Cool video to watch. I had 5 large stumps to remove. Hired a company and they made several weeks worth of work into about 45 min. Good do it yourself job but I still prefer $350 for 5 stumps and coming home from work to them being gone.
Years ago in Texas a friend had some large stumps in his pasture and he sat a salt block on top of some for his cows. Cows will lick the block of salt and yes a small amount will melt when it rains. He noticed after the salt blocks are gone ( in about 3 months) the deer would eat on the wooden stumps and finally eat them up hunting salt. ( now this wont work if you keep putting salt blocks out at the same place but the deer would not come up close to his house and barn but instead ate the stumps) If I had not seen this I would never have believed it. Thought others might be interested!
I would suggest drilling some other holes at a 30° - 45° angle. The trunk is a mostly vertical network of vascular tissue and doing some cross drills will allow the tissue to transport the brackish water up and down more easily. Vertical holes are good for depth, but some angled holes intersecting the vertical holes will make the water transport in more active sites. Additionally, the angled holes will reduce the overall integrity of the trunk, allowing for weaker sections to form. Just an idea
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Thanks for the info! We learned that a great place to buy Epsom salts is at our local feed store. We buy it by the 50 lb bag which ends up costing less than 0.75 cents per pound. Thanks again and keep up the great work!
If the idea is to use the MgSO4 as a drying agent then you'll want to drive off the water that it's already absorbed by baking it in the oven first. As soon as you get the MgSO4 wet it isnt going to do much drying. I think you'd be better of drilling holes, adding something high in nitrogen, and covering it with dirt and leaves. This will encourage fungus to break down the wood.
You definitely have the correct bit this time around. I've wired about 500 houses and it's the bit that we used. And yes, those bits will eat a nail, no problem.
I drilled many holes with a big long drill bit. Plus angle holes from the side. Left uncovered. Bugs love those holes and go to work all spring, summer, and fall. Winter the holes fill with water, freeze, expand, and crack open more. Rots and softens naturally. Then with all those holes next summer fill them with diesel. Pile on all the tree branches laying in the yard. An light it up 1 or 2 yr after cut the tree down. Then kick back test of the day and enjoy the fire.
Salt preserves wood. In Florida it's salted wood is found along beaches, called driftwood. Can put decorative pieces in the yard and they last for decades!
Go to the hardware store and buy some stump rot. It works but it still takes time. This guy will turn this project over to his grandson when he gets tired of waiting. Use that auger bit to drill four horizontal holes at the base of the stump all the way to the center. Then drill a large hole straight down the center where it intersects with the other four holes. Pour some old diesel fuel in the big and small holes and light it up. It will burn it to the ground.
I discovered this same technique by accident. I had a few stumps in my yard and put deer salt lick blocks on top of them, thought it would be cool to watch the deer come in my yard. I noticed a year later the stumps were all gone. I don't understand the science behind it but it worked. Maybe when it rains the salt soaks into to stump thus breaking down the wood fibers or something. Or maybe little critters munch away at the salt saturated wood. It works and it's cheap.
Might it help to drill some holes in an angle around the sides of the stump? I don't know but it seems like it might help break down the side walls. I'm just guessing but I am learning from you! I have a couple tree stumps I need to remove in the backyard from trees broken down from a hurricane last year. I appreciate the info you are providing. 👍🏽
The salt thing does the opposite of promoting decay. A stump grinder is the way by far, but you can try burning if you have the room to do it safely or build a compost pile on top of it and add manure to promote microbial growth. Or wack it with an axe until your arms fall off. The last one is not recommended! Good luck.
Had some stumps from 🌴 palm trees we had removed. Drilled holes like yourself. Poured hot boiling water over them a few times per week . We are cutting another palm tree very soon. I'll be using your ideas. A better deeper drill and the Epson salt . Thought about poring gas on it and burning it out. Could tick off a few people. Or at least scared 😱 them, hehehe.
One of the difficulties you will run into is the tree being a pine will take forever to decay in the manner you are hoping. The stump, and the area where the branches grow from the tree have immense concentration of sap. You may dry the sap up some but it is still going to be like crystallized glue. Best of luck to you on your endeavor though. Hope it works better than I'm thinking it will.
Great idea but I think I have another tip to make this system better. 1) Drill 1 1/2 inch holes using a Spade Drill Bit. You can only go about 6 to 9 inches deep but this will allow you to hold more Epson Salt in the holes. 2) after drilling the 1 1/2 inch holes get your long drill bit and drill deep inside the middle of the large holes you just created. 3). Use a vacuum to suck up all wood shavings so they don’t go back into these holes since we only want Salt in there anyway. 4) fill each hole with Epson Salt but there will be an air pocket in those holes so put your long drill bit in reverse to help drive and pull all the salt to the very bottom of the holes,... each one! Now you have a reservoir of salt in each of those long deep holes which allows you not to have to check on it so often and will speed up the process by having more salt at the surface.
The Pine Roots are just below the Ground - I had 40' Pines and they would be a lot of Grinding to Rip that all apart.I watched the guy do three of mine, I see why they used a Monster of a Machine But took him about a Half Hour each.
Quick and easy take your chainsaw and bore cut down into the center of the stump in cross pattern so just bore cut one way flip the saw the the other way and make the cut ... take used motor oil roughly 5 quarts pour it over the stump let that sit for a few days build a hot fire on top of the stump and keep feeding the fire all day and shell burn it helps to contain the fire with a burn barrel of some sort
That is so funny!! What a dry sense of humor. I've been following this because I have the same problem and the Epson salt does help....along with a tool I use to hack at it occasionally. It becomes an obsession.
