Working In Extreme Temperatures

[EricTheCarGuy]

Sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cold. Either way, you’re going to have to deal with it. In this video I talk about working in extreme temperatures. What are your thoughts and tips?

Topic

[Andt]

Too hot is uncomfotrtable, too cold is debilitating, when it’s so cold that you loose the feeling in your fingers, you’re gooched.

[Mike]

In the winter I wear a baseball cap under cars that are raining down the brine water. The “slush bombs” as we call them, that fall off the car and splat on the floor are the primary cause of rust on the bottom/front of toolboxes and workbenches.

Another winter trick, I have a steel mixing bowl on top of a steel pedestal that I fill with a couple inches of pure washer fluid concentrate (alcohol) and light that to use as a brazier. Nothing beats the heat from a real flame, and you can warm your hands efficiently with it. You can’t run it all day though. It consumes the alcohol pretty quick and even though it burns very clean, you start to get noticeable fumes if you run it for an hour straight. I got the routine of lighting it when I need instant heat, and laying a tool flyer over the top of the bowl to quickly smother it when I’m done. It’s an extreme fire hazard to be sure, and a lot of care must be taken to keep people from walking by it and not leaving it unattended. Of course if it’s knocked over, it would be spilling flaming liquid on my $75,000 tool set, so I am extremely cautious when it is lit.

In the summer, I refill a 20oz bottle of water at least once an hour and drink it even if I don’t feel particularly thirsty. I have a 30″ Dayton industrial fan to blow on me when I’m working on the car and a small 300cfm blower-style fan for standing at my workstation computer, which is the most personal cooling investment than I’ve seen a tech have. I don’t understand the lack of investment in personal comfort while on the job, those 2 fans are about $400, the cost of a fancy torque wrench or impact gun, a drop in the bucket of tool investment, and make an immense difference in the quality of your work day,

The large fan can also dry off a freshly washed floor or engine bay in an average of 15 minutes, which good for the few people like me that don’t like to walk around in and touch things that are gross but still get into this line of work.

On the subject as well, I had planned to work today even though I have the day off. When I saw it’s going to hit 93° today, I decided to stay home and enjoy one less day of ball soup this week.

Thanks again for the ETCG1 videos Eric, you’ve got a good thing going with your whole operation here. I think it’s really cool.

[Lee Ann]

Drink LOTS of water throughout the hot summer days. Eat fruits and vegetable that are high in water content.
If you are going to drink Gatorade, use it sparingly as if it were a medication. Too much electrolyte in your system is almost as dangerous as being dehydrated.
Make sure you have a fan or two in your shop circulating air.
When you are given the choice, wear clothing that is mostly cotton as it breathes and is absorbent more than other fibers that clothing is made.
I know this may sound counter intuitive to a flat rate tech but take a break periodically, between customers. Your health is VERY important.
Keep a positive attitude and remember that your fellow techs are feeling uncomfortable, too. The worst of the hot weather is almost over in Northeast Ohio, anyway. Try not to lash out at your brothers. B)

[zero]

On Friday the humidex was 44C (111 freedom units) in 5 months it will be -40C (freedom units converge with non-freedom units at this point). They both suck. I worked outside for a couple of winters, one wasn’t so bad as it was an active job doing semi tires. The other not so much fun, doing Christmas lights is slow paced work.

The whole of last week was about 40C with the humidex and it sucked. A couple of days there was no wind and the fans felt like someone breathing on you, they just couldn’t help. I averaged over 3 liters of water at work each day and it still was not enough. I went home feeling thirsty every day. temperatures like that you really have to approach it more like a pro athlete and be properly hydrated the day before because once you’re in the game you’ll never catch up. Which sucks because nothing’s worse than waking up in the middle of the night and having to piss like a race horse.

So I go in Friday morning and there’s not much going on, only get a couple of hours in the morning. It sucks but I don’t care it’s hot as hell and I would rather go home. Sure enough, I get a friggin 5 hour HFP kit for a Civic right before lunch. Ended up having to stay 15 minutes late to get it done so I didn’t have to deal with it Saturday morning. On the upside, there will probably be only a random day that hot again this year.

In winter the name of the game is to stay dry. Dry hands and feet are the rule. It also helps that we have a heated floor, so you don’t get that deep down chill. A friend’s mom worked in a department store in a neighborhood with a significant immigrant population. She was helping soem guy from Africa find a parka, and this is what he said and I quote as it was said to me “In my country it is hot but you don’t die. Here it is cold and you can die.” Ya, I’m not too sure why I’m still here either.

[Author]

Replies