You know, it's well into the realm of "not fun", but if you're really in a hurry to get the damn stump out and you're too cheap to rent a tractor, you can always take a shovel and an axe to it. (or, if you're careful and quick, someone else's chainsaw.)
You are technically right, but in combination with rain and the elements, the stump will decompose. I used a 1" spade bit, drilled a lot of holes and poured composting chemical into the holes. It literally took years for the stump to wear away. A new tree sits in its place.
Hmm--I was gonna suggest using a Sawzall. I took out an 8" douglas fir with mine. Used a chain saw to down it (2' stump), dug a bit around the roots to expose them, and severed each with the Sawzall. The only hard one to get at was the tap root. Used a "wood and nails" blade.
It was unexpectedly quick and easy (30 min. for the stump) and didn't appreciably dull the single blade (as far as I remember).
I imagine the type and hardness of the tree made the difference.
Yes, since it's a safe bet that if you pump some diesel into a stump, some WILL get into the ground around that stump.
Unknown, but I'd be willing to bet that SOME would. Since one of the reasons I moved into the country was to live out here, I'd prefer not to pump any diesel into the ground if I have a choice in the matter. If that means a little more work with a pick and pry bar, I'll do the extra work.
I'd take that bet if you'd want to come watch me fill my lawnmower tank. I fill my tank very carefully, and usually don't spill ANY gas on the deck, much less on the ground, so I'd say it's a safe bet that I'd put less fuel into the ground than somebody who deliberately pumped some into a buried tree stump.
On the grounds that diesel spreads out any time it isn't tightly contained, and tree roots wouldn't contain any liquid tightly.
There might be some high heat and flame in there, but there would probably be some low heat also, and there would also be some areas that wouldn't get any flame unless you dug down there and exposed them to fresh air, and if you were going to do all that work you could just as easily dig up the roots anyway.
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