Help me beat the heat

[byron3]

I know during the winter I saw a couple of threads dealing with torching in the cold, so what do you do in the extreme heat. Here in coastal Georgia the temps have been in the upper 90's and low 100's with heat index's as great as 115 degrees. So help me out here what do you do to beat the heat?

[p.j.]

work at night or install an ac. when i worked in the city we worked an industrial building that got over 100 inside, we talked to the landlord and he allowed us to cut a hole in the cement block wall and install an industrial ac(25,000 btu). it cost more to run the ac than the two kilns we were using at the time, but at least brought the heat and humidity down to a level i could work in.

[brettodie]

drink warm water,get those head bands that help keep you cool,get a blast shield/make one, work in the morning earlier the better. good luck summer can be tuff just make sure to stay hydrated and take frequent breaks to cool down. peace brett

[Andy P]

I want one of these.....

http://www.coolshirt.net/

It gets super hot here too and I just work at night with the portable a/c blowing on my neck. It makes it doable.

[somberbear]

get used to it? , i keep hydrated, bandanas , heat sheild and well woking 3rd shift helps o so much... also just taking a break and doing something like cold working, going taking a class , work on a new cooler project if possible.

[BS Designs]

Im down here in jacksonville florida and its hotter than hell! What I did was get a portable a/c and put it right under my bench under my delta. So its blowing right in my lap as I sit on a stool. Its a life saver. I also try to work after 5pm. Ill try to post some pics. Look on ebay there is a guy importing italian made a/c's, 11000 btu for under $300. Thats where I got mine and it works great!

[STANDALONEIS]

im really not trying to be a post horror but I'm in TEXAS were hitting 100 everyday easy the only choice I have is to work at night another a/c is out of the question because of cost of electric I wish I could work anytime

I've heard of welding shops (and underground projects) blowing 30k on huge a/c systems they pull air and filter it several times then send it back in just an idea for some of you shop owners I don't know if you would need something that big they used it for cooling down lots of hid lights :D

L8r
S.

[naughty pirate wench]

Waaay back in the olden days, when I did a bit of construction work (cement, carpentry, and roofing - with a hammer, not a pneumatic nailgun, fer cryin' out loud), we used to roll a bandanna diagonally into a rope, then wet it down and tie it 'round the neck. Old school, but it worked very nice indeed.

Also, my FAVE way to stay hydrated at the torch is with my Sigg bottle (http://www.onlinefitness.com/product.cfm?pr=360) - yes, expensive ($23.99), but it's damned near indestructo, and I don't worry about crap landing in my water or leaching into my water from my bottle. I use the screw-top lid, but you can get the "active bottle top" (http://www.onlinefitness.com/product.cfm?pr=1160) too, which enables you to drink with one hand. Sigg bottles come in different sizes, and a ton of different styles.

[ornametalsmith]

Early morning and evenings are about the only times I can stand to fire up the torch for glass or the gas forge to forge or melt any metal......
And the past few nights it's not gotten below the 80's :chilling:
that coolshirt might be the ticket.....

[Big Jay]

down here in South FL is pretty much the same as Georgia.. The heat index is mid 100's or higher everyday. What most other states do not have to deal with is the oppresive humidity that goes with it.. so as you sweat you don't cool off.
Working nights is no brainer. Anytime I get gung ho about something and try to sneak in the studio before the sun goes down it almost always ends with me near passing out.
An under the bench portable AC will help but you must consider it will be running non-stop and factor in the cost of the electricity on it. The initial cost of the unit will be peanuts to what you'll pay to run it. And if you have good ventalation its effectiveness will be diminished.
One thing that really helps me is to break up sessions. Working 8 hours straight can be dangerous in the heat. If theres one around taking a shower can really refresh you. A crotch fan is also a huge help. Staying hydrated obviously.
Lastly try not to focus on it. Be smart but don't get super caught up in it or it will be doubly draining.

[brettodie]

oh ya crotch fan spcaed that it helps a ton. not quite as hot here in michigan but damn the humidty of it all. peace brett

[lucidvisions]

Fan beneath the bench faced up at the crotch like brettodie said. It won't effect the flame and will go right up your chest. You're just gonna have to get used to it also. It take us about two-three weeks every summer to get used to it. Just drink LOTS of water and gatorade. Its a must to drink both as the gatorade will provide you with more than just water. Take breaks if you feel overheated also, don't push it. Have other fans in the shop to circulate the air also and that should help.

Time to go sweat some more....

