"ned" wrote in message
...

"Keith Hampson" wrote in message
...
The stump which is a horse chestnut was chopped down about 2 month
ago, it
is about 15 inch in diameter, if I dig round it how deep will I heed
to go
before I reached the roots, and would I need a axe or a chainsaw,
and could
I lift
it?

Could I burn it out by using charcoal or coal, petrol any thing like
that

or use http://www.daxproducts.co.uk/rootout.html

I doubt there are any quick solutions.
Chemical treatments rely on rotting and that takes time.
Using a chain saw on underground roots is not recommended !
Contact with stones would be very dangerous and contact with soil will
take the edge off the cutting chain in no time at all.
Only way is to dig down to each root in turn and sever that with an
axe or whatever it takes, then move on to the next.
'If' you have left enough height on the stump you may eventually be
able to rock it which helps locate the next root to be cut.
A newly cut stump will not burn easily.
Not easy!

Early last year I had an identical problem......and was able to solve it.
I cut down a big old Ash, and after clearing away the top growth I was left
with a trunk 30 ins dia, X 8ft long too heavy to manhandle, .......and a
stump knee high, same dia.
I drilled numerous 12mm dia holes as deep as I could in the top surface and
all over the sides in downward sloping directions........including any
exposed surface roots. I filled these with old oil (free from the local
garage) and as the oil soaked in, I kept refilling the holes. This process
took about 8 - 10 days or so.
I then covered the two with a small quantity of dry bonfire kindling and set
fire to both.
The results truly surprised me . Within 12 hours the trunk had simply
disappeared to a pile of white ash and there was no fierce blaze or heavy
smoke (apart from the initial kindling which only lasted minutes). It had
just smouldered away.
The trunk took about a week to disappear after it started smouldering, and I
just applied a couple of top ups to keep it working. Again, no black smoke
or flames and.....very importantly, .....no angry neighbours.
A very old and tried method is to use a strong solution of Saltpetre
(potassium nitrate) instead of oil and I've read that the solution can
permeate and burn to the very ends of the roots.....but it takes much longer
and a lot more applications, and I would think it would be more dangerous
and volatile.......saltpetre was once a constituent of fireworks. !