Lesson from your first attempts to burn the stump: Piling a bonfire on top of a stump does very little good to burn out a stump. Lesson here, you should have made the side chimneys on 3 or 4 sides, in a radial pattern. Your method showed that the chimney method works great for the sides it is on. Turn your stump into a "Swedish candle", with air channels going down deep into and under the stump. Probably not necessary to cut out the square chunks, as that wood would burn out first once you get chimneying going on. Just more vertical and down trending saw holes, and/or drill holes, aiming for deep under the centre of the stump.

I started a similar project, instead using a 1 1/2' spade bit on a drill to make my air holes. I never let it burn overnight, and it became my fire pit project for almost 1 1/2 years before it was all burned out of the ground. At first, I burned a 'basin' in the top, being careful to keep the sides intact. I found that all I needed to do was get a fire going on the inside... then the inside would become the fuel, and I only burned the trunk itself. As things went along, I dug/burned out all the roots as well. I had ORIGINALLY intended on filling the hole back in... But it's now my fire pit and will likely remain so. I'm a pyro... I didn't want to do it quick, I wanted to extend the 'reason' for having a fire. :D

Fun! As a safety tip though, if you absolutely have to use gasoline, put the sawdust you made In the hole and put gas on that instead. It will soak in better, be less explosive, and the gas will last longer (more like a candle). Disclaimer: I am not condoning the use of gasoline to start fires, please don't, it's wildly unsafe.

The leaf blower was a great idea. There is another video on KZfaq where a gentleman used his wifes cooking oil that was used up. He drilled a large hole with a drill from the top down. I would estimate a foot or so down. (2 inche diameter hole approx) he just poured and poured over a few weeks the used oil his wife gave him. He let it soak into the wood. Finally he set it on fire.... The stump burned very very well. (his neighbors all thought he had a huge BBQ going and French fry cookout). It worked!

Cool way for sure.... but for the amount of time you spent cutting up the stump you could have cut the stump off at the ground...

Nice Video A safer way is to use a Large auger bit and extensions I used a large drill to power the auger bit I had a 3' dia White Oak stump I drilled 5 - 2 9/16" holes down into the stump to ground level I also drilled 1 hole in from the side for air I used a 10' chunk of 2" steel pipe pressed into the air hole and duct taped a leaf blower to the pipe It still took 2 days to burn But it burned most of the roots out also

I had this problem a couple of decades ago. The tree was about 10' away from my house. I couldn't burn the stump. So I dug under it. Found the big roots and cut them as far down as I could. Those roots bring water up. It's amazing how much water they can bring up. At that point the stump was suspended in the air by the other roots. I set a fire under it and just kept adding wood. It took about 36 hours to burn it completely away.

If you've got a shop vac, you can set it to blow into the side hole continuously for an afternoon, and the stump will be gone. Use a section of steel or pvc 2-4" pipe 3 ft long to keep the vacuum hose from burning/melting.

For anyone afraid of fire there’s always dynamite for those stubborn stumps.

Glad you aren't in a dry area doing this, cause if you were all those embers your blowing all over the place would start a huge wildfire

You are on the right track. I burned a difficult stump out a few years ago. Drlll a hole down the middle and one from the side at the bottom. start a charcoal fire at the top and get a $4 hair dryer from the thrift store to feed fresh air from the side. after the charcoal is going well start to add some coal eventually using all coal. put a piece of scrap metal over the fire to hold the heat in the stump. the fire will follow the fresh air and make short work of the stump. drink several beers while observing the burn.

Seriously dangerous use of a chainsaw. If you're gonna make a plunge cut, then do it safely. Never push the the end of the bar straight into the tree, well, unless you like kickback and a trip to the hospital. Start your cut with the bar at about 45 degrees to initiate for about the first inch or so, and then rotate the bar in line with your intended plunge cut. Also, wear safety equipement, Boots, trousers, gloves and helmet with ear muffs, or don't, and pay the price. Any fool can buy a chainsaw, but it takes a team of highly skilled medics to put that fool back together!

I did the same thing with a stump in the back yard of my home. I used charcoal and kerosene which does not have the risk of explosion that gasoline has. The burn took a couple of days, like in the video. Cutting slots or drilling ventilation holes prior to starting the fire is a good point. Encase the stump in a large metal drum or surround it with rocks or bricks to keep in the heat so that it burns faster.

That looked like a lot of fun. I enjoyed watching that. Great video.

