Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 I've got a big nasty tree stump in my yard that I want gone & it's going to cost about $1000 to get it ground out with a stump grinder, so being a tight arse I'm looking for ways to do it cheap. I've seen a few reviews on electric chainsaws and they seem like they might do the job albeit slowly but they are cheap so I'm tempted to try one. Bunnings a has cheap piece of shit for 69 bucks with two years warranty so if it fucks up I should be able to take it back and get another one. I fully expect it to be a toy for that price but if I do small cuts and don't load it up too much it might be OK. Has anyone had any experience with electric chainsaws ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted March 4, 2014 I had a small stump I wanted to get out ( about 70 cm diameter ) I hacked at it with a chainsaw, axe, I set it alight several times. I fuc**** pulled at it, kicked it, swore at it. and finally I found the only way to get it out was to get crazy and dig it out. if I had a 4wd I would have tried pulling it out with that too. all I really know is that they are a pain in the arse. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted March 4, 2014 hahaha it wont do shit!! sorry but they r shit !! they r good with the upper limbs if u can climb?? but stumping no way !! ask a bobcat to pull it out. we pull out 50+ year old avo stumps with it .. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
teamwhy Posted March 4, 2014 I would inoculate it with shiitake or some other woodlover. let nature do the work, hey but i'm lazy 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
etherealdrifter Posted March 4, 2014 pms wt fire angle Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coolname Posted March 4, 2014 My grandad has an electric chainsaw that plugs into the wall and it works just as well as a petrol one, only it takes a bit longer to cut. I cant remember what brand it is though. But the battery powered ones are pretty crap Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
etherealdrifter Posted March 4, 2014 electric works but no guts to see the finish line.....plus the kickback when the teeth get jams overloads the fuses and fire fire is goot. marshmelolows, snags with the fire electric chains is pay for what you get......ie nice on a camelia tree but serious hacking requires petrol imo 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
etherealdrifter Posted March 4, 2014 plus you can pretend it's a rm80 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
space cadet swami Posted March 4, 2014 if you do try to use a chainsaw you would want to change the chain & put on a chain that has a square shoulder for length cuts as opposed to a std chain that is used for cross cuts. My terminology might be incorrect but the chainsaw shop would know what I'm talking about. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Yeah I know it won't have much guts, I was planning on chipping away at it a little bit each day until I make some progress. I reckon a bobcat wouldn't stand a chance against this thing, it's about 6 feet across and the buttresses would make it closer to 15 feet across. I can't burn it out because it's touching a fence and if I try to rot it out mycelium or bacteria I'll be waiting at least ten years before I can use the ground for other plantings. I have a bunch of Acacias that are ready to go into the ground so I want the bastard gone. Edited March 4, 2014 by Sally Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bullit Posted March 4, 2014 bobcat will do it . just gotta find a good operator. like I said we have pulled out fucken massive stumps . but u know that's farming and a farmer wont pay no money to no other k#nt to get it done. soo yeah maybe a chainsaw why doesn't the wall break... jokes Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alice Posted March 4, 2014 You will never finish the job with an electric chainsaw if it's that big. No one is that patient. What's your time worth? A grand is a lot of cash but if it's a 6 foot stump, that's a hell of a lot of time chipping away at it with a pissy electric chainsaw to save a few bucks. Do you really want to give up your weekends for 2 months doing this task? You'll probably spend a grand on booze just to cope with the boredom. 4 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 I'm basically unemployable, so time's not really an issue. Money's my problem, even the 69 bucks to buy that electric piece of shit will have a serious impact on my finances. It's ironic really, I learned that lesson over twenty years ago - spending money on cheap shit is a false economy, but I really don't have much choice. It's my own personal hell that I've been living for the last 10 years or so, basically everything I do is underfunded and half arsed and it drives me nuts. I used to to take a lot of pride in whatever I did and wouldn't settle for anything short of perfection but now I just do what I can with whatever I can get. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waterboy 2.0 Posted March 4, 2014 Good for limbing the electrics, shit for a clear cut on a stump..... might be able to cut "cubes" into it and chisel them out? But it is a long haul on a stump that size. I went straight to fire (actually thermite...lol)...then seen the fence issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
