Sometimes when you are going to construct a brand new patio, dance floor or just a landscape somewhere in your backyard, a tree stump can become a challenging obstacle because of which you can’t start the process of construction.
You should keep in mind that it’s not very easy to get rid of the stump, and sometimes it becomes impossible. But we would like to make this process not so challenging for you.
In this article you will learn how to get rid of a tree stump with charcoal. You will understand what instruments you will need and what steps you will have to perform. We hope that the instruction will be useful for you.
Benefits Of Using Charcoal For A Stump Removal
Typically charcoal is used for firing up fire pits and barbecues, but it’s almost never used for removing trees. Burn tree stump with charcoal?
However, we are trying to tell you that it’s possible and, in fact, is much more convenient than in any other options. This is so for the following reasons:
- The speed – although it works more slowly than if you choose grinding or cutting with the use of a chainsaw, you will spend a couple of days. As for other natural ways, this one is more efficient and speedy;
- The low price – you won’t need a lot of equipment or tools. The only things you will need is the charcoal itself, some oil and a drill. You can see that this method is really inexpensive;
- Little or even no effort – the procedure is really simple that almost anyone will cope with it. You won’t have to do anything difficult;
- No noise – charcoal burning will produce the smoke which can be a little bit annoying, but there will be no noise, so you won’t bother your neighbors too much.
Drawbacks Of Charcoal Stump Removal
Although the method is really efficient, we have to keep in mind that there are also disadvantages and even dangers of this scheme.
They happen to be the following:
- A big amount of ashes – charcoal happens to be really messy. There is a lot of soot produced during the burning of charcoal;
- Soil damage – burning, in fact, often becomes the reason for temporary or even timeless destruction of the soil around the place where the fire was started. It means that near this place there will be no weeds, grass and any other plants for a long time or even forever;
- The danger of burning – we have to keep in mind that fire is always hazardous and you can be hurt by it, or your property can be destroyed if your fire breaks out too much;
- Smoke – even if the stump you are going to destroy is small, its burning will cause lots of smoke. Therefore, it can pollute the environment and, in addition to this, irritate your neighbours.
However, the procedure itself doesn’t take much time, so if you know how to do it and you have all the needed tools, you will be able not to think of the mentioned drawbacks.
Instruments Required For Destroying A Tree Stump With Charcoal
The process happens to be not really difficult, and you won’t need a lot of tools. But you should keep in mind that there are still instruments needed.
The tools which are recommended for use during the procedure are the following:
- A face mask – it will protect you from the smoke getting inside your lungs as well as from soot getting onto your face;
- Gloves – your hands will get totally black with charcoal soot unless you apply safety gloves. Besides, the gloves will protect your hands from fire burning;
- Safety goggles – we should also keep our eyes safe from soot and smoke;
- Extinguisher – when the stump will be burnt, there will be a lot of flames. It is not very likely that there will be a big fire, but we should have a fire extinguisher close to you if it happens;
- Some blocks or rocks – to make the procedure as safe as possible you can construct a block or rock fence around the stump so that the fire will stay inside the fence;
- A drill – if you want to make the process faster, you will need a drill to make holes inside the stump and burn it from the inside;
- A shovel – this instrument will be extremely helpful when you need to get rid of the stump roots;
- Vegetable oil – this oil will make the process of burning inside the stump easier. You just have to pour it into the holes created with the drill. It’s recommended to use about 2 liters of oil;
- Charcoal – of course, you shouldn’t forget about the main element of the procedure. The bag of charcoal should be big enough. In addition to this, if the tree stump has a diameter of more than 40 inches, you will need at least two bags.
Features To Take Into Consideration Before Stump Burning
Before you begin the process itself burn stump with charcoal, you should take into account the things which are rather important for completing the procedure successfully.
They are the following:
- The size of the stump makes a difference since it affects the length of the process. For instance, if the stump is immense, it will take up to 4-5 days to get rid of it. Besides, you should take into account the type of the wood as well as its density since they are also important;
- The speed of the process – we just have to keep in mind that you won’t complete the procedure in a day, so you have to have several days which you can dedicate to getting rid of the stump;
- If you have children and/or any pets, you should make sure that they can’t get close to the fire because it’s rather dangerous for them as well as for you itself if you get distracted by anything;
- You should take into account your neighbours as they can be disturbed by smoke produced by the stump burning. So the best idea is to warn them before you start it and let them know how much time it will take and when exactly you are going to do it;
- Laws and regulations are also important since there can be some specific environmental rules in your area. For instance, in some states starting fires in patios or backyards is forbidden;
- Fires and flammability – you should always keep in mind that burning something big is really dangerous but we usually don’t understand it. Therefore, it’s highly recommended to have a water bucket, a water hose and an extinguisher somewhere around you;
- Soil and roots danger – another hazard can be caused if the fire travels into the soil through the roots. In some conditions it can even lead to soil burning and spoiling the bug area of surroundings.
We believe that these things are very important. If you take all of them into consideration carefully, your stump burning procedure will become much easier and quicker.
How To Get Rid Of A Tree Stump With Charcoal: Step-By-Step-Procedure
As we know what tools we need and what features we should take into account, it’s time to discuss steps which you need to take to remove the stump.
Digging Soil Around the Stump
First of all, you should get rid of all the roots left. It may happen to be rather difficult and take around a couple of hours. But still this is highly essential to do if you are planning to get rid of the stump.
