How to Remove a Stump, Cheaply & Effectively!

Just play the background music for the stump until it kills itself.

That stump was a perfect fishing seat and helps hold the bank together.

Nice video. I remember my dad using an axe making the curtain an X shape and pouring gas on the stump in our back yard about 40 yrs ago. It was summer time I got to stay up late til 3-4 am on fire watch w/my cousin. We thought that was so great.pitched a tent in case we wanted to sleep. He hid the gas csn somewhere cause we were fire bugs as teenagers 12-13 yrs old. That stump was so huge and tree was so old it was hollow in places dad said as him n a buddy cut it down. Our stump was 5x larger than the one in video. Thunderstorm broke half of it down so dad finished it off. We used sticks as well to keep fire going all night. We fell asleep in lounge chairs after 4am. Dad took over at 5am and it burnt about 6-8 inches below ground level. He got to use more gas tho. We woke up at 3pm. We were kids it was summer break. We felt like we lost a summer day. Lol. I enjoyed your video very much my friend. Similarities from 40 yrs ago.

In Australia we do it like this: First cut the bottom and top out of an oil drum. Place over the stump leaving an air gap at the bottom using some timber or brick chocks and put your charcoal or wood inside. Pour in a bit of sump oil and light. When the fire is really hot place a sheet of galvanized roofing iron on top. The fire will soon go out but will continue to smolder as the drum creates a draft and contains and focuses the heat even if it starts to rain. Course it tends to make a heck of a lotta smoke but that keeps the mossies and blowies away as well as the Mrs if she starts wingin' 'bout the effect on the washing. After15 hours or so the stump and all the roots will burn out without having to relight it several times. No worries. Fair Dinkum mate.

Quick reminder, do not do this in the dry season, fire can travel down roots and keep smoldering for days/weeks and start a uncontrolled fire.

You almost fooled us! You told us that the fire removed the stump, but the music actually did it!😆

In the beginning of your video, when you're using your chainsaw to cut the plus symbol into the stump, you can see that the chainsaw is throwing a lot of fine sawdust. That's always your best indicator that your chain needs sharpening. When your chainsaw is sharp it will throw big chips if wood, but never sawdust. Good luck. I enjoyed your video.

My uncle Sonny used the exact same method on his farm to get rid of medium sized stomps back in the 50's when I was a kid. He did one additional thing after the stump was burning on its own. He would take a 55 gallon barrel punch a couple of holes into it then turn it over onto the stump. It allowed the stump to continue burning but slowed down the wind and contained the heat so there was no stump left in the morning.

The cuts you made demonstrate a fire-making technique known as the Swedish Torch/Candle. If you make the cuts wider, you can build the fire inside the stump without using diesel fuel. I wouldn't suggest to anyone that they go to bed and leave this burning in a strong wind. I burned a stump once and the fire spread through the dead roots, igniting leaves far from where I'd cleared.

I don't know if you will read this, but the easiest way I found to burn a stump out was Charcoal Briquettes. What I did was built a ring of bricks around the stump just slightly higher than the top of the stump, then dumped the already coals on top the stump and in a matter of hours it was burned down to the ground level. I added more Briquettes but I don't know that I really had to. I think the ring of bricks concentrated the heat. In the morning there were little steam fissures all over the yard where the roots were burning.

Alright you have convinced me. I'm renting a bobcat.

20 years later... "well, we've made some progress, and it's really starting to diminish the stump. The psych ward has allowed me to come back and record over the past 19 years, though I can't seem to get that music out of my head even though they've upped my medication."

This is brilliant. Burnt first stump (of ~100..) tonight using this method, and it worked out brilliantly. Blown away by the simplicity. We've tried every other technique (drilling, saltpeter, etc...) and this is by far the simplest and most cost effective. I could have cried when the stump was burning with next to no effort. You're my hero.

Forget all the critics - cheaply and effectively. You removed your stump without having to buy anything or rummage for a drum. In the meantime, toasting grilled cheese on that fire at night with a bottle of Jack sounds like a great way to spend a late evening. Personally, looking at that property, I'm likely to have left the stump as a "utility table" when you sit on the bank, or tie a line to it for the boat or something. ALSO, for critics, this video also served as a discussion of other methods of removing a stump, so don't be harsh. This was a good, honest video.

I can remember as a child watching my relatives get rid of stumps. They would dig about 2-3 feet down beside the stump (allow for a plow) and then put hot coals around the stump. Worked really well. Takes about one night to complete the burn. Disadvantage - hard work digging the hole. Then fill the hole up with dirt.

I used your stump burning method last weekend. Burned two 20" dia pine tree stumps. Method worked great. There was a slight fall breeze for couple days. Thanks for posting this. God bless.

I don’t even have trees but for some reason I was compelled to watch the whole thing. This weed is good

Wow, so many negative comments on this video. I didn't think it was that bad! If I want professional level TV I will watch BBC. Thank you for your hard work making this and sharing it. :)

Got the idea from your video! Started a fire it worked great! Didnt put any fuel on it just burned it. It burned then soldered for 4 days and it went 1 foot below the ground. Kept near it with hose just in case. This was at least a 3 foot wide all around and 1.5 foot high stump. Cheap and affordable project. To rent a stump grinder is $150 at home depot didn't want to spend that. So I saved myself money! Thank you!

Ingenius! You know...almost every video I've seen that bad-mouths stump burning inevitably shows some guy who doesn't know how to create a good campfire. Your method creates a draft and chimney effect from multiple directions...which is smarter than just drilling some holes at the base of the stump. You also create 4 smaller quadrants, instead of one big cylindrical chunk. Most of all, you make the point that it requires a slow, steady burn for an extended period. Very helpful video. Thanks!