Stump removal with diesel fuel burn

tuerdon · Jul 3, 2012

20 20 - best advise yet on this one. Can turn out very bad if you aren't careful. Stay away from pine forests on this one.

ETpilot · Jul 3, 2012

My stump is doing a really slow burn. A few rain drops did not help. Yet, it still has a very hot core while the ground around it is normal. First picture is at 24 hour burn time and second is at 48 hours. Still burning. I have to move the ash down to the base so it keeps getting a good source of air.

aczlan · Jul 5, 2012

Personally, I would have cut that off as close to the ground as possible before lighting the fire... Less wood to burn that way.
Just my $0.02.

Aaron Z

ETpilot · Jul 5, 2012

aczlan said:
Personally, I would have cut that off as close to the ground as possible before lighting the fire... Less wood to burn that way.
Just my $0.02.

Aaron Z

You are correct, of course. It was a large stump and I was not motivated to cut it down further. I have another like it and that one I will cut. BTW, the stump is still burning and a bit smaller now but still above ground.

mike69440 · Jul 20, 2012

Mark Page said:
Not having access to diesel fuel, my father used to use charcoal. Not the least expensive way to go but a lot less smoke in a Suburban setting.
Savage, no way I'd start a fire that close to the house. Time to rent a stump grinder.

About 20 years ago lit off an apple tree stump about 13' from house 5' from deck post.

I had lots of chrushed stone around deck post, but the darn roots burned under ground and post caught on fire.

Chrushed stone just gave it air.

Lucky this happened during day and we were home at the time

Storm56 · Jul 21, 2012

I just tried this method last week. Burned for 30 hours straight, used 2 bags of charcoal along with a fair amount of wood. Result was about 2 inches of stump gone. I have several to remove just around the house. Renting a Vermeer grinder next week. Have a few out on my trails and behind my pole building I was not going to bother with, but since I will have the grinder for 24 hours, gonna do 'em all!

mike69440 · Jul 21, 2012

stumps are real hard to get burning on their own, then real hard to put out.

creekbend · Jul 21, 2012

I have burned stumps before, and as previously mentioned, it is a slow process and can present a dangerous situation at times. I don't have a BH, but a buddy of mine has an excavator. An excavator can dig out a stump in minutes. I have had large sycamore stumps on my burn pile that burned for 4 days even with it raining at times. I realize that most people don't have access to an excavator, but in regards to my past experiences, this method is a "winning ticket".