I loved the video my dad used an old shell of a lg antique furnace and burned out three lg stumps he also picked up pieces of tires on the highway and it made a hot fire 🔥 he even had a chimney on it Can’t do that in the city anymore Great video 🔥👍🔥

Tough old stump! Thanks for taking us along!

Always dig away as mush soil as you can and the let it dry out a couple of weeks, and of course cut it as low as you can first.

Interesting setup. I think I would have used diesel to start it with though. Bit safer to work with.

Great job. Patience def needed. Seen the volcano method used before on other channels. Seems like the “best” way other than a stump grinder. Like you say, you now have a ready made firepit; large root system will eventually be “toast” after bunch of fires…

One of the best videos on the subject.

Good job for a calm fall day

you could have dug some of the dirt away from the big roots then start the fire in the those areas to get it burning below ground. drilling holes with a big auger bit in to the base would also work, safer than the chain saw. Why not cut the stump lower to the ground to start with?

Yes, I noticed that; making air holes at the bottom, and starting the fire there, with a clear chamber for it to move up the inside. More air holes should make it burn faster. I like it! Nice use of blower as a bellows!

Basically, what Mother Nature is saying, “Not so fast, buddy boy! It took me decades to grow this tree. I’m not giving up without a fight!” :-))

That looked fun I never tried it that way Thanks for sharing this great video

I have done this with diesel fuel and a huge auger bit, cut the first year and drill holes and fill every time you think about it the first year, once its good and soaked light her up, it will smolder for a couple days but burns down to the roots

This is exactly what my neighbor did; he must have watched this video too. Thanks!

That was awesome, thanks for sharing. Nice piece of ground too

Get a 4” stove pipe section about 8’ long and use it on the air intake side then use your leaf blower to blow air into the 4” pipe. It keeps you away from the heat and burns the stump out really fast. I use a 16” culvert pipe to supply air into my brush piles and they burn 10x faster.

That would be an awesome stove for a camp!!

So what we have here is a grown man playing with fire, what a fantastic way for any man to spend a day.👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

I`ve found that by boring multiple holes around the wood base of the stump particularly on the windward side for air flow and using a diesel/ old used oil mix to start the burn . Once the top opens to much I try to trap that heat to the center by partially blocking the chimney effect . This has forced the burn into the roots . As a heat cap in the past I`ve used rain soaked chipboard or corrugated iron sheet. Your idea is a good one .

Great job with the chain saw! I used an auger bit to drill holes then poured oil/ gas mixture in them for several days. Lit it off with a drum covering the stump to maintain heat and safety. Burned to the ground within a day which was okay in my case.

Love the "how to turn a tree stump into a rocket stove" theme, I have to agree with the others regarding fuel; kerosene, diesel or paraffin. I did similar with a smaller stump, though I bored the holes with an auger and used candle wax mixed in with sawdust, topped with kindling and so on as a starter fuel source... whatever works best for you, though as you yourself noted, petrol/gasoline is a BAD idea!

From start to finish absolutely perfect. You da man!

Works well. Looks awesome.

For the inner pyro in all of us.

A day spent playing with fire isn't a day wasted.🤪👍🤣😉

Man...great video! So satisfying to watch!

Thanks I found that really relaxing to watch, on a cold wet Winters day here in the UK. In fact I had to turn our heating down !

My great uncle in Kentucky tried this one time and thought he was really smart but then the fire kept burning the roots and there was a big old tap root that led down to a coal seam and the coal seam caught on fire and half the county had to evacuate and that seam is still on fire today. So yeah. Be careful. Always have a fire extinguisher handy that is rated for coal seams.

The risk of forest fire is very high when burning stumps. The roots will smolder for even weeks allowing ember to start a fire in the duff layer when the root surface. I recommend grinding or digging and cutting the root ball.

Thanks for this video. I tried this once years ago and it didn't burn very well. After watching the video I didn't make the air shaft at the bottom as you did. Fun too see this done again and too know why mine didn't burn so well. 😄👍❤️🤪🥒

Love these types of videos. Thank you for making yourself available and sharing your wisdom on the u-tube channel. Sure glad you came across my u-tube screen. ❤️🥒

That blower made all differnce. Next time you leave stump, cut it a little higher and you got a cook stove!

We did something similar only we covered it first in clay about 4" deep leaving just an air hole in the front and top with a stove pipe out the top. It was hot enough in there to forge high grade steel. Left us a nice kiln when the stump was gone.

KZfaq algorithm has spoken. Obligatory comment. Part of the almost half a million people, who watched a stump burn. Why did I click on it? Not sure, but it was mesmerizing.

