Tom_H
Veteran Member
It depends on what kind of tree it's from, how old the tree was, and how long the tree has been dead. In this case, Bill BX23 says the stump is pine. Pine stumps have high amounts of lignin, some species more than others. Lignin is highly flammable. The heartwood and stumps of old longleaf southern yellow pine used to be called "fat wood" or "fat lighter" because when you set a match to it, it'll burn like napalm. My great-grandfather's old farmhouse in south GA was made of this pine heartwood. Such buildings would not rot, but if they ever caught fire, you could see the flames from 20 miles away. During World War II, most explosives were made from lignin extracted from stumps of longleaf southern yellow pine. Other species of pine, which have less lignin, are now used to a lesser extent because there is virtually no old growth longleaf southern yellow pine left. There is still an operating mill in Brunswick, GA that processes stumps of loblolly pine to extract lignin and make explosives. Because of this lignin content, pine stumps, in general, will burn more readily than others. Bill BX23 is in GA. 24" dia. is big for a pine in GA. This stump might be an old longleaf southern yellow pine. If so, this stump will burn like napalm. Slash and loblolly pines don't typically reach this diameter. As he is in north GA, however, it might be an old eastern white pine; even so, such an old large pine stump is likely to be loaded with enough lignin to burn well.
Bill, what you might do is chisel out a chunk from the center of the stump. Try lighting it with just a match. If it takes off and starts burning rapidly, you know you've got an old "fat lighter" stump. It will burn well. On the other hand, if you yank it out, you can cut it up and sell the "fat wood" for decent money. L.L. Bean sells little bags with a few little sticks of this stuff for about $20. See it here . Plow and Hearth has this ad describing how well fatwood from pine stumps burns. Great Green Apple sells it here. Scroll down this page to read one fireplace company's description of how one small stick of fatwood from a pine stump will quickly start a roaring fire. Here is a web site of a firm devoted to the promotion of fatwood sales, with a description of the combustibility properties of pine stumps.
Bill, what you might do is chisel out a chunk from the center of the stump. Try lighting it with just a match. If it takes off and starts burning rapidly, you know you've got an old "fat lighter" stump. It will burn well. On the other hand, if you yank it out, you can cut it up and sell the "fat wood" for decent money. L.L. Bean sells little bags with a few little sticks of this stuff for about $20. See it here . Plow and Hearth has this ad describing how well fatwood from pine stumps burns. Great Green Apple sells it here. Scroll down this page to read one fireplace company's description of how one small stick of fatwood from a pine stump will quickly start a roaring fire. Here is a web site of a firm devoted to the promotion of fatwood sales, with a description of the combustibility properties of pine stumps.
