Jump to content
IGNORED

PSA - How hot is too hot?


Recommended Posts

The guys doing AC work in Texas get my respect. 120F+ in most of those attics in the heat of the summer working on AC units that have died. 


My college summer job was a split between a cable company high line crew dragging hundreds of feet of steel wire down asphalt roads, then climbing a pole to hang it. Then on rainy days helping their electrician BIL run AC ductwork thru attics in BFE S Louisiana.

When it’s 95 and near 100% humidity and you climb out of an attic into a unairconditioned room and get goose bumps...it’s freakin hot [emoji3062] It was good incentive for a diploma AND why I’m usually ok with what the ac guy charges.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I spent my teen years summers working in the oil field in East Texas. The days when I rode in the truck from well to well were nice. The days we were working over a well or cleaning up a spill were miserably hot.

Late high school and part of attending UT I worked for apartment complexes. One of the worst summers ever was when we were reroofing the complex. I was up at 4:00 AM pumping the freon out of ac condensers that were on the roof. I left the AC running thru the night so the tenants had cooling thru the night. About dawn the roofing contractor would show up. They would help me pick up and move the ~300 lb condensers to a part of the roof that was not being worked that day. While they were tearing off the roof I was pushing sheets of plywood up the ladder to the 2nd floor roof. Once they had a part of the old roof removed I was replacing any rotten decking. As quick as I got one part done, they were putting down the new hot asphalt roof. The temperature was already 90+, in blazing sun and now they were working with 150F+ asphalt. By 2:00PM it was too hot to work on the roof any more and the roofers would stop for the day. As they were leaving I would get one or more of them to help me move the condensers back to on the new roof section. At about 3:00PM I would take a nap in my cool apartment. By now I was EXHAUSTED and sun burned. EVERY SINGLE DAY. About 6:00 PM I would start reconnecting and recharging the condensers we had removed. About 9:00 PM I was done for the day. Every single day. For about 2 months.

The worst was the day I shut down my AC. I did not get a cool nap during the day. Then before I get my AC running again, the vacuum pump died. At about 8:00 PM. No parts or vacuum pump available that time of night. I slept on an air mattress in the pool that night. And I over slept. I didn't wake up until the roofers were there. They called off work for the day and I got a new vacuum pump and caught up. 

I built a lot of muscle and heat tolerance that summer.

Now days I still have to work on AC's on roofs and in attics. Most roofs are about 120F during a summer day. Most attics are more like 150F. It is not uncommon to come down out of an attic and get a chill in the 100F summer afternoon cool. I try to not do much attic work in the heat but there is rarely a choice. AC is down and the problem is in the attic. I makes me want to KILL the architect who decided to put the AC in the attic.

Edited by cxagent
Typos
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

While not as long and methodical as your "job"...one of the toughest things I've done was replace the roof(s) of our family owned 5- plex's while in college and during the summer month of August.  Yes, the heat was pretty brutal and the 2 layers of shingle removal was hard work, but one of the worst parts was how much my feet ached from standing "on the angle" of the roof for those days-on-end.  Roofers are touches SOBs.

-CJB

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 6/27/2019 at 10:50 AM, cxagent said:

The temperature was already 90+, in blazing sun and now they were working with 150F+ asphalt. By now I was EXHAUSTED and sun burned. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Every single day. 

makes me want to KILL .........

anyone that crosses your path? I know this feeling well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

56 minutes ago, Teamsloan said:

So, if it’s humid should we bring along a spray bottle of isopropyl alcohol to help with evaporative cooling? During a break, just spray all over and feel the relief as it vaporizes? Clean your bike too afterwards!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

🤔might work. But explaining to the wife why I smell like someone poured a bottle of vodka on me may be more traumatic then getting heatstroke

Link to comment
Share on other sites

22 minutes ago, 4fun said:

🤔might work. But explaining to the wife why I smell like someone poured a bottle of vodka on me may be more traumatic then getting heatstroke

My wife would surely rather that I come home smelling like vodka than my current apres-ride aroma.

  • Like 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

So here's the deal.  This guy writing the review was in southern AZ with extremely low humidity.  It sounds like on a long hike, the fabric did work to some degree.  Also, from my experience working outdoors in the summer in SW Colorado and SE Utah, the low humidity is sucking moisture out of you; technically, you're sweating, but you'd never now. 

At some point in humid Austin, the evaporative cooling just won't work as the temps climb into the high 90s.  

That said, Academy Sports and Outdoors has some of the Columbia Omni-Freeze shirts. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, June Bug said:

So here's the deal.  This guy writing the review was in southern AZ with extremely low humidity.  It sounds like on a long hike, the fabric did work to some degree.  Also, from my experience working outdoors in the summer in SW Colorado and SE Utah, the low humidity is sucking moisture out of you; technically, you're sweating, but you'd never now. 

