tlreif Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Well this is just a note to warn everyone that with the heat be careful out there and listen to your body. I was working at the museum today and started getting weak knees and light headed. I recognized the signs and found a cool place. Remember work slow keep hydrated and find a cool spot to take a break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 That's for sure I per hydrate with gatoraide and keep my intake up. Down here it is 98 with 86% humidity. red plums have great properties antioxidants and they help with cramping I eat some before I start and some while cooling down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aljeter Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 Not sure what the humidity is here right now, but yesterday it was 115 at 6pm at my house. Today it was 106. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glenn Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 When in doubt follow the family dog. He knows ALL the cool places. There are several discussions on how to stay cool during the heat. Wet cloth on the neck helps. I wear a shirt one, or two sizes too small so that the 100% cotton fabric captures all the perspiration (read sweat) and wicks it through out the fabric. This catches the slightest breeze and cools the shirt and body by evaporation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aljeter Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 This heat wave couldnt have come at a worse time. I am in the process of building a 40x30 metal building for a guy. The burn ban we have includes outside welding. Welding in his shop it was 100+ when I stopped at noon today. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted July 10, 2011 Share Posted July 10, 2011 I'm going to post this chart again, the Apparent Heat Temperature Chart, it sort of like an opposite wind chill chart only different. As the temperature goes up along with the relative humidity the sweat your body produces to cool you body just does not evaporate off of your skin and you just can't get cool so you get first heat exhaustion and then comes heat stroke and that is the killer. One year at church our youth pastor took a bunch of kids to a camp in Alabama and I gave him a copy of this chart. He told me it was ten degrees cooler there and besides our kids were used to it being hot. Hot, yes, humid, NO, six of them were hospitalized with heat stroke, just couldn't handle that 95F with 80%RH, that makes it feel like a 136f to your body and nobody can take much exertion at those conditions. Look at the chart, print it out and tack it the wall in your forge and for goodness sake watch yourself, OK? http://www.kunka.com/newpage1.htm#Heat Stroke Chart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Turley Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 Years ago, I was shoeing a horse in the sun, because there was no shade large enough to work under. I became ill with heat exhaustion and at the time, I wasn't sure that's what was happening. I quit working and sat under a small tree for a bit of shade. The lady of the house came out and said, "I know just what you need." She brought out a glass of iced tea. I took a large draft, and immediately hurled, barfed, vomited. I learned that there is a time to hydrate and a time not to hydrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted July 11, 2011 Share Posted July 11, 2011 I had a friend visit over a weekend to work on a project for her Pennsic House. Unfortunately she was limited in time and so we needed to work in the heat of the day in a steel building. Local weather station said it got to 108 deg F! However relative humidity was around 14% and we had a nice breeze---my shop has two 10'x10' roll up doors aligned with prevailing winds. I told here that when I have to work in those conditions I usually work an hour on and an hour off in the cool house hydrating and resting. No problem even with the propane forge going. She said I must have a nice warm shop in the winter what with the propane forge and the doors *closed* and I explained that that would kill me in a couple of hours. Both roll up doors are wide open when I work in the winter too! She was making a set of ornamental hinges and with the use of the screw press and two chisels---straight and curved----did a credible job of it as a tyro smith. (even with the screwpress I was the one putting the ooomph in) I can say we did a good job of it as I was not feeling like I had been drug backwards through a fractal edged knothole the next day. Nice to live in a place where the heat index is *LOWER* than the temperature! (if you keep hydrating!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grundgedog Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 My doctor buddy says, "Drink water until you pee, then keep on drinking." Avoid sodas and alcohol, they might taste good, but they aren't good for you on a hot day. Get in the cool once in a while and take a break. To cool down faster, run a fan on yourself, even in an air-conditioned house, it helps me get back to work faster. I have been working on the west side of a house this week and the afternoons have been dang near unbearable..... I used to service irrigation engines, 454 Chevy's, 636 Jimmy's, 534 Fords etc. in the summertime. When I would first walk up to them the pipes would be hot enough to glow red and light your cigarette. Then I would change oil, do a tune up, replace parts, standing right next to them of course. No matter how hot it was, just being away from those things felt good. I was MUCH younger then.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
son_of_bluegrass Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 It is possible to overdo the water. Every now and again, I run across a story of someone falling-out while drinking a lot of water. They washed enough electrolytes out of the body to cause problems. An occasional cola, or a bit of gator-aid or the like or fruit to replace the other stuff is good so long as it isn't overdone. (As in one or two per day with a lot of water). As for the alcohol I heard of a study that suggested beer after a workout rehydrated the body better than water. Since I think this was one of the science podcasts I listen too I don't think I can find it without more work than I'm willing to put into it. ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted July 13, 2011 Share Posted July 13, 2011 I feel sorry for you snowbirds who fall out when it is a HEAT WAVE. Here in south Louisiana it is a little warm all summer. My shop has a rust red roof, -0- reflectivity. Yesterday the temp INSIDE the building was 102F, and the humidity is always high , like the upper 80's. Somehow we cope, remembering our ancestors who did not have A/C. I never heard of any heat exhaustion "way back in the old days" it must be something new. On that, I also never heard of NAM vets being "heat casualties" like todays troops in the desert suffer. It must be a different generation. I do not plan to A/C my shop, fans and a towel wet from ice melt water around my neck is the means I use to keep cool enough to "forge ahead". Of course I cannot take COLD easily, if it is 50F i am in a carhart coat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John McPherson Posted July 14, 2011 Share Posted July 14, 2011 ONR, I have met plenty of 'Nam era vets who had stories of heat issues. Heck, Parris Island used to kill a few recruits a year back then by running in the sun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marksnagel Posted July 15, 2011 Share Posted July 15, 2011 I've been inspecting asphalt operations here this week. Temps @98ºF with heat index up around 110º. Asphalt out of the back of the truck @300º. Tarzan hot out there. Like some have said, pre-hydrate (before you go out into the heat), hydrate (while you are in the heat) and then post hydrate (when out of the heat.) I have seen others fail to hydrate, rest, and cool down get heat exhaustion. One fella got heat stroke a few years ago and it dang near killed him. Heat stroke stays with you the rest of your life. Don't mess around. Fought a house fire the other day and thank God it had cooled down some. No soda, alcohol, etc. Mark <>< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bentiron1946 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Some folk are none to bright, "mad dogs and English" and something about the noon day sun, but they always got to try and show how tough they are and try to re-roof their house in the middle of the day instead of starting a first light and then working till about 2 o'clock and then starting up again when the sun is getting low. They sure get to be disparaging to the Mexicans that know better than to work out in the hottest part of the day, wear long sleeve shirts and big wide brim hats. Heck even a Stomper knows it's good to wear a wide brim hat or at least they used to, now it seems everyone wears them ball caps that only keep the sun off your face. Shade is good. :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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