Cutting a Pine Tree Stump is Brutal on the Chain saw Chain. I had a Tree guy Grind down three Pine Stumps a few years back, The Root Material must of Rotted. The Round area they used the Machine on Dropped about 3-4 Inches over time.Needless to say I need to re-Plant and add soil to the Area. I just cut an entire root ball out - It was a lot of work.I got one stump left - I hope this stuff works....
I'm sure someone has already addressed this, but salt will only serve to "kill" a stump and roots, but once "dead" will only serve to preserve the stump against microorganisms and fungi, which would otherwise serve to break down and decay a dead stump. So essentially, while you may have ensured the stump will not sprout suckers, you are slowing the process of decay. -ISA Certified Arborist
Love ur videos , I've burned many stumps over the years. I think I tried every way possible. The Epson salt I never tried. Thank u for the info. Keep the videos.
Hello, I'm an arborist who would obviously use a stump grinder; fyi, my small machine would take 10 minutes tops and not 2 hours as you had estimated. The use of salt will not promote decay and will only do the opposite as it will preserve the stump by keeping microbes and other things like fungi that would have started decaying the stump. Even so this would still take months or longer to completely remove the stump. Another way would be to (if it could be done safely) build a fire pit and burn over time. This would take a day or two. But the best way would be to hire someone like me that would charge in the neighborhood of $100 to simply grind the thing. Good luck.
Just a thought but if you would have done the very same thing, using kerosine instead of epsom salt, drilled the top and all around the side, soak with kerosene. Light it and two days later the stump would be gone. But this was fun to watch
he'd have to add a whole lot more water for it to not be effective at all. The salt is only going to draw moisture out where it's in contact with the wood. Adding water effectively increases the contact area. Ideally, he'd just have put water in the holes, but it's still going to do the job.
i have 2 stumps i want to get rid of. one is growing shoots out of it, i get cutting them off. i was recently told of this process, so im glad you're sharing the experience. My question is if the purpose of salt is to dry out stump to be able to chip away at it, why do you keep putting water on it?
Summer of 2016 I had a big maple stump that was there when I bought house. A guy came and cut it level with the ground. I poured old soda, orange juice, and any sugary liquid I was throwing out my refrigerator. I’d also soak it with water when I was washing my car or whatever. You can’t tell it’s there anymore except for a little mound in the yard. The grass has rooted into it and I can run my lawnmower straight over it. My theory was the sugar would help the rotting process. Seemed like a lot of insects were eating at it too. Maybe because of the sugar? A smaller stump in the backyard that was there when I moved in that I haven’t done anything but cut it low the same time as the maple stump hasn’t seemed to rot at all. Don’t know what kind of tree it was though. Just glad the one in the front is gone.
Thank you Dan!! That is a Great idea. Because my wife isn't to thrilled with the cooking oil idea in the dirlled holes of the stump and then burning it, with it being to close to the house.
The heat of a compost heap placed on top would make the chemical more active. It would also protect from rain and let moisture out better than plastic.
It's good that you've used a larger drill bit. Apart from any chemical properties associated with Epsom and dry salt will draw moisture from the surrounding material. Thus, you should consider the following methodology: 1/. Ensure that your plastic covering has a space above it to allow air flow which will assist moisture from the timber and salts to be released. 2/. Use your drill bit to extract the salts in place and subsequently air (or even oven) dry what you pull out which can then be reused. 3/. Every so often, try to send some fire down there. Gasoline may not float everyone's boat, but it'll help burn away any dried and dead timber and kill off organisms. Repeat, as desired. If you think about it, this procedure does make sense.
Yeah, black plastic is how Ranger School trains you to cull water. . An Auger bit would suck - just a 3/4" wood bit used to tear into the top - multiple angles works, too. I just put charcoal on in and let combustion really tear down the integrity of the wood.
If that drill bit catches on something (suddenly STOPS) that drill motor has enought torque to break your wrist. You will not be able to let go of the trigger or drill in time. That's why it has the extra handle at right angle to the bit (the one that says Dewalt on it), Twist that handle slightly to unscrew and loosen it, swing it around so you can hold it with your left hand while you're drilling, than tighten it back up firmly. Now you're holding the drill the drill with both hands while drilling. MUCH safer. Great video! DIE STUMP!
Adding epsom salt to stump. Add water. Cover with some garden soil. This stimulates sulfate reducing bacteria which are decomposes of organic compounds. Will help to speed up natural decomposition.
Use a funnel, get your salts to the bottom of the holes! Never tried this but it makes sense. Drilled holes to a certain depth and never fill them to said depth? Just an idea, Thanks for the video
Thank you! I have a black walnut stump I need to remove! It was killing my garden and the trees around it so iI took the tree down but the roots need to die so I can grow again!
If you buy large diameter auger drill bits, check it the star of the bit is a little bit wider then the rest, cheaper brands tend to not have this feature.
it really feels like a angle grinder with a wood carving disc would do the job for such a big stump. Smaller ones can be removed by a 1.5 inch spade bit and a hand drill.
I've tried this on my stump twice but it wasn't until I removed my prosthetic limb that I was able to really drill right into my stump! It hurt but not as much as rubbing in that salt did! Oh, and there was significant blood loss, which bothered me and the kids!
Today eye learned that condensed milk is a good solution if you're not in a big hurry. My friend is an arborist and gave me this information with the most purrfect thyming, because eye live in a high desert climate. Should rot them out by summer's end if eye am lucky. Thanks so much for your suggestion as well.
Get a 1 inch spade bit, a couple of gallons of diesel, and a 50 gallon drum. Cut out the bottom to the correct size and let the diesel soak in good. Pack it full of trash and set her a flame. If you hadn't cut it so short you cut the roots with an axe while another truck pulled the stump.
The price paid for the tools ,ales this an fairly expensive project compared to burning it with coals. I think I would have tried to use a spade bit or even an old fashioned brace and bit (cheap at garage sales!).
