Anyone burn out a large in-ground stump?

[Bryan Rocker]

I'd rent a grinder. Home Depot rents them around here. Kind of heavy work but if you're willing to keep grinding you can take the stump down pretty far. Your's looks pretty open and accessible.

Mike

What he said.......if you are lucky you might catch a tree company in your area to stop by as well.......

[Art Mann]

I have a warning about Home Depot rental stump grinders. If the teeth on the grinder aren't sharp, the tool is very, very slow and the operator experience is that of trying to plow the stump up with a front tine garden tiller, at least with the smaller units. I know this from personal experience. Always check the teeth for sharpness before leaving.

[Jim Andrew]

White Oak stumps are particularly hard to get rid of. The wood lasts very long in the ground, it won't rot away like elm or some other woods. My dad dug some white oak stumps out, using shovel and pulling with a tractor when I was small, I hit the remains of one with a piece of farm equipment, and finally had to dig out the remains of it, about 30 years after the tree was cut down. My neighbor used a steel drum to burn out some pine stumps, took about a week, during a dry hot summer. Just built a fire in the drum every day, on top of the stump. The amount of moisture in the ground makes a huge difference, if the ground is just dry as a bone, the stump will burn well.

[julian abram]

Stump update! Ok the stump saga is over. I made a feeble attempt to burn the stump. Bored 1" holes with an auger bit, filled the holes with diesel fuel and let the fuel soak in for several days. I built a hot fire on top and keep that burning for a weekend. The stump laughed at my effort, by Monday it was just a little charred. Obviously there was way too much moisture for it burn. I called a fellow with a grinder to come give me an estimate. I actually had cut another large white oak next to my shop, so he said $200 for (2) 50" stumps, (1) 20" and a handful of small stumps. I thought that was a bargain since the rental place priced a Veemer 252 at $300/day. I actually gave him an extra $20 for his good service, he was very appreciative. He came yesterday with his Veemer 252, in two hours all the stumps were piles of mulch. Thanks for all suggestions for this project, grinding was the right approach for this project.