big stump. Anything in contact with my clay soil did not burn. Stump grinder from Home Depot was needed to finish stump

 

[OldMcDonald]

sixdogs, If you build a fire on top then you will also burn the lawn around about. To get the lawn going again you will have to remove the soil that has been "cooked" to a high temperature and replace it. That is all going to take time and make a mess just the same as you digging them out.

You say you can leave them for a few years before you do anything. That seems the sensible answer to me. I have removed a little more than a hundred stumps so far as I can recall and the easiest and cleanest was to dig them out. Messy at the time, but quick and soon repaired. Some species are easily pulled out after a few years and some are not. Worth a try I think if you can leave them. Gives you plenty of time how to go about it too. A small hole to get a chain around some of the bigger roots and pull from a distance rather than chew up the lawn.