I like it, going to give it a try on some stumps around my home

Right at 6:25, my immediate thought was "Damn, that's an EXCELLENT temporary forge." Just set the leaf blower or an air mover and set you anvil and grindstone next to it for the day.

Kero would have been a better starter fluid. Another way to make this work better is to put a 55 gallon drum over it (cut off the ends to make it a tube = chimney). It will contain the fire better, keep it hotter, and burn outside in. I use a leaf blower to help with burning the leaves every fall as well. Less ash, less time, less smoke.

If you let that stump season for three of four years, the fire would have burned through the roots. It have seen it happen on a tree that had been cut off at ground level five years earlier about five feet from my fire pit. Sparkes from my fire pit lit the stump. It burned and left holes in the dirt exactly the shape of the roots. Really cool looking. You could probably also burn the roots on a one- or two-year-old stump if you kept a blower on it.

I have burnt several stumps completely gone. I always dig around base and drill holes in stump soak stump in kerosine. Remove scrape away char between lightings. Takes several days but it always works. Never tried the Volcano

The rocket method is awesome, works very well, I used it on a madrone stump a couple weeks ago. If you want it hotter than the bowels of hell use the thickest bark you can find, I had a bed of coals 3' w, 2' thick and almost 2' deep, so hot I couldn't get within 10' of it

They sell a chemical stump remover at the hardware store, used it a few times, it's like a can 4x6" some kind of phospher compound I think. Boar holes top down, aim for a big root, did 5 of 6 holes, dump stuff in holes and I think we watered it in. Let it sit and soak for the rest of the winter in this case. Prime the holes with #2 diesel put a torch to it, burned for a day. The chemical is absorbed into the wood and it burns like a 4th of July punk! It's cheap ez to use, I used a 18x1" power auger. Just the wait time for it to permeate the wood but when it was done the root were gone also,like 6" below grade. Just my 2 cents. )

Thanks for sharing!

Thank you, for the video.

I prefer explosives, but to each his own

That’s a lot of work. Just dig all the dirt around the roots and get air flow under the stump. Lay a bed of charcoal on the ground under it . Should do the trick.

Really cool video

I like the way you think. :) Famous last words, “I didn’t expect that.” LOL! :)

Allot of good ideas, didn't get thru all, but looks like a rocket stove that could have used a few more intake holes around the base.

Any secondary fires because of embers being blown all over the place?

Good looking charcoal 🙏🏻👍🏻

I like how everyone’s an expert.

All you need to do is put old sheet of tin on top of fire to force it to burn down into stump it gets hotter an will burn all of it then use ash on you garden wouldn't the heat from fire cause it to suck air in from out side stump ?like A fireplace does? But you're still doing cool job

I had a tree that died on my property about 15 years ago. It was about 2' diameter x 30' tall. I let it sit for about 3 years. As it dried out, the major branches fell off, and I kept picking them up and burning them on my burn pile. Finally the tree lost all of its branches, and I was left with a stump that was 2' diameter x 15' tall. Over the years, the stump had gotten infested by ants, which I could tell by the hundreds of small diameter bore holes all over it. Finally, I decided it was time to get rid of it. I doused the outside of the stump with diesel fuel all around the base to a height of about 3 feet, and let it soak for about an hour. Then I built a small pile of kindling and lit it. Since I used diesel, the fire did not flare up crazy, and it took about 10-15 minutes to get the whole base of the stump afire. Then the ants started swarming out of the tree like there was no tomorrow. Since the whole thing had basically been turned into swiss cheese by ant bores, air was able to penetrate the stump everywhere. There was not much indication of fire from the outside, just steady smoke coming from the ant bores, and also going up the chimney as it formed from the internal fire. I lit the tree at about 4pm, and monitored it through the night about every hour. The stump finally fell at midnight, and I drove my truck to the back of my property to put lights on it, and manipulated the remains of the stump to form a good fire pile. It took until the next afternoon, with some occasional tending, until the fire burned out. Everything had burned down to fine, white ash. I was left with perfectly smooth ground where the stump had been, and was able to run over it with my mower without hitting any protrusions.

When you thought the fire was out the next day, all you had to do was hit it with the leaf blower to get it flaming again. I had a stump burn a few years ago, but it was against the HOA rules, so I had to be a little more cautious about smoke. If you notice when you used the blower, it became wonderfully smokeless. But I could not let it burn unattended, so I had to put it out for the night. I thought a couple squirts of water would do it, but it took 4 hours of hosing and testing with the blower to get it really out.

