Stump removal

Discussion in 'The Green Patch' started by oil pan 4, Jul 6, 2021.


  1. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Then there's the problem of the up to a year long burn bans.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  2. Bandit99

    Bandit99 Monkey+++ Site Supporter+

    So, I don't think I will be getting to these stumps this year but definitely next year so...questions.

    1. I have no intention of burning them out, at least not now, but I was thinking that next Spring to rent a big excavator and wondering if I dose these stumps now with sulfuric acid (I've got a lot of stumps, ~30, so need to keep costs down), will it help when I go to rip them out next Spring?

    2. T5R said he makes some plunge cuts down to the ground or bores some holes so how do I how much acid to use, I assume just fill the holes up?

    3. Finally, where-oh-where does one purchase sulfuric or nitric acid? I've no idea...

    I've got a couple of big stumps, about 20 inch, so at the least I'm thinking of dosing them.
     
    SB21 likes this.
  3. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Chemical Supply House in the nearest City of medium size…. and you do not need Reagent Grade… Just Commercial Grade will do, very nicely…
     
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  4. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    That's the thing a lot of places only stock reagent grade.
    Which is weird.
     
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  5. arleigh

    arleigh Goophy monkey

    Copper sulfate.
     
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  6. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I'm thinking I need this thing sooner rather than later, I went around cutting down some weed trees.
    Was thinking I would do this as a fall or winter project but think I should start working on the cutter head pretty soon.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  7. Illini Warrior

    Illini Warrior Illini Warrior

    going to use your "blast furnace" method on a 24"stump this fall/winter - old dead stump just got soaked in potassium nitrate - I'll pour in diesel fuel as much as possible into the spaced 1" holes - got a few electric hand held blowers and will try a few different directions of air flow ....
     
    SB21 likes this.
  8. SB21

    SB21 Monkey+++

    I've seen people on the utube point a leaf blower at the base of the fire ,, I also saw a guy bore the holes , dose with diesel fuel and burnt oil ,, put a barrel over the stump ,, put another tube laid on the ground going under the barrel, right up to the stump ,, and it basically was working like a rocket stove . I tried setting that up , but didn't have the right stuff at the time to make a good airtight barrel around the stump at the time. I'd get a barrel with at least one end on it ,, get 2 stove pipes in 3-4 inch ,, cut one into the side of the barrel for your draw pipe , then cut a hole in the exhaust end of the barrel and install the exhaust stack.. Hope that made sense , in case you want to try it.
     
    UncleMorgan likes this.
  9. UncleMorgan

    UncleMorgan I like peeling bananas and (occasionally) people.

    Once you get fire into the middle of the stump the hard work is pretty much done. None of the heat is wasted, so the stump burns out very quickly.

    If you want to go super simple, get an iron pipe about five feet long and set it up at the base of the stump with the outer end slightly elevated .(Propped up on a block, maybe.)

    Then build a nice little fire against the stump and get some coals going.

    Duct tape an old hair dryer to the outer end of the pipe & turn it on.

    Push the pipe in deeper as the stump burns away in front of it.

    Once you get to the middle, just leave the air on and let it burn.

    It's sort of like a thermite lance, except without all the sparks to set the bank bags on fire..
     
    SB21 likes this.
  10. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Got a briggs and stratton 5hp tiller at yard sale for $50.
    But damn it's worn out.
    It needed a fuel tank for sure. But didn't see the carb to head bolts were too long broken off and stripped out, then some one tried to drill the one out and took out some of the head threads. A used head is like $25, I pulled the old head off before I ordered a used head and new gas tank to make sure the engine wasn't trash and the bore looks great the oil was changed and had and air filter for all of its life. But the gas tank holey shit expect to pay $65 to $100. Luckily I was able to find one for $50 which is still about twice what I thought it would be.

    The garden tiller setup has, handles, 2 wheels, a hook that digs into the ground to keep the tiller from running away and a clutch, all that seems to be ideal for a stump grinder. The 5hp engines seems a little under powered for a stump grinder.
    I guess I'll stash the salvageable tiller parts like the tines and drive shaft in a milk crate for now. I don't think it will be worth it to rebuild as the tiller tine chain drive is shot.
     
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  11. Gator 45/70

    Gator 45/70 Monkey+++

    How much a day is stump grinder rental's ?
     
  12. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    I haven't heard good things about stump grinder rentals. It's common for them to be beat all to shit and the stump grinder cutters are worn blunt, broken or missing to the point where the stump grinder just beats it's way through the stump.
     
    Gator 45/70 likes this.
  13. Tempstar

    Tempstar Monkey+++

    [​IMG]
    My boss has one of these.Woodland Mills stump grinder, works good on his 1 series John Deere with 15 PTO horsepower. He has paid for it 10 times over with side work.
     
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  14. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Comparable stump grinders like what I would like to build are $2,000 to $3,600.
    My hunk of junk is definitely going be bigger, heavier and more powerful than the cheap $700-$1,500 price point ones by a lot.
    Once you start looking at $3,000 and up you start seeing engines or cutter heads the same size or bigger than what I'm building.
    At about the $3,500 price point you get bigger cutter heads, bigger engines and bonus features like it folds up, is towable, self propelled, ect.
     
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  15. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    Where to buy Nitro ??
    S
     
  16. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    You don't buy it, you make it.
     
    SB21 likes this.
  17. BTPost

    BTPost Stumpy Old Fart,Deadman Walking, Snow Monkey Moderator

    Actually, Nitro is way to fast for stump blasting… You need an energetic that is much slower like Ammonium Nitrate & FuelOil, or Good old Rack-A-Rock… Even BP would be a wiser choice…. You want “Throw” not “Shatter” for this job…. A commercial product that would work is Tovex.. easy to use and Cap Sensitive, where ANFO is not..
     
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  18. Cruisin Sloth

    Cruisin Sloth Special & Slow

    Sorry Gents , Nitric acid , for burning ,, I'll drill into them when the run/burn ban is lifted and prepare them for a Burn.
    I like the BP post 660381 is what I'll try .

    Sloth , have 50 stumps , but will be 400 soon , out of 20,K tree huggers , and new trees have started. at 250-300 foot they are ready to snap in the wind
     
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  19. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    400 stumps is a lot of black p.
     
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  20. oil pan 4

    oil pan 4 Monkey+++

    Got an actual no shit honda gx390 with cyclone air cleaner for $100 at the tractor auction. So as long as it's not a boat anchor it's a steal.
    Before bidding I took it apart as much as feasible without drawing undue attention to my self found nothing concerning, seems to have plenty of compression.
    A home made 11hp driven 11ish inch stump grinder wheel of death spinning 4,000+rpm should be legitimately terrifying.
     
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