Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

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earlgo
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by earlgo »

$3600 would have hardly paid for a new roof much less nailing the house back together after the 26" Tulip tree split the roof and house. Prevention, and all that silly stuff.
--earlgo
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by SteveHGraham »

Today I had an idea for removing stumps, and I went online to see if anyone else had tried it. It turns out it works, so I am passing it on. You put a steel drum over your stump, put charcoal inside, light it, and go away.

I am planning to go get me a galvanized bucket and see if it will do the job. I think a drum is overkill.

Also wondered if drilling a hole and putting a road flare down into a stump would work. Bet it would!

I am thinking about drilling one hole down into a stump and another horizontally, joining with the vertical hole. Get the stump lit, direct output of shop vac toward horizontal hole...instant forge. That ought to make a stump burn quick.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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BadDog
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by BadDog »

I can just see it now...

"I forgot to switch the vac hose to exhaust side, and..."

Oh wait, that would be if I were doing it. Never mind.
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Harold_V
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by Harold_V »

One thing to consider is why stump remover is used. Being potassium nitrate, it's a strong oxidizer--so it encourages the stump to burn. If you're not in a hurry, drill a few holes in the top of the stump, then fill them with potassium nitrate. If you introduce water sparingly, it will dissolve the potassium nitrate, which will then get absorbed by the stump. When it comes time to burn the stump, it will burn readily.

A fusee (flare) will provide heat and a flame, but does nothing more to promote burning. You'd be much better served to give the stump a reason to burn, especially if it's been recently cut, and is quite moist.

When we logged our property, old growth stumps were found. The property was originally logged about 90 years ago, or so. One of the stumps was located where Susan's laundry room stands. When we scarified, a D-8 cat with a stump splitter spent about 45 minutes removing the Western Red Cedar stump, which was about 8' in diameter. Roots were pulled from the ground with a large excavator equipped with a thumb. Amazing how strong the stump was, even having been dead for nearly a century.

H
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by SteveHGraham »

I did a little experimenting today. I found that simply dumping charcoal on a stump and lighting it will eventually burn it up, at least to ground level. I don't know where to get potassium nitrate, but I will look around.

After I got my stumps going, I got the leaf blower and gave each one a good blast. It was nice to see them light up. I need some kind of blower I can put near stumps to get the job over with fast.
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
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BadDog
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by BadDog »

Impatient much? ;)

Years ago when I owned a 26 acre old-growth hardwood property in NW AL, I had a big white oak tree that had problems, rotting from the inside, risk of damage if it fell, etc. It had limbs bigger than many trees. Anyway, down it came at a time of my choosing rather than nature's. But I had only very modest fire wood needs, and had no use for all that wood (unfit for sawmill too). So I called up some friends and invited them for a "bonfire" bbq cookout. The biggest problem was what to do with that huge char pile, but nature soon took care of what I didn't feel like dealing with...

Good times, when I was younger, a lot younger. Maybe you could put together a geriatric version?
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John Hasler
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by John Hasler »

SteveHGraham wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 4:36 pm I did a little experimenting today. I found that simply dumping charcoal on a stump and lighting it will eventually burn it up, at least to ground level. I don't know where to get potassium nitrate, but I will look around.

After I got my stumps going, I got the leaf blower and gave each one a good blast. It was nice to see them light up. I need some kind of blower I can put near stumps to get the job over with fast.
To get potassium nitrate go to any big-box store or farm store and ask for stump remover.
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liveaboard
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by liveaboard »

Harold_V wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:23 pm Western Red Cedar stump, which was about 8' in diameter.
H

That must have been an amazing tree!

I live in Portugal, big trees are incredibly rare. If they weren't cut, they burned.
Right now there's a huge fire 30 miles from me, you might have seen it on the news.

The area burning burned before, there's almost no forest more than a few decades old anywhere here.
A distant valley has some big dead ones like your cedar would have been, huge majestic reminders of what was there before the valley burned down 20 years ago.

I like it here, but I miss those big trees.
John Hasler
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by John Hasler »

Harold writes:
One thing to consider is why stump remover is used. Being potassium nitrate, it's a strong oxidizer--so
it encourages the stump to burn. If you're not in a hurry, drill a few holes in the top of the stump, then
fill them with potassium nitrate. If you introduce water sparingly, it will dissolve the potassium nitrate,
which will then get absorbed by the stump.

Potassium nitrate works as stump remover because it is a fertilizer that contains both potassium and nitrogen, needed by micro-organisms that consume wood. It makes the stump rot rapidly provided it is kept moist (but not so moist air is excluded).
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SteveHGraham
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by SteveHGraham »

How do you keep potassium nitrate on a stump for 4 weeks? Do you have to put a tarp over it?
Every hard-fried egg began life sunny-side up.
John Hasler
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by John Hasler »

I put a bale of hay over the stump. In our climate that keeps the stump damp and warm without totally excluding air. I've never looked at one after only a month: I wait a year. For really large stumps I suggest round bales (upended) but I've not tried it.

There are probably types of wood for which this doesn't work. I suspect it would be a waste of time with cedar.
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Harold_V
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Re: Tractor v. Diesel Pickup

Post by Harold_V »

liveaboard wrote: Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:31 am
Harold_V wrote: Tue Aug 07, 2018 3:23 pm Western Red Cedar stump, which was about 8' in diameter.
H

That must have been an amazing tree!
While not as common as they once were, yeah, it would have been something to behold. I seem to recall that 95% of the old growth timber in our area has been cut now. Such trees don't get cut anymore, as the saw mills, now with upgraded equipment, generally can't handle the huge logs.

Several miles from our location there's a state park, which has within its borders two old growth trees. One is a Western Red Cedar, the other a Douglas Fir. Both are known to be more than 750 years old, with trunk diameters that are huge.

Here's a picture of the Douglas Fir with two people standing in front to help you get an idea of their size. Edit: (No, not the people. the trees, of which this one is representative).
Fats&Susan1.jpg
Right now there's a huge fire 30 miles from me, you might have seen it on the news.
Unfortunately, the news, here, is filled with an overwhelming number of fires. One of the fires (one of at least 17 in California, alone) is now the largest fire on record in California, and it is growing. The latest report indicates it won't be under control for at least a month. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been destroyed, with countless numbers of homes lost. It's as if the entire western portion of the US is ablaze, while the eastern portion is being flooded. The world is changing. Conditions may become undesirable to sustain life as we know it.

H
Wise people talk because they have something to say. Fools talk because they have to say something.
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