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COWBOYSURVIVAL
06-13-2010, 06:24 PM
Wow! It is Hot! Here right now..it'll take your breath! It is unbearable in the open. What have we got in our bag of tricks to stay cool? I know I'd head for the deep old woods! But what other choices do we have? I often wet my hat too deal with it...what do you do?

crashdive123
06-13-2010, 06:27 PM
I sweat. .

Justin Case
06-13-2010, 06:35 PM
those bandana things you freeze and put around your neck work VERY well. I dont know what they are called,,

crashdive123
06-13-2010, 06:45 PM
On a more serious note - I drink a lot of water - a lot. If I am doing more strenuous work, I will drink some gatorade or powerade. A good sunscreen is a must. A boonie had for prolonged work. If I start to get over heated, I take a break in the shade.

justin_baker
06-13-2010, 06:50 PM
I am working for my dad's landscaping company this summer.....i am going to be out in the sun all day long digging ditches and stuff in 100 degree weather. A good trick is to wear thin long sleeve cotton shirts. They get soaked in your sweat and act as negative insulation to keep you cooler.

rwc1969
06-13-2010, 07:09 PM
Don't eat protien or lots of carbs. They heat you up. If I'm going for a long hike or know it's gonna be a hot day at work I stick to salads and such. Makes a huge difference. I have more energy and stay cooler. +1 on the loose fitting cotton clothing.

Rick
06-13-2010, 07:23 PM
There have been a lot of good suggestions.

Loose fitting, light colored clothes. I'm with Justin. I like cotton in the summer, too.
A wet bandanna tied around the neck or as a durag.
Adjust your work time if possible. If that's not possible, try working in the shade at the hottest part of the day.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol.
Throw a plastic ice pack in the freezer at night and keep it in your lunch box/sack during the day. At break or lunch place it on the back of you neck to help cool down.
A hat, sunglasses and sunscreen are a must.
Keep an eye on your co-workers for signs of heat illness.

And just a word of caution. Fans do not cool when the temperature is above 90° F. they simply blow hot air around. So if you know someone that uses fans check on them often when the temp is above 90°.

Batch
06-13-2010, 07:38 PM
Wear a large brimmed hat. When you can't stay in the shade try and create shade. I worked out of a linesman bucket for years and used an umbrella. When we switched to two man basket I put a Bimini top on the basket.

Use the breeze to help cool you. I used a fan at work when possible. Always had a squirrel cage tied to the basket.

Out in the woods I try to keep to the trees. When a breeze is available I try to navigate with maximum time in the breeze. When I travel with others it seems they want to stop in the open. I keep moving to a shady spot.

Hydrate or die! I take a gallon of water on the ride out and drink as much of it as I can. Then I take at least two canteens or bottles with me. I don't conserve. I consume. Thirst never gets a chance.

Running cool water over major blood flow areas helps to cool you down. My brother is prone to laying in puddles if he gets to hot. LOL

Avoid strenuous activities during the hottest part of the day.

Also, if you take people that aren't used to that kind of heat. Watch them. People get all macho and try and keep up. Your the leader, take the break and tell them YOU need it!

May through October people down here die from hyperthermia.

We had a kid trying for his Eagle Scout die on a hike in Big Cypress last year in May.

COWBOYSURVIVAL
06-13-2010, 09:02 PM
It is 130 deg. in the shop in the daytime. My office is 69...have to be careful not to go back and forth or I'll probably monkey. I can't think of anyway or anyone that has aclimated to the heat as I have. But today son! it was hot! We have a 60ft. oven set at 475 deg. F. in the plant and well it don't play...neither does SC's summer! My fridge is stocked full of gator aid. Best reponse I have gotten is about how protiens heat you up! Here I thought I was giving the horses a treat. Time to put some electrolyte in the water and cut out the sweetfeed! It might have something to do with these grey hairs in my beard...never was a problem before...Nah!

Rick
06-13-2010, 09:39 PM
My brother is prone to laying in puddles if he gets to hot. LOL

That's funny. My youngest and I were out hiking several years ago. It's was hotter than Billy's Furnace. We had stopped to take a rest near a stream and he turned up missing. I found him flat of his back in the stream.

"What are you doing?"
"Gettin' cool."
"You're buck naked."
"My clothes weren't hot. Just me."
"Okay then. I'll wait over there."

Batch
06-13-2010, 09:48 PM
Yeah, he likes the puddles he calls bathing holes. Because there is less chance of gators. But, he'll drag a deer through chest deep lakes with me and hardly think about gators. I said hardly! LOL

The fan thing and the 90 degrees I beg to differ. There are time when you just get hot air and the fan is useless. But, I definitely have had relief from fans over 90 degrees. It may actually be the humidity that helps there.

I know in an attic the fan can become useless. But, my experience has been at much greater temps.

Any kinda documentation on the science of that thought?

Rick
06-13-2010, 09:53 PM
A fan won't prevent heat related illness above 90.

"Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness."

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp

COWBOYSURVIVAL
06-13-2010, 10:06 PM
A fan won't prevent heat related illness above 90.

"Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness."

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp

They sure do help Rick! We have always had swamp coolers till this year...Maintenance and Production haven't figured it out yet! Time for Quality to intercede!

crashdive123
06-13-2010, 10:08 PM
Swamp coolers are a bit different. You're blowing chilled air.

Justin Case
06-13-2010, 10:13 PM
as long as you sweat or get wet a fan will cool you down, "evaporation cooling" same thing that "chills " the air in a swamp cooler. even if ypu fill a swamp cooler with Hot water it will still cool. BUT and this is a big but, swamp coolers do not work in high humidity, the air HAS to be dry.

kyratshooter
06-13-2010, 10:32 PM
Nice thing about retirement is not being forced into anything.

I was mowing the yard the other day, 90 degrees and about the same humidity. Suddenly it hit me, "The heck with this, there's an AC in the house!"

If everything crashed tomorrow my last gasoline would go into the generator for the AC!

Batch
06-13-2010, 10:41 PM
A fan won't prevent heat related illness above 90.

"Electric fans may provide comfort, but when the temperature is in the high 90s, fans will not prevent heat-related illness."

http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp


Over 90 and the high 90's is a huge difference. I think that is where we are disagreeing. A fan pushing air under your body temperature is going to cool and a fan pushing air above your body temperature is not.

Still in a high humidity environment pushing air that is close to body temperature will aid in cooling through evaporation and is still better than slack air.

I can tell you for a fact that if you come down here tomorrow I can cool you with the fan I used on the job. 92 and near 95 humidity.

Rick
06-14-2010, 07:51 AM
Your point is well taken. I'll have to adjust how I state that. I almost put some reference in my post about body temp. but went out and grabbed the CDC statement instead. There IS a huge different between 90° F and 98.6° F. - My hat would be off to you but then my ears would get sunburned. :innocent: