Rocket Stump 2.0 - Big Dry Maple Stump

Video covering about 2 months worth of burning on a large maple stump to completely burn it down to ground level.

[kryptofly]

We had a ash stump in the back yard. The tree had died off, we removed the limbs and most of the trunk, but left about two plus feet of the trunk. Chainsawed a hole in the center, filled it with good soil and planted a geranium in it. The geranium really liked growing in it, was good for a planter for several years until it finally rotted out and was easily removed completely. After that planted a tree Peony in its place which for several more years did spectacularly well. Tons of flowers. Just a idea in case anyone wants to try it….

[scottsluggosrule]

Be careful if stump is not new the roots can smolder and burn for days, weeks and may catch your other structures or other burnables nearby

[jsmythib]

Great rocket stove :) I tried burning a stump from the outside. What I got was a weather resistant, carbon coated stump that lasted for years!

[c.joelummus]

I certainly brings back fond memories of my childhood when all I needed to entertain myself was gasoline and matches.

[fredriksjoblom]

Cool video, great job! Here in Sweden there's a kind of stump-stove that you can get pretty cheap. It's basically a sheet steel chimney with air inlets that you mount around your stump. And the stump burning method shown in the video is sometimes used here as a way to cook a meal on a single piece of firewood.

[grantyentis]

I tried to do this many years ago at my parents house. I was looking forward to burning that stump all night! Then there was a knock at the door, UT was the fire chief saying we had an illegal fire in our backyard. He went out back and put it our with our garden hose. All the other firefighters were on a fire truck watching over our wall. What the fire chief didn't realize was that our hose had a blow out from being left on with a spray nozzle in the past, so when he put his thumb on it to spray it better and got completely soaked! All the other firefighters started laughing at him til they chocked and telling him stuff but the chief stayed totally serious with water dripping off his face and hair telling us how serious our stump fire was and not to do it again. Served him right for ruining our night!

[ronmcwhirter]

When i was young . We did this to a large oak stump abont 15 ft from our barn .. it worked extreamly well, unfortunatly about a week after the stump was almost totally gone. Then a few days later the barn was also gone. It follower the roots to the old barn. Not saying this is a bad thing . Just a heads up if buildings are close. Must say that was 70 years ago.

[Gavintyler]

Very nice I have done this a few times myself. One thing I’ve enjoyed. I use a 1 inch or bigger drill bit and make a little rocket stoves all the way around but then there’s a good amount of spacing depending on the type of wood. I also take old concrete panels forms build a box with a lid around the stump then add a temperature controlled blower for a day or two

[hunnybunnysheavymetalmusic]

I could suggest to people who want to do this, find an old used wheel rim [steel works best] from a junk yard cheap that you don't mind destroying, and put that up over the top of your stumps.

It does 2 things: 1, it helps hold in a whole lot of radiant heat that would be lost, and 2, raises the 'chimney' [through the hole in its center] and a good sized car or truck rim has enough openings in them [usually] to provide adequate draft.

You can get several burns from one rim as they are pretty thick steel, so ten bucks or however much they charge, will speed up the burn, and you won't have to work as hard at keeping the fire lit.

[eldied]

I would think putting the blower in the draft hole does more good than just growing the flame. When it's burning on its own, the ashes fall to the bottom and smother the bottom from burning. So only the sides will burn. Putting the blower in will blow all the ashes out, and allow the bottom to breathe and burn. It looks like you were pretty successful getting the bottom to burn. If you ever do it again, try blowing through the draft hole, to get the smothering ashes out, about every 2 hours. You want the fire to burn downward as much as possible. Good luck!

[kadejaynes]

Thank you to the YouTube algorithm. What a fun video! Never thought I wanted to watch a stump burn

[oldfart]

Hi from England, over here with small yards and smokeless zones I have had to dig out 100s of stumps with shovels axes and brute force. Love the USA and Canada you guys do things the easiest way, loved the video be lucky

[jacko]

May I offer a suggestion for you on future large stumps. It was something I discovered after helping a friend remove a stump from his yard. I'm a welder and fabricator by trade and I had the idea of going over there with my 25 ton air over hydraulic set up and several lengths of some heavy tubing and chains and trying to wedge and pull it from the ground.
The stump was maybe 24- 30" in diameter and after digging down and cutting some of the major roots we were getting movement from the stump with my system but not near enough to pull it. I then decided to cut a deep rectangular pocket into the top of the stump and putting the 6" stroke 25 ton ram down into it, laying horizontally, start pressing it apart. It did a very good job of splitting the stump apart and the splits travelled down towards the roots. You can add wedges to the cracks to hold them apart and then put 2×4's behind the ram and hit it again. Basically divide and conquer!
We didn't have the heavy equipment you have so with your capabilities you will probably find this system to be pretty effective and a much more complete stump and root removal. Also much faster than burning it out.
I hope this gives you more ideas!

[acbigal]

I have 3 stumps in my backyard I have thought about doing this exact same thing to. Your experience is valued knowledge.

[paulcondie]

That's pretty cool! I've bought them swedish logs at the campground over the year's and never gave it a thought. The last time I got one out we use the milling head on a skid loader used to make notches on an asphalt crew that's what I do for a living. Poorman's stump grinder. Lol but pretty cool buddy thanks for turning on that light switch in my head. 🔥💪💯🇺🇲. PS; the stump we took out wasn't half that size lol

[MrLinkiscute]

I poured used motor oil on a stump on two occasions a few weeks apart. It lit easily and kept burning even under ground.

[silentwatch]

Nice video. In the past I have dug the dirt around the stump. Burns deeper.

[DerekDumas]

We did this before, It caught the roots of other trees in the area on fire. They died completely about 5 years later. The Arborist that came out said "Never do this, Ground fires can burn for decades, and you never know where old gas pipes are buried as well. You are very lucky this didn't do more damage."

[bird]

I like your way of thinking. I used to put a steel drum around a stump and keep feeding branches for several days to burn down to below root ball your idea should do it all without adding wood.

[joshuasingleton]

Good stuff. I was searching different methods of burning stumps and I like this one. One small tip though, when digging or lifting with the mini, you will get a lot more pulling/lifting force if you have the blade in front of you and fully extended. Not to mention the added stability. Have a good one.