On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 22:01:01 -0000, (Bill Oliver) wrote:

In article ,
The Watcher wrote:

So, let's say I pump 1/2 liter of diesel into a into a 1 meter high 2 meter diameter
stump. I then burn that stump to the ground. How much of that 1/2 liter do you
actually claim will be (a) unburnt and (b) in the ground?

Unknown, but I'd be willing to bet that SOME would. Since one of the reasons I
moved into the country was to live out here, I'd prefer not to pump any diesel
into the ground if I have a choice in the matter. If that means a little more
work with a pick and pry bar, I'll do the extra work.

On what grounds would you bet that some would?

On the grounds that diesel spreads out any time it isn't tightly contained, and
tree roots wouldn't contain any liquid tightly.

My experience has been that
diesel, when exposed to high heat and flame, burns pretty well.

There might be some high heat and flame in there, but there would probably be
some low heat also, and there would also be some areas that wouldn't get any
flame unless you dug down there and exposed them to fresh air, and if you were
going to do all that work you could just as easily dig up the roots anyway.