Anybody got any good analogies to explain how hot it gets where We might be working?
How about different ways of dealing with it?

(Remember the PG rating please)


Bill

[This message has been edited by Bill Addiss (edited 06-30-2001).]

no afternoon attic work, unless you have something to baste me with every 1/2 hr.
hmmmm 20 minutes a lb....

Picture this...

Dark Green Tin Roof on 12x12 pitch...
3:00 pm...
Yesterday... (90ºF with 95% humidity outside)

Had to throw in a couple of junctions boxes to feed some flood lights. Definitely made me consider hiring a helper (evil grin).
I had to finish the job so I could get paid... no waiting til the morning...

I'd guess about 135ºF to 140ºF in the attic... It was difficult to breathe even without a ventilator mask in the way...

In the 20 minutes it took me to square things away, I was sweat-soaked (I don't sweat much, if it's beading on my forehead, I have a fever...) and I was becoming nauseous.

I took a 1/2 hour "break" in the truck with the AC cranked, and chugged a Dew.

Still not as bad as stacking hay bales in a barn loft in August...


[This message has been edited by sparky66wv (edited 06-30-2001).]

I actually considered laying a box fan across a scuttle hole this morning while in an attic to send some AC my way. I may start to carry one.

Hey, one attic I was working in was so hot that my reds and yellows melted in my bag and it looked like my pouch was full of that orange nacho cheese goop...the springs looked kinda like little jalapeno pepper bits floating around.

Funny thing was, when I used it as a chip dip at lunch, it was actually pretty good...

In San Bernadino, you can set out a jug of water on the roof, pour it into a thermos at the end of the day, and use it to make coffee the next morning.

Hotter than a two billied peckergoat!

I put an Eggo under my hardhat.... nothing gets cold faster than a waffle!

Bill, first off get you some info on heat stroke and heat exhaustion and know what the difference in the 2 are and when you are approaching them,
white clothing and being cotton will be cooler than the poly products most of us wear but if on a roof or attic try to go to straight cotton
Gentlemen from people that I have seen that have had a heat stroke they never fully recover to handle heat for any length of time usually about 30 minutes is it for them

Today a guy that was doing concrete came in and asked me if he could have some of the cartons from our 2X4 fixtures. No problem.
I looked out the window a little later to see that he and all his buddies had made 2'X4' brims for their hardhats by cutting round holes in the cardboard which was then Ductaped on. One even had a little piece of tie wire lashed across the top so that the cardboard bent up kinda like a cowboy hat. It looked FUNNY, but kept them in the shade.

Hey guys, Mrs. Sparky66wv here......I have a couple sense worth... common sense... that is..... on hot days, take the time to drink plenty of fluids. Even if it means descending that 25ft ladder AGAIN....better to climb down it , than collapse and fall off the dern thing! Seeing well chisled, bronzed, hunks is a wonderful thing, but not in the ER.

doc,

Good suggestions, does the nickname 'doc' have any signifigance?

Electure,

Where was your Camera??? That sounds like a great picture!

Ms '66

Nice to hear from you again! Good advice!

Anyone ever try tying a cool wet handkerchief around their neck?


Bill

Hello From Colorado!!!!!!

One of our AHJ's has issued a notice that states if it is 98 deg outside it is 148 in an insulated attic!!!

I find that quite significant due to the fact that MEAT begins to COOK at 151 deg!!!!!!

For all you guys and gals out there that are like me and work alone a lot.... BE CAREFUL!!

http://www.drreddy.com/heat.html#exhaustion

kudo's to Mrs. Kelly & doc !


siezure's later!

Bill, I had the camera in my truck not 200' away. Never thought to.....darn it! (missed another "Kodak Moment")
Mrs. Kelly has about the best idea around. Drink Water, always have it with you, even if it means carrying a canteen instead of those much beloved cordlesses.
Not coffee, not tea, not soda,(absolutely nothing containing alc), but WATER.
Studies have been made which show that in more than 90% of construction accidents, (not just heat related), dehydration was a contributing factor.
(We paid $200 hr. for a safety compliance co. to tell us this in a safety meeting. I sure would have rather seen Mrs. K get that $)

were's Gunga Din when ya need him?

See the 1965 "NEC Simplified Wiring Table 310-20 for the temperatures in various locations.



[This message has been edited by Joe Tedesco (edited 07-19-2001).]

I actually considered laying a box fan across a scuttle hole this morning while in an attic to send some AC my way.

I do this. It really works.
Once you pamper yourself this way, you may be spoiled.
A fan blowing laterally helps too when the space is clean because the moving air evaporates sweat.

Sold!
I'm off to Kmart to buy one at Independence Day sale prices.
Happy 4th.