Rocket stove! Nice work 😁

Also a cool way to start a root system fire that spreads underground to other tree's, dead roots etc. and pops to the surface in the form of a forest fire if done properly.

Force air down and get the entrance to start on fire then back the other way. The key is to heat the air right from the start!

That's a great way to start a long lasting treacherous ground fire that could travel several yards underground in the root system before working its way up to the surface when nobody's around to stop it. Ground fires have been responsible for suddenly occurring forest fires.

Cut fire wood for years and heated my house with it. A wood furnace in the basement with blower and shroud into furnace duct. work. I always cut stumps at ground level. They are the densest wood in the whole tree. Really good firewood...

This looked similar to something I did way back in the late 1980's (I'm old). I cut an apple tree flush to the ground, poured gas on it and lit it. Every year for the past two decades it produced apples. I don't get any thanks thanks to deer and birds.

Just goes to show, it's fun to play with fire.

Stumps are a challenge. The worst are the fresh cut ones. I've got several measuring approx 40 to 50 inches in diameter. Some big gnarly stumps have dirt/metal embedded in them and chainsaw chains (including carbide) are nearly worthless. I have one on our property that has dulled 3 standard chains and one solid carbide chain. I'll get it eventually but then I've got more to do. Nice video, I enjoy seeing how others do it.

Ingenious !

creates a fire tornado. very cool.

Stump grinder: 10 minute job. Burning it DIY: 10 hours of pyromaniac fun.

Nice job. I wondering if a bunch of vertical cuts intersecting the core would give the same result?

Another way to make a bunch of holes is to use a big auger bit or a forstner bit at least 3/4” diameter with an extension. I drill down at a 30 degree angle with the goal of having them aimed at the center of the stump. I soak the holes thoroughly with old motor oil and let it soak in for several hours. I’ve been able to burn out a large 20” diameter stump in a day. The leaf blower helps accelerate things.

As a bush firefighter, this makes me facepalm hard. Those roots can continue smouldering for weeks underground and then end up causing other bush fires.

Not a single smore was injured during the making of this video

Made a rocket stove out of a tree stump...nice! I wonder if one of those long wood auger bits could be used to do that...pretty cool

Out standing!

So, 90% of the above ground portion of the stump could have been removed in 10 min with that chainsaw...

1 sawcut and 20 minutes with a rented stump grinder. No forest fires. Roots ground and gone. No gasoline accidents. No brushfires or burning ordinance problems. Silly. Play stupid games. Win stupid prizes 🙄

cutting it like you would cut a cake. That way you don't have to do those plunge cuts to create the initial air channel. This also draws air in no matter which way the wind blows. For a not a fast method if you are in a fire risk area, is to drill a series of holes vertically down into the stump, then fill those holes with a paste made with that deer cocaine stuff they sell at hunting stores before deer season. The stuff soaks into the stump saturating it with minerals that deer find tasty. Deer will literally eat the wood. It takes a year or so, but no risk of starting fires.

so if you are doing this check to make sure that you make the horizontal air hole on the side that the prevailing wind comes from the wind shadow here is pulling air down the stack instead of drawing air up.

Got a couple pesky stumps left in the front yard that have had Dozens of small fires set on them, going to try this

If you had put some charcoal inside the hole you made it would catch easier and burn long enough to ensure it caught. I burned one out using charcoal but I didn’t open it up in the middle like that. I just dug around it some and filled the ring with 2 bags of charcoal. It burned for a few days underground, but it all burned out, and it made a LOT less mess.

It’s glorious

An old fashioned fan works great .

Where are you located? Beautiful scenery and that roaring water in the backdrop is way to cool.

Last time I needed to burn a stump out, I used some cement blocks I had laying around to build a box around it, and then used the output of a shopvac from underneath to create a sort of blast furnace. Took a couple hours a few ounces of lighter fluid(Just to get it going at the beginning) but it was effective.

Pro tip: get some disks that would elevate a pot or pan just enough above the stump to let the flames still come up. You now have a rocket stove while you are waiting for the work to be done for you and a source of heat at that

Nice!

Nice 👍🏻

Many years ago I had a property wit some old stumps and roots and so soaked them first with kerosene before setting light to them. All that was left were holes in the ground which I filled with soil.,

That's a good forge.

I have found that if I put an old sheet of roofing corrugated iron on top of the burning stump, this causes more heat to be reflected back to the stump and assists with burning it down.