Josh

[nicko0]

get the smallest ac you can find, a full painters suit, and a long drier hose, attach it all together with duct tape. its three pm 98 degrees heat index 104 inside my ac suit is COLD. i figure to run my window unit eight hours a day five days a week costs about twenty dollars a month.

[canaan]

All you thin blooded southern lampworkers are insane. jk.

I cant imagine torching during daylight hours. I used to live in NPR, outside of Tampa, and couldnt imagine ever working during the day. I'm not too proud to admit that I couldnt handle the heat that far south. way too humid for my thick blooded yankee butt .....

It doesnt get all that bad here in Pa, although some days the mountain humidity can really slow you down.

[HOSS]

get the smallest ac you can find, a full painters suit, and a long drier hose, attach it all together with duct tape. its three pm 98 degrees heat index 104 inside my ac suit is COLD. i figure to run my window unit eight hours a day five days a week costs about twenty dollars a month.

I've been talking about doing this for ages, haven't actually got it together yet but one of these days. Seems like an effective and fairly economical way to go, compared to trying to cool the whole studio while venting.

[somberbear]

i have a camel back in the fridge , i had a sig bottle but i found i need something clear so i can see what im drinking... with a cover ... the camel back works great and it has such a thermal mass that it stays cool for hours also nice squishy cool back support when in a chair.....

honestly .... all i do is just let it happen , its hot , but if you hide in ac ... youll never get used to it.

[Mac Maestro]

OK, I'll admit I had to look up what a painters suit looks like:
https://www.autobodytoolmart.com/images/PRODUCT/medium/14263.gif
You really run A/C into one of those? Is that safe?

I might want to check that out because it is HOT here at the tip of America's d*ck.

[somberbear]

if you do it we need pics man.....

[naughty pirate wench]

OK, I'll admit I had to look up what a painters suit looks like...You really run A/C into one of those? Is that safe?

Who cares if it's safe? You'd be a babe-magnet for sure wearing that outfit. Don't forget to paint your face and hands orange to complete the Oompa Loompa ensemble. :evilLaugh



Just teasing - I think that's a truly creative solution to a sweaty problem. :D

[Bo Diddles]

Aw shit... I had a bunch of great suggestions, then I realized you said 'Beat the Heat, with an 'H'.... oh well.

[rp1313]

d) all of the above.

late nights, early mornings, ac under the bench, lot's of water and gatorade, many safety breaks. and my fav, jump in the pool

been thinkin of setting up a small kit in the house for prep and small stuff during the day.

[Aymie]

I keep a box fan on high right behind me...it is too effin hot here to care about what it does to my flame. Short shorts/skirts and micro tank tops to expose and much sweaty skin as possible. I am much more interested in a picture of you boys in that outfit than in the painters duct tape ac suit. If you can get up early, do. I think it is cooler working the very early hours than the very late. Cool ties are awesome...rolled bandannas with this gel shit sewn inside them...soak them in cold water and the swell up and stay cool for quite some time...and they stay wet which is nice in the fan.

[Dale M.]

May want to check out this thread....

http://www.isgb.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14064

Also may want to check into something like this.... Its just a giant evaporator cooler...

http://www.air-n-water.com/product/pac2k163s.html

Local "auto doc" just has large swamp cooler sitting on cart in middle of his shop and uses a "cooler" full of ice water to keep pads wet and it knocks 10-15 degrees off shop temps....

Dale

[HOSS]

OK, I'll admit I had to look up what a painters suit looks like:

You really run A/C into one of those? Is that safe?

I might want to check that out because it is HOT here at the tip of America's d*ck.


It doesn't have to be a painter's suit, any kind of full body jumpsuit will do it. Tie off the wrists and ankles and let the cold air come up out of the collar around your head. I've been looking at mechanic's and fireman's coveralls, much heavier duty and won't melt instantly if hot glass lands on it like those plastic things.

And yes it should be (fairly) safe, I used to work a side job doing sandblasting on big oil drilling equipment for a company in Houston. Instead of a cabinet they had a 10X10 metal room and the blaster was the size of a firehose, the only way to keep people from dying in the heat (and breathing all the silica dust) was to have us wear these spacesuit kind of things with cold AC air coming in the back, it felt great even in a big closed metal box out in the Texas sun.

[somberbear]

swamp coolers arnt very effective in humid enviroments...

[menty666]

I put a smallish a/c unit in the wall at head level and point it right at my skull so I get cooled some and it doesn't hit the flame.