I suppose you guys know that one of those AC flex ducts can sometimes come separated and blow in the attic I'd usually carry a roll of duct tape just in case I came across this.

Bill

Meanwhile over on the board for another trade where they are discussing the lack of receptacles in attics...

I suppose you guys know that one of those junction boxes can sometimes come open in the attic and the wire nuts will be loose I usually carry a short extension cord with the prong end snipped off just in case I came across this.

I had a handkerchief that I found at a golf course pro shop. It was a closed tube with what seemed like rocks inside. Once you soaked it in water the rocks would swell up and become jelly like. Then you put it in the fridge, don't freeze though, and that thing would stay cold for a good part of the day, even on hot days. You just tied it around the back of your neck. It was not cumbersome and it really worked well. If you have two and throw one in your cooler, you will have a cool rag around your neck all day if needed.

I'll try to see if I can find out who makes this and where you can find them.

Oh yeah, working under a metal deck, about 15 feet up, with 100 plus temps 100% humidity in Cape Coral Florida. The decking was so hot, if you touched it you would need to run it under cold water immediately or your arm would blister. At least I was drenched with sweat before I ever got the tool belt on so it really didn't matter much.

Bill,I was a combat medic in that conflict several years ago that we got our butts kicked in and no one likes to talk about,had several casses of heat problems there,from that was with a search and rescue team in the rockies and from that with several saftey committees through the years so the nick name sort of stayed with me.
Folks for 10 + years every weekend I hit the water and bass fished,the wife would read and fish some hot or cold did not matter then it seems as I have gotten older like over night it has become harder for me to take the heat so you guys watch your self the heat can over take you quickly,every one remembers 1980 it was hot in texas never missed a weekend and i mean dawn to dusk so heat I could handle. Well I am rambling so will hush

I have nothing but complete respect for 'Nam Vets...

Thank you Doc...

I actually used the box fan idea yesterday.
Philadelphia suburb. 90 deg outside. Probably 120 in the attic. I set up the fan 10 min. before going into the attic. The fan blew the AC into the attic, and I was up there for about an hour with minimal sweating.

Redsy, I too used a fan in an attic yesterday,July 18, to blow in air to stay semi-cool. Helped, but still had sweat dripping off my eyelashes. And it was about 110 degrees in there.

you bunch of big ole whinney hinneys come on over here and climb up into the top of this big old tin building I'm in,not even a fan much less any ac,what do u think the heat from that tin is at around 3:00 in the afternoon in the top of this 30 ft. building
if u guys would work a little faster you will move enough wind past you to keep cool
ha ha ha

I warned them about the pampering. I think that if you work without a fan long enough, you might lose the ability to reason out why a fan is needed.

Friday the 13th:
Replaced the exhaust fan system in a compressor room. We set up as many fans as we could get our hands on. Head temps on the compressors were running @ about 90°C.
We had to keep going to get this in so that the comps didn't kick out on overtemp, and shut down the whole plant (NGK spark plugs)

I'm a Whinny Hinny??.... My whiney hiney.


[This message has been edited by electure (edited 07-20-2001).]

Plenty toasty today. the secondary red iron was 128 degrees & the metal floor was 113 degrees. I ran out of water (1 gallon) by 3 PM.
Tom

It's in the mid 90's here, humidity is way up too. I suppose that might be an unremarkable day many other places in the country, but us woodchucks are'nt used to it. I spent the week in a ditch doing pvc. I was given a crew by the company i was working for, there was'nt a dry shirt to be seen after 9 o'clock on. We forced fluids , but it still takes a lot out of you to pump a shovel in this wheather.
You know you're breakin' a good bead when you drink gallons all day and never need to whiz....

It hit 99 today here! Verrrry Humid!

You know it's going to be a bad day when you can't dry yourself after a shower at 8 am!


Bill

Our company's doing an auto dealership near Palm Springs. Yesterday it was >110° and raining. Didn't bother me, I was in Huntington Beach, 1/4 mi from ocean...high was 72°

So hot here today I could'nt run a straight line of EMT. It became limp from the heat before I could install it. Water in my water jug kept wanting to boil.

When I'm outside workin' in this heat I get hotter than a stump burnin' on both ends. I get hotter than two 16 year old kids in the back of a Chevy.

Not a bad idea, but also remember if you are working in an attic and you stop sweating, that too is a warning sign of heat distress.
Years ago they used Salt-tablets, to replace some important minerals especially potassium, after you sweat for a while you lose a lot of potassium and water will keep you hydrated but will not replace this.
I usually get a fresh bottle of Salt-tablets from the local Pharmacy every year. and follow the instructions.
Works for me.