At some point in humid Austin, the evaporative cooling just won't work as the temps climb into the high 90s.  

That said, Academy Sports and Outdoors has some of the Columbia Omni-Freeze shirts. 

We've lived in AZ, UT, CA, CO, NM and gonna go ride MT lemmon in tucson next week.  We shall see

Edited by ATXZJ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank

10 hours ago, Ridenfool said:

There are also arm sleeves at a good price point available with this tech: https://www.backcountry.com/columbia-freezer-zero-arm-sleeves

Thanks for this and ordering today!  My once white Pearl Izumi sleeves are now a dingy gray and kinda baggy and they're also hot and clammy. 

ETA: There's a Columbia Factory Store at the outlet mall in Round Rock + IKEA* is on the way.  If they have them, I'll try them on.   There's a lot of confusion on the sizing ("fits small") but the web site doesn't give any other helpful info on choosing size. The options are S/M and L/XL.  Otherwise ordering from Ridenfool's link to Backcountry. 

IKEA* is a forced march with meatballs  two thirds of the way through, and air conditioned, so win-win, if one considers being in IKEA any form of winning. 

Also, Weather Underground shows a high on Wednesday of 85 with more rain.

Edited by June Bug
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I wear the Columbia shirts for fishing. I initially bought them for sun protection, and THEN later read about the omni-freeze. If I hadn't read about that option, I wouldn't have known 🤔

Anyway, They are comfortable for wearing all day out on the water. Great sun protection,  but they still get sticky wet, and after that..well, you know

 

edit: I bought mine at Academy

Edited by Yosmithy
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since we are on this thread, Bamwa reminded me about this neat little trick:

http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/repairs/111-repair-hydration-pack-water-chiller

He likes to make a pouch to hold his water. For me that didn't work because I used a lot of ice and it didn't melt fast enough so I was halfway through a ride with no water but lots of ice. Your mileage may vary.

I have a bunch of this stuff left over if anyone wants a sheet of it just ping me.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I did some field testing on the Omni-Freeze over the weekend. While chainsawing and loading wood in a field (get it? field testing?). I was wearing a Columbia long sleeve fishing shirt that held sweat like nobody's business. It had vents, and mesh lining, and had originally promised to move sweat when purchased years ago. After a couple of hours of this work my shirt, pants, socks and fruit of the looms were soaked through. Wringing wet. Time of day 0600-0800 Weather: cloudy, high humidity.

After a quick change into long jeans shorts, Omni-freeze, and some dry Fruit o'TLs I started shoveling wheelbarrow loads of mulch for the next couple of hours. 0900-1100, Weather: slightly reduced humidity, and now oscillating between partly cloudy and direct sun. The shirt was moist, but not saturated like the first shirt was. I was cooler and wasn't soaking my shorts and the fruit they covered as would usually be the case. On occasion I could feel a breeze significantly reduce temps on the shirt, and remember thinking how promising this might be on a moving bike. If I were to ever find time to ride. Damn chores.

Preliminary results have been positive. Smart Watch indicated about 4000 steps for each work period and indicates a reasonable comparison. More testing to come.

Edited by Ridenfool
  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/8/2019 at 10:22 AM, AustinBike said:

Since we are on this thread, Bamwa reminded me about this neat little trick:

http://www.austinbike.com/index.php/repairs/111-repair-hydration-pack-water-chiller

He likes to make a pouch to hold his water. For me that didn't work because I used a lot of ice and it didn't melt fast enough so I was halfway through a ride with no water but lots of ice. Your mileage may vary. 

I have a bunch of this stuff left over if anyone wants a sheet of it just ping me. 

I'll take some of that insulation.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The temperature is too damn high!  *said in "The Rent is too Damn High Guy" voice. 

Rode home from Hyde Park Gym via Shoal Creek, paved Gnarnia, Pickle Research Center, Domain, Kramer and neighborhood roads to home.   Didn't feel super hot until riding through Pickle Research Center, which doesn't have a lot of shade.  By the time I got home at 2:30 I was feeling a few of  those weird little chills that actually herald over heating.  Temp on the shaded front porch was 99; the outside sensor on the  thermostat, which is in the shade at this time of day, read 101.  A water bottle with SKRATCH helped big time during the ride. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was in an attic in League City Texas last week. Measured temperature in the attic was *only* 105 F. But the dew point temperature was 87 F. That attic felt hotter than most here in Austin. I could only stay in there about 15 minutes at a time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...