Passing out over a large flame = bad.

[BS Designs]

Yea, if its humid the swamp coolers really dont do anything that a reg fan wont do. My dad is a coolspace rep and here in florida in the summer they dont sell worth a shit. He sells most of them to industrial places in the winter. Someone had mentioned cost of running an a/c earlier. I run mine avg. 6hrs a day and 6-7 days a week. It has only raised my electric bill about $50 a month. Actually I believe its lower than that. Money well spent! Plus if you think about the money your not making because your too hot compared to a little extra overhead and actually getting stuff done. Its worth it.

[Kaj Beck]

drink water, soak a shirt in cold water, actually 2 so you can switch em out and wear them like a turban, a head band, and constantly wipe off and clean your punties to rid them of donut finger. that's the low budget suggestion, otherwise I think Burger King is air conditioned.

[kebira]

May want to check out this thread....

http://www.isgb.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14064

Also may want to check into something like this.... Its just a giant evaporator cooler...

http://www.air-n-water.com/product/pac2k163s.html

Local "auto doc" just has large swamp cooler sitting on cart in middle of his shop and uses a "cooler" full of ice water to keep pads wet and it knocks 10-15 degrees off shop temps....

Dale

That concept is very efficient. In sub-saharan Africa, hot as the gates of Hell, a smaller clay pot inside a larger one with wet sand packed between the two pots can keep food around 65 deg F with an outdoor temp of 120 deg F. The action of evaporation cools the inner pot. Sometimes low-tech rules. That painters suit is the deal,though. And thats all you wear, just the painters suit.

[naughty pirate wench]

May want to check out this thread....

http://www.isgb.org/forum/showthread.php?t=14064

Thanks for the mention Dale! Byron's initial post on this thread is what reminded me to update and post the article. :D

I posted the article here (http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=439092#post439092) at TalkGlass too, along with Lampwork Etc. and Wet Canvas. Did I forget any of the forums? It'll be up on my web page as soon as I finish the html coding for the formatting. :twitch:

[Johan]

If it gets crazy hot I make sure i have a head band of some sort to keep sweat from dripping into my eyes.

[filthy god brother]

Your feet are the farthest from your heart.
Buy 3 pair of sandals that can absorb water.
Soak them and put them in the freezer.
Rotate when they get warm.
That in addition to everything else should keep you cool.

[shark bait]

Here is one for the chicks, and dudes with man boobs.

The ice pack bra.

[lucidvisions]

I wish I could AC in our studio. The air is completely replaced in our studio in less than a minute with all the ventilation. I think my electric bill would be insane.

I'll have to admit too that I'll leave open my fly for the fan to aaaaah, well you know cool off the boys. That helps a bit. But now that I see the ice pack bra I might have to make an ice pack cup....

Truthfully the paint suit looks like a pain in the ass to put on each time I work. Plus it might cut down on the sweat lodge effect and I like seeing my spirit animal while I blow glass.

Josh

[Roots of the Earth]

I've always wanted one of these vortex coolers you can use them with a paint suit as well but work on compressed air for heat or cold... http://www.vortec.com/vortex_tubes.php

[shark bait]

Here is what the US & Aussie troops are wearing in Iraq. It is a cooling vest.

its also what the Australian Olympic team trained in.

If you had two of these vests, it may solve your AC problems

http://www.arcticheatusa.com/

[Dom]

That looks tight, but its really expensive.

[Brian Newman]

Here is a thread I started about two years ago:

http://www.talkglass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=12955

[Big Jay]

The ice bra gives me an idea to take a jock strap and stick an ice pack in it. With the crotch fan it should work fairly well. Plus I got man boobs so I could go with the bra too and be totally :chilling:

[EFS]

Pull dichro cane using a five inch press or pull double encased stick stacks!
I usually reserve the summer for summer stuff like pendants and small girlie stuff. Also drink more beer helps you sweet more which cools you down. Not sure if that is a scientific thing but I believe it helps.

[nicko0]

i dont think my little ac has enough air pressure to inflate anything more than a light weight suit. i put little holes in the extremeties to improve airflow. im on twenty feet of hose. i only come out the suit to have lunch. it is more flamable than a natural fiber but i havent burned the sleeves at all they dont get in the way for me. i have had hot glass shards land on it and it did not catch fire just melted.

[Know Ego]

http://www.theblastshield.com

[OracleGlassArts]

when i was just starting out on the torch in miami, i couldnt do anything after 9am at the latest, and then not until after 7 when it was starting to get dark