How to remove a 24" stump from a 60" planter???

[arbor pro]

A customer wants me to remove a large tree stump from a concrete planter. The planter is 60" outside diameter and about 8" thick so, the inside diameter is around 42". Inside the planter is a 24" tree stump. So, between the stump and the planter wall is about 9" on average on all sides (pretty much round stump). The planter is 24" tall and located in the middle of a planting bed which is also 24" tall so, all together, the top of the planter is about 48" from sidewalk height. The planter is about 48" in from the edge of the sidewalk.

I DO NOT HAVE AN ALPINE OR OTHER TYPE OF HAND-HELD GRINDER AND CANNOT RENT ONE IN THIS AREA. I do have a sc252 and a 665a grinder - neither of which I can foresee working on this job as ramping either grinder up to the planter would be very difficult and, in my opinion, too dangerous.

Drilling, chopping and cutting with chainsaw are all options I have considered. TNT is not an option nor are genetically-altered termites.

Any of you brilliant minds out there have a better suggestion than drilling, chopping or cutting?

Thanks. AP

 

[Stumper Guy]

Tough Stump

Put you grinder on top of a truck bed not to safe but I have done it

 

[serial killer]

How about screwing some eyebolts into the stump and using an engine hoist to yank the whole thing out, roots and dirt included.

 

[arbor pro]

the truck bed idea might work to get part of the stump - I could see backing my 1-ton flatbed over the lower planter wall and close to the round planter. That would at least get the 252 stumper close to the planter and probably get the close side ground out. But, to get the far side ground out, I would have to drive the 252 stumper onto/into the planter somehow. I suppose a 3" plank for each tire might work but, man - that sounds like a lot of work for one stump.

The eyebolt idea would likely yank the stump and planter out all together. I'm guessing the roots go well under the planter base and out laterally under the soil. To pull the stump out would require cutting all the roots or just replacing the planter altogether.

Both good ideas but, I think I'm looking for a way to grind, chop or cut the stump out with some type of tool other than the obvious - a hand-held alpine grinder. Anyone know of a type of saw chain that can be used for cutting into dirty roots/soil to cut the stump out in chunks without going dull immediately like regular chain?

 

[Treeinnovator]

what about one of those small lawn mower sized grinders that most rental shops have. make a small ramp with plywood and grind it out. change ramp loctations to grind each side of the walls.

they have these at Home Depot / Lowes. nearest one can't be more than an hour's drive from anywhere.

 

[Ghillie]

Reciprocating saw with demo blade?

 

[Treeinnovator]

it's starting to sound like it would be quicker just to remove the surrounding dirt layer and hack it all up with a nicely sharpened ax. can't take more than 2 hours tops doing this.

 

[woodchux]

Get a 500,000 BTU propane torch called a 'Weed Burner" and burn that puppy out...

It will help speed things up if you drill some holes into the stump first.

 

[motoroilmccall]

Dig up as much of the dirt as you can and cut the roots, then lift or pull that sucker outta there. I've cut plenty of stumps out when I couldn't get the grinder in to a tight spot.

 

[M.D. Vaden]

I had to remove 2 x twelve inch stumps from a 4' planter one time.

Bought my first $120 Poulan with an extra chain and laid waste to the chains cutting out a root ball. But it worked. Geez ... was the bar ever dirty. Put the saw back on the shelf for similar adventures. The sacrificial chainsaw.

Best use for a Poulan that I've ever seen.

No room for a grinder, and the brick would have busted by tying a chain or rope to a vehicle.

 

[ddhlakebound]

Bought my first $120 Poulan with an extra chain and laid waste to the chains cutting out a root ball. But it worked. Geez ... was the bar ever dirty. Put the saw back on the shelf for similar adventures. The sacrificial chainsaw.

Best use for a Poulan that I've ever seen.

It seems Poulans do have a purpose after all.....I too have one which is reserved for below ground level use.

Good ideas guys, lot of options and possible combinations.

 

[TexasTreemonkey]

Get a 500,000 BTU propane torch called a 'Weed Burner" and burn that puppy out...

It will help speed things up if you drill some holes into the stump first.

Haha How long would that take??

 

[treemandan]

Get a 500,000 BTU propane torch called a 'Weed Burner" and burn that puppy out...

It will help speed things up if you drill some holes into the stump first.

Good idea but I would appraoch it like burning out a canoe from a log with a slow steady burn. It would take a long time and you probably wouldn't want to get it to hot as it would break the planter.

 

[arbor pro]

burning it out won't work - high profile area in the middle of downtown. The local fire guys won't appreciate me filling up the area with smoke and flame.

Filling the area with chips and noise will be tricky too because of the location. I'm leaning towards cutting it out chunk by chunk. Th 019 with 14" bar has had some use on it over the years. Maybe this is a good chance to burn up some old chains that are about shot anyways and give the 019 one more good workout before officially declaring it a grubbing saw...

 

[treemandan]

burning it out won't work - high profile area in the middle of downtown. The local fire guys won't appreciate me filling up the area with smoke and flame.

Filling the area with chips and noise will be tricky too because of the location. I'm leaning towards cutting it out chunk by chunk. Th 019 with 14" bar has had some use on it over the years. Maybe this is a good chance to burn up some old chains that are about shot anyways and give the 019 one more good workout before officially declaring it a grubbing saw...

Ooof. Tough nut. I guess blasting is out of the question.
Hows about drilling a screw eye ( a big one) in throught he top and trying to pull it out in one shot?
Hows about a bunch of old batteries? Dump em on .
I would think drilling with BIG bits would be the best option. It would make room for things to ease compression. A few holes and you might be able to pull it out. How big is this thing?

 

[treemandan]

Haha How long would that take??

A case at least

 

[treemandan]

Use a pressure washer to blast the edges free whilst thou pulls? Pop it like a cork?

 

[winchman]

supersonic air knife

do you know anyone with a big airgun like the supersonic air knife? you could blow the roots clean and then cut away. i bet you could get all the dirt off in a matter of minutes and use a poulan or whatever you have at your disposal to cut away.
hope this helps?

 

[JeffL]

do you know anyone with a big airgun like the supersonic air knife? you could blow the roots clean and then cut away. i bet you could get all the dirt off in a matter of minutes and use a poulan or whatever you have at your disposal to cut away.
hope this helps?

Damn, beat me to it. Rent a compressor and see if you can track down an airspade to borrow. Take no more than a matter of 5-10 minutes to remove nearly all the surrounding soil from the planter, cut the roots, pull it, done deal.

Just build a "wall" around the planter with some stakes, and plywood leaned against it to keep the flying debris, and ensuing mess to a minimum, and you're good to go.

Not to mention the airspade is an incredibly fun tool to use.

 

[treemandan]

Damn, beat me to it. Rent a compressor and see if you can track down an airspade to borrow. Take no more than a matter of 5-10 minutes to remove nearly all the surrounding soil from the planter, cut the roots, pull it, done deal.

Just build a "wall" around the planter with some stakes, and plywood leaned against it to keep the flying debris, and ensuing mess to a minimum, and you're good to go.

Not to mention the airspade is an incredibly fun tool to use.

Yeah, that'll make a mess, does sound fun though.