In article , PrecisionMachinisT wrote:
Potassium nitrate.


and where could I buy it?


Hardware store, plant nursery, or at the home and garden dept at many
variety stores--labeled as "Stump Remover"--read the label, diesel or other
hydrocarbon fuel will help if you intend to later burn the stump.

So, the basic idea is, drill holes, pour KNO3 powder, add diesel fuel?

Wouldn't that be an immediate fire hazard?

Bulk quantities are available at wholesale chemical houses and pyrotechnic
materials suppliers........

cool.

Beware, stump removal grade is *not* generally not pure enough for
pyrotechnic use, so suggest dont get any bright ideas about making
explosives or other 4th of July demonstrations with it.

I already had those bright ideas...

How about ammonium nitrate, can it be bought? I used it in Russia in
my garden all the time.

i


Enuff said ???

"escapee" wrote in message
...
On 4 Jun 2004 16:41:11 GMT, Ignoramus32760

opined:


and where could I buy it?

i

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not to get
it on
anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In addition to the
nitrogen
fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag of sugar on the stump to seep
into
the holes you drill. The carbon in the sugar will help expedite the
process



Yup....

In composting of woody material, nitrogen is needed--if not available in the
form of green clippings it can be always be added in chemical form.

Not sure about the sugar though, as in this case there is already plenty of
carbon in the stump.

--

SVL

In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?

i

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
In article , PrecisionMachinisT wrote:
Potassium nitrate.


and where could I buy it?


Hardware store, plant nursery, or at the home and garden dept at many
variety stores--labeled as "Stump Remover"--read the label, diesel or
other
hydrocarbon fuel will help if you intend to later burn the stump.

So, the basic idea is, drill holes, pour KNO3 powder, add diesel fuel?

Wouldn't that be an immediate fire hazard?

Bulk quantities are available at wholesale chemical houses and
pyrotechnic
materials suppliers........

cool.

Beware, stump removal grade is *not* generally not pure enough for
pyrotechnic use, so suggest dont get any bright ideas about making
explosives or other 4th of July demonstrations with it.

I already had those bright ideas...

How about ammonium nitrate, can it be bought? I used it in Russia in
my garden all the time.


Go figure--bigger fishes elsewhere........

Seeya.

--

SVL

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?


Ike ???

Is that you ???

The magic number is above 40.......

Sigh

--

SVL

In article , PrecisionMachinisT wrote:

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?


Ike ???

Is that you ???

The magic number is above 40.......

I am not Ike... Which magic number are you talking about?

i

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
In article , PrecisionMachinisT wrote:

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...
In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?


Ike ???

Is that you ???

The magic number is above 40.......

I am not Ike... Which magic number are you talking about?


Okay, just wondering.....

44--sometimes 45 IIRC

--

SVL

(BroJack) wrote in news:40c0a6c7.24624580
@news.newshosting.com:

On Thu, 03 Jun 2004 12:28:14 -0500, John Hines
wrote:

) wrote:

The idea is to drill holes and fill with a chemical to break down the
stumps.

Would a manual bit brace do the trick, or would you use a
battery-powered hand drill. What size? Length of bit, etc.? Thanks

3/4" self feed auger bit, in a hand drill. Don't need to go terribly
deep, standard 6" bit will do.

Thanks to all for responding.

The bit was $24 at Lowe's. The cheapest drill to handle it was $89.
(They tried to sell me a drill for $199.) Worst of all, the potassium
nitrate instructions said it would take 4-6 MONTHS to soften the wood
for burning. The internet led me to believe it would take 4-6 WEEKS.

Can't rent a grinder because I have no truck to transport it back and
forth.

So it's back to the old method I used for the other stumps: An ax and
a lot of sweat. There are only 3 stumps remaining anyway.

Sure woulda been nice to find an easier method. At age 60, swinging
that ax beats the hell out of my hands and wrist joints.

Thanks again.

Jack

Sounds like the KNO3 method is tantamount to turning your tree stump into
a compost pile, except with industrial strength reagents.

For faster results, you could try drilling more smaller diameter holes
instead of just the one. Most people have 3/8" drills, an 8" long bit is
another story. If you're stuck with a short length bit, you could always
drill a pattern and whack the stump a couple of times to increase the
depth and available surface area. Adding water periodically would
probably accelerate the results, along with warmer temperatures and.
All this being theoretical, never had to do it myself.

