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Old 28-11-2003, 06:09 PM
P Verstege
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?

Thanks for any response.


Chad.
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Old 28-11-2003, 10:40 PM
PK
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

P Verstege wrote:
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?

Thanks for any response.


I'm afraid I've no useful advice wrt burning...... but next time leave 4ft
of trunk and use that as a lever to rock the roots out!

pk


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Old 29-11-2003, 12:24 AM
Arthur
 
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Default Burning out tree roots


"P Verstege" wrote in message
om...
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?


It's not at all easy to "burn out" a tree stump - I have tried. You need to
apply a very fierce flame due to the amount of sap and surrounding damp
soil. It's most unlikely to burn strongly enough to affect other trees.
The only way they may be damaged is if you apply too much flammable material
to get it going.

Better (and safer) to dig out as much as you can and then apply chemical
stump remover.

- Arthur


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Old 29-11-2003, 12:26 AM
Arthur
 
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Default Burning out tree roots


"P Verstege" wrote in message
om...
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?


It's not at all easy to "burn out" a tree stump - I have tried. You need to
apply a very fierce flame due to the amount of sap and surrounding damp
soil. It's most unlikely to burn strongly enough to affect other trees.
The only way they may be damaged is if you apply too much flammable material
to get it going.

Better (and safer) to dig out as much as you can and then apply chemical
stump remover.

- Arthur


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Old 29-11-2003, 12:26 AM
Arthur
 
Posts: n/a
Default Burning out tree roots


"P Verstege" wrote in message
om...
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?


It's not at all easy to "burn out" a tree stump - I have tried. You need to
apply a very fierce flame due to the amount of sap and surrounding damp
soil. It's most unlikely to burn strongly enough to affect other trees.
The only way they may be damaged is if you apply too much flammable material
to get it going.

Better (and safer) to dig out as much as you can and then apply chemical
stump remover.

- Arthur




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Old 29-11-2003, 12:46 AM
Steve Harris
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

I don't know about burning out conifer but I tried it with Sycamore. I
tried various ignition methods including building a hot bonfire over the
stump. It doesn't work - you get a harder slightly smaller black stump.

What did work was to excavate around the stump and then drill numerous
holes through the stump as far sown as possible. Then I snapped it off
and filled in the hole. a Lot of work and only a small stump.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
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Old 29-11-2003, 02:33 PM
John Towill
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

On Sat, 29 Nov 2003 11:50:25 GMT, Jaques d'Alltrades wrote:

The message
from (P Verstege) contains these words:

What did work was to excavate around the stump and then drill numerous
holes through the stump as far sown as possible. Then I snapped it off
and filled in the hole. a Lot of work and only a small stump.


But what if Iwant to plant another tree there? Will the rotted
(rotting?) roots kill off any new roots? That's why I was thinking of
burning them out - so I can clear the ground for something else


No, but it might attract honey fungus.

If you want to plant something soon, don't use sulphuric acid on the
stump. Otherwise you can drill some deep holes into the wood and pour in
battery acid, and that will reduce the stump to (eventually) carbon, but
to a brittle mass fairly quickly.

Next time, take most of the branches off a tree you want out, cut round
the roots and attach a rope to as near the top as possible (taking into
consideration the strength of the trunk there) and using the height of
the tree as a lever, pull it over.

Then you'll have a rootball from which you can dig/crowbar/pickaxe the
earth from it.


I have never tried this but beleive that you drill a number of holes as
large and deep as practical into the stump. Fill these holes with
saltpetre in solution, repeat this filling for a number of times. Then
built a small fire over the stump. The saltpetre absorbed into the stump
will cause it to burn well.
Perhaps someone who reads this will have tried and can say if or not it is
practical.
Cheers
John T


--
All e-mails and attachments are virus checked with Norton before sending.
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Old 29-11-2003, 05:24 PM
Jaques d'Alltrades
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

The message
from John Towill contains these words:

I have never tried this but beleive that you drill a number of holes as
large and deep as practical into the stump. Fill these holes with
saltpetre in solution, repeat this filling for a number of times. Then
built a small fire over the stump. The saltpetre absorbed into the stump
will cause it to burn well.
Perhaps someone who reads this will have tried and can say if or not it is
practical.


Sounds like an ideas-man scheme: you'd never get the saltpetre to
penetrate all the stump, let alone the roots.

If you could do it, mind, and estimate the volume of wood, you could use
the corresponding amount of saltpetre, let the stump dry out and then
just light a fuse to it and be left with a rather large crater....

I did try something similar with sodium chlorate when you could get it
from any florist or seedsman for 1/6d a pound, and before the killjoys
put a fire-inhibiter with it, and it was still a dismal failure.

--
Rusty Hinge http://www.users.zetnet.co.uk/hi-fi/tqt.htm

Dark thoughts about the Wumpus concerto played with piano,
iron bar and two sledge hammers. (Wumpus, 15/11/03)
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Old 29-11-2003, 05:30 PM
John Rouse
 
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Default Burning out tree roots

In article , P Verstege
writes
Hello. I chopped down a huge overgrown conifer, leaving a stump about
10" high and obviously a lot of roots. It is in an awkward spot so
grinding it out is not an option. I was thinking about burning it and
the roots out. However, there are a few other well-established trees
around that spot, and you can probably see where I'm going here. I'll
spell out my question anyway:

In burning out the roots of my felled conifer, is there a risk of
burning all the other live tree roots in the vicinity?


My neighbour tells me that the previous occupant of my house felled some
quite large trees down the side of the house. He soaked the stumps in
saltpetre and set them alight. Every couple of weeks the fire-brigade
had to turn out to extinguish the blaze where the stumps had flared up
again.

John
--
John Rouse
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