You can stop digging as soon as the roots become visible and you can put your charcoal over them.
Drilling Several Holes
After completing the first step and making the roots visible, you have to drill the tree stump. A few holes should be on its top, while the others should cover the sides of the stumps.
It’s recommended to make a hole every two inches of the surface. The depth of the hole should be eight inches or more.
The best idea is to use the thickest drill you have in your instrument box. This step will be useful for creating a larger burning effect.
Pouring Some Vegetable Oil
The next step is to put your vegetable oil into the holes you have drilled. The holes have to be filled to the very top even if some oil gets out. You don’t have to get right to the next step immediately but you should let the oil get absorbed so as to make the wood burn more quickly.
If you have time and you want a better result, you should fill the drilled holes with the vegetable oil for a couple of days. It will be good preparation and you will be able to light up the stump really fast.
Putting Charcoal
To this step there is usually a couple of days passed. The next thing you need to do is to put the charcoal onto the tree stump. You should place your charcoal preferably on the thickest spots of the stump as well as the top of the stump. Moreover, some charcoal should be poured near the roots.
It’s highly recommended to cover the whole stump with charcoal. The more surface is covered, the faster the process of burning will be. Don’t forget to cover the top of the stump with a thick layer of charcoal.
Lighting Up The Stump
And now you can start. You can use a match or a lighter for lighting a small piece of paper or napkin and throw it onto the charcoal onto the top of the stump.
If you have done the previous steps properly, the fire will break out almost immediately. If it doesn’t happen this way, you can use some kerosene to pour over the charcoal. Please, note that it’s not recommended unless the fire doesn’t start under any circumstances.
Then you should try and light the charcoal once more. The rest you have to do is wait and watch the fire spreading around the stump. You have to make sure that the fire doesn’t go out of control.
Looking After The Fire
Don’t leave the fire since it can break out and create a threat to your property as well as to the whole neighborhood.
Usually, the process of active burning lasts for two or three hours, so the best idea is to ask someone else to help you with watching the burning. When the fire lowers down, you can have some rest. But you still shouldn’t forget to take care of this fire tree stump removal. You should make sure that the fire doesn’t break out around the stump.
Relighting If Needed
By this moment you can see a huge part of the tree stump gone. If there is more than a quarter of the stump left, it’s recommended to light it up once more at least for a day.
For this you will also need some more charcoal, but the amount will be less since the left piece is smaller itself.
The procedure is almost the same – you cover the left stump with charcoal and start the fire. Again you have to monitor the fire for several hours.
The process can be repeated up to the moment when the stump is totally destroyed. Usually, it takes four or five days unless the stump is too large.
Cleaning The Left Mess
If you have completely got rid of the tree stump, you have to clean all that is left. You should dig the pieces of burnt wood left, then remove the left charcoal and get rid of as much soot as possible around the area.
You may need a shovel to dig some roots out if necessary.
If the tree stump burning created a dent in the ground, you can add some rocks or soil there to cover the burnt area and make it look good.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Below we would like to cover the answers to the most frequently asked questions concerning getting rid of tree stumps. If you still have questions on how to get rid of a tree stump with charcoal, read these short answers below.
1. Will charcoal kill tree stumps?
Indeed, charcoal can kill tree stumps. Above we have covered the process of how you can get rid of a tree stump with charcoal.
Just don’t forget to study the advantages and disadvantages of the method, what features you have to take into account and what tools you will require.
2. What is the fastest way to get rid of a tree stump?
In fact, burning the stump is not the fastest way to get rid of the stump. The fastest way is to cut the stump with a chainsaw as much as possible and then dig out all the left parts. However, this method happens to be very noisy and hard physically and definitely very annoying for your neighbors.
Besides, it isn’t very efficient since there will be small parts and roots of the stump left in its place. Therefore, if you have some more time, it’s easier to use charcoal for getting rid of the tree stump.
3.What is the fastest way to kill a tree stump and roots?
Again, as we have covered in the question below, you can try to cut the stump with a chainsaw and dig out all the rest parts, but though it’s fast, it’s not very efficient.
How to kill a tree without cutting it down? As it was described, the process of burning the stump itself is rather quick and efficient, but it needs some preparatory job to do.
In Closing
As you can see, using charcoal to get rid of a tree stump is rather efficient. As any other method, it has its own advantages and drawbacks which you should know before you opt for any available scheme. And, of course, if you have decided to use charcoal, there is a list of certain features which you need to take into account in order to make the burning process easier and safer.
Besides, you have to take into account that you need several instruments for applying this method. The list is also presented in the article above.
The procedure itself is not so difficult if you complete all the steps correctly? but it will take several days. However, the burning itself is rather fast if you do all the preparations and don’t forget to let the vegetable oil get absorbed with the wood.
Although we don’t insist that this is the best way of tree stump removal, we are sure that it’s one of the most efficient and convenient methods of getting rid of a stump. You just have to drill holes, pour the oil and burn the charcoal on the stump. That’s it – you don’t have to do any physically hard job except for precautionary roots digging and cleaning up the mess afterwards.
We hope that this article is extremely helpful for you and you now understand how to get rid of a tree stump with charcoal, and you will be able to remove a tree stump from your backyard or patio without any obstacles.