Got to go, good luck.

[rec.gardens]

In article , BroJack
wrote:

Can't rent a grinder because I have no truck to transport it back and
forth.

Home Depot will rent you the truck when you rent the grinder.

No chemical will desstroy the stump except maybe fuming sulfuric acid
which would turn it into charcoal. The chemicals put in stumps are
just nutrients to speed growth of decay organisms--primarily any
nitrate.

Ignoramus32760 wrote:

And what chemical would destroy the stump?

i

In article , Evan Mann wrote:
The stuff I got at home depot says to drill 1" wide, 12" deep, and then make
a sideways hole at a downward angle that joins the straight down hole in the
stump. I just drilled 3 or 4 straight down holes using a 1" wood spade bit,
about 8" deep. My tree stump was something hard, so I used a corded
milwaukee 1/2" drill. I started with my 18V Bosch, but I knew that would
die quickly because of the hardness of the stump

" wrote in message
om...
The idea is to drill holes and fill with a chemical to break down the
stumps.

Would a manual bit brace do the trick, or would you use a
battery-powered hand drill. What size? Length of bit, etc.? Thanks

Ignoramus32760 wrote:

In article , PrecisionMachinisT wrote:

"Ignoramus32760" wrote in message
...

i

In article , Evan Mann
wrote:
The stuff I got at home depot says to drill 1" wide, 12" deep, and then
make
a sideways hole at a downward angle that joins the straight down hole in
the
stump. I just drilled 3 or 4 straight down holes using a 1" wood spade
bit,
about 8" deep. My tree stump was something hard, so I used a corded
milwaukee 1/2" drill. I started with my 18V Bosch, but I knew that
would
die quickly because of the hardness of the stump

" wrote in message
om...
The idea is to drill holes and fill with a chemical to break down the
stumps.

Would a manual bit brace do the trick, or would you use a
battery-powered hand drill. What size? Length of bit, etc.? Thanks




And what chemical would destroy the stump?

Potassium nitrate.


and where could I buy it?

i

Any farm/fertilizer/lawn care/etc. store. Simpler to just buy any
standard fertilizer, especially sacks of ammonium nitrate. You buy
this stuff anywhere else and you will pay 4-5 up to 20 times the
price.

On Fri, 4 Jun 2004 10:39:24 -0700, "PrecisionMachinisT"
opined:


Yup....

In composting of woody material, nitrogen is needed--if not available in the
form of green clippings it can be always be added in chemical form.

Not sure about the sugar though, as in this case there is already plenty of
carbon in the stump.

Yes, but the carbon in the stump is not immediately available for it to mix with
the N and get the heat process started. It's just a temporary expeditor, or
catalyst to help the N work faster. It also feeds the microbes which will
further break down the stump and large roots.


Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for a friend?
http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html

On 4 Jun 2004 17:41:52 GMT, Ignoramus32760
opined:

In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?

i

No, higher. One of the more idiotic types with, say, 40-10-10.


Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for a friend?
http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html

On Fri, 04 Jun 2004 17:20:54 -0600, Dave Balderstone
opined:

In article , BroJack
wrote:

Can't rent a grinder because I have no truck to transport it back and
forth.

Home Depot will rent you the truck when you rent the grinder.

Actually, I had a stump ground out about 6 years ago in Dallas and it cost us
about 45 dollars for someone to come do it.


Need a good, cheap, knowledge expanding present for a friend?
http://www.animaux.net/stern/present.html

Ignoramus32760 wrote:

In article , escapee wrote:

All you need is any cheap bag of high nitrogen fertilizer. Try not
to get it on anything but the stump you are trying to decay. In
addition to the nitrogen fertilizer, also put about a five pound bag
of sugar on the stump to seep into the holes you drill. The carbon
in the sugar will help expedite the process

How is a high nitrogen fertiliser labeled?It is not 10-10-10, right?

i

No. 10 percent is low. Garden ferilier is often 15-15-15 which is 15
percent nitrogen and standard lawn fertilizer is 23-?-? which means 23
percent nitrogen. Amonium nitrate will give the highest amount of
nitrogen and is 35 percent nitrogen (if I added up the atomic weights
correctly). Potassium nitrate is only 14 percent nitrogen.