El Presidente Hillbillios Posted March 4, 2014 Really you need some dynamite 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
watertrade Posted March 4, 2014 We have a few electric chainsaws at work and I really like them. I have a little pissy petrol one at home but with a sharp chain ( that you keep on sharpening) you can get quite a lot done. I was actually surprised how much you could done in a few hours with a bobcat, when I was landscaping my garden and building a retaining wall I spent many hot weekends chipping away at clay and pushing piles of clay around then in one morning and a few hundred dollars later the whole thing was done. But this doesn't get your stump removed. I would keep asking around for prices. I saved quite a bit recently having a large tree removed by going with some dodgy guys. they didn't quite finish the job ( didn't grind the stump !!!!). But I did save money and heaps of paperwork and time. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amazonian Posted March 4, 2014 There must be a few SAB heads in your area who have machinery to help with the stump removal Sally ?!. *looks at the Hunter region members. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Micromegas Posted March 4, 2014 Why not hire a chainsaw for a day, try a stihl 660 magnum for a large trunk? But you can't remove a tree stump with a chainsaw anyway, only cut it level with the ground, after which it will rot away slowly depending on the species. I personally like the sound of explosives! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Change Posted March 4, 2014 I could pull it out with the pulsar for ya mate :-) 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 I know the Pulsar is a powerful beast but I don't know if it would be gutsy enough to pull a stump that big. That suggestion has given me an idea though. We could hook a snatchem strap up to the Pulsar and tie about 50 feet of rope between the stump and the strap. Then we could get really drunk and do a few rounds of horizontal bungee jumping in the Pulsar. If we get a good enough runoff I reckon we'd be doing close to 70 K's by the time the rope gets tight and we might even be able to get the Pulsar airbourne. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dreamwalker. Posted March 4, 2014 forget electric.............not a chance...................landscape it by burying it with earth.......dig out a pond or low area next to it..........nice place to sit and relax in the heat of summer.............go with permerculture ...flat land isn't natural.....make a nice mound or bank of it....plant your garden on top .....in time it will rot and naturally enrich your garden.............easiest way.................the Tao of gardening ............. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Anodyne Posted March 4, 2014 Can you move the fence? If you can, it might be easier in the long run to just pull the fence down temporarily so you can use fire. FIRE! 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 (edited) Why not hire a chainsaw for a day, try a stihl 660 magnum for a large trunk? But you can't remove a tree stump with a chainsaw anyway, only cut it level with the ground, after which it will rot away slowly depending on the species. I personally like the sound of explosives! Yeah I considered hiring a stump grinder or a big chainsaw but to hire one for a day would cost more than the electric toy I was considering buying. I know a bloke whos old man runs an equipment hire place and he advised me not to do that, he says they have a policy of using blunt blades on all their equipment and that policy is pretty much standard for all those sorts of places. The rationale with those places is that if they supply equipment in good conditions with sharp blades/bits ect then the customer will get the job done in hours but if it's dull or blunt they will have to hire it for two days and they get double or even more revenue from the extra time you need it. I like the sound of explosives too but with houses all around it could be a bit iffy From what I can determine the tree (a fucking rubber tree) looks like it was probably an escaped plant was placed there in a pot and the roots found the soil. Almost all the roots are at or above ground level, no doubt there are many more underground but it just doesn't look like a tree that was planted. So I'm hoping to cut most of the roots and then after some laborious excavations get a truck jack under it and pump the bastard out. I really want the chainsaw to cut through the roots mostly. If I bury a few doggy treats in strategic places my dog should do a lot of the excavation for me and allow me to cut the roots with the toy chainsaw. Edited March 4, 2014 by Sally Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sallubrious Posted March 4, 2014 Can you move the fence? If you can, it might be easier in the long run to just pull the fence down temporarily so you can use fire. FIRE! I've been toying with that idea too, it might work out cheaper to get a keg and invite a few people around for a bonfire party. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
