I spent the summer of 1952 at Black Lake in Michigan. Air conditioning? No such animal. Used to stick my pillow in the fridge and hope I could get to sleep before it warmed up again. Never worked. Is there such a thing as 200 percent humidity?
I honestly wouldn't be able to handle high temps like that for very long. I' one of those people that don't tan. I burn, peel repeat all summer....never turns into a tan. We do get some days here that push 95-100, but VERY rarely. Nothing like you southern guys deal with daily. On the opposite side of the coin however I doubt there's many southern guys could handle our winters here either...-40 isn' unusual for up to a month.
Two ambulance rides for heat exhaustion. I’ll admit I’m a slow learner. My doctor suggested 2 bottles of water then one Gatorade. Has worked for me since that plus I start hydrating early if I’m going to be out a lot. Another note. If you notice your not sweating and your skin feels dry.....start drinking water!! That’s a sign plus if you’re drinking water and don’t feel the need to pee that’s a indication you’re dehydrated.
Know when to say when. Was cleaning up some tree limbs and brush, using a chain saw. Started to feel out of sorts but I was going to finish before going inside. Needed a rope to tie down the load in the trailer. On the way I stopped in the kitchen and got a popsicle. Last thing I remember was walking out the back door and starting onto a 2x12 catwalk across the new back porch. Then I was picking myself out of the dirt with the side of my face all bloody. Threw up on the way to the hospital. Concussion with a cheekbone broken in three places and the soft bone crushed. They kept me for observation for a couple of days. Now when I brush against the end of my mustache it tickles under my eye.
I grew up without AC, only thing we had was a window fan. Started working in an air conditioned grocery store my senior year in school, when I got married the next year that was one of the first things I made sure we had was AC. But still didn't use it in a car or pickup that much back then. I worked outside in construction and in the woods until I was 26 years old, then I started driving a truck. Talk about changing your life, I got to stay in the AC most of the time then, and it shows now. 33 years of trucking, having AC in the house, my ass can't take the heat anymore. I cut my grass this morning,a 2 hour job, then spent about 45 minutes greasing the truck, and I was spent. I started getting ready to change the yoke on my driveshaft, but gave it up, just too hot, and I was standing in front of a fan. I figure I won't get much done on the car until the fall when the heat breaks, I just can't hold out anymore. My folks didn't even get an air conditioned car until a year after I left home, and it was a couple of years later before they ever bought a window unit for the house. Mom still doesn't run it very cool, when she comes to my house she about freezes we have it so cool. In contrast, when I go to her house, it's like she doesn't even have it on, I break out in a sweat. I'm spoiled by it for sure. That's why as soon as I can afford it, the 47 Linc is getting some kind of AC. Just can't survive without it down here in the South!
I can work in the garage with the temp in the 90's but ONLY if I get 3 fans moving a lot of air. It stays shady until late in the afternoon and with the breeze it is just bearable. If it gets too much to take I shoot inside to the AC for an hour and drink some water or gateraid and then get back at it. Repeat as necessary. No project is worth dying over!
In August when its 95 degrees and 95% humidity in Washington DC and you see everyone in Congress wearing neck ties and suits. And you wonder why nothing gets accomplished or what does is a mess? JMO
I remember these swamp cooler deals like a big box attached on the outside of a window with a fan and a pan of water in it. (Central Texas, 1950) They couldn't cool down a large room but if you positioned yourself in the airflow, 5' but no more than 8' or 9' away, you could kid yourself that it was almost comfortable. There were open beer/liquor laws back then so a quart of beer in a paper bag was standard equipment for a car ride. Kids got a soda and an open window to poke their head out. The blast of hot air and their own sweat evaporation was a crude form of A/C that actually helped a little.
I set my alarm at 6 30 to get an early start on things. I have 2 A.C. units in the shop and they have been going full blast this season. I cant wait to see the electric bill for the shop. LOL.Yesterday I was cutting down some sapling tree and cleaning up at the bottom of the drive way and it didn't take long till I was soaked right down to my under ware. The meds I take don't help either they make me sweat. I live on Gatorade all summer long and keep it in the fridge down at the shop, and I close down the shop at around 3 30{unless a family member is having car trouble. I go back up for another shower and have a drink and Sunny Girl gets her treats. I take a nap for about an hour then start dinner. After the sun goes down our screened in back porch is nice with the fan going. At 9.30 Dolly wood starts to shoot their fire works off which we can see. It a nice way to end a evening. Bruce.
We just left Disney World, the people in the character outfits were on 15 minute rotations. I was told they have fans inside the suits, but still it has to be awful. Sent from my SM-N950U using H.A.M.B. mobile app
Been working around the house mostly, yard stuff and the pool. I start early as possible, mulched the veggie garden on Friday before it got too hot. Worked on pool stuff yesterday and took a few dips. Out in the Ford in the heat before noon so it wasn't that bad. 98 at my house the past few days and today I will take it easier today, 8:30 and 81 already. With a cardiac bypass, you have to be careful at both extremes... too hot and too cold. I have to keep reminding myself to take it easy.
Heat exhaustion sets in first. This is non life threatening. While unpleasant the symptoms are easily reversed. The biggest signs are the sweating cool skin. Light headedness; nausea; pale are common. Heat stroke is a true life threatening emergency. The body looses it's ability to cool itself. The skin is hot and dry. There is no sweating. The skin will be red. Body temps rise to the point of causing brain damage and death. Immediate cooling is necessary. Don't ice the person down. This can cause the pts body to create more heat. The key thing to remember. Sweaty skin is good; hot and dry bad.
After standing on the line in a factory Friday night on afternoon shift, all I was able to do was nod at my project car in the garage as I headed out Saturday afternoon to go to an outdoor wedding and proceed to sweat buckets till I could stick my face into a cooler full of beer. I live a charmed life.
Why couldn't you just have used the window unit as is? Seems like a lot of hardware and rednekgeneering involved with your approach. I have a 220 volt window unit in my shop, and keep it cold in there. When I built the place I insulated it to the hilt. Radaint slab heat makes it comfortable in the cold months, and the A/C makes it seem like winter in the hot months.
For those of you with AC in your shop, how are you handling ventilation? I do a lot of welding, painting, etc and I would be worried about the fumes. Thanks, —louis
High humidity is brutal for me, can't stand it. Looks like I've been sprayed down with a fire hose in about ten minutes. Gatoraide, and the clones, were defanged I think once they became fashionable. And they are kinda pricey after a while if you drink 8 or 10 + a day. Try adding a 1/4 teaspoon of Morton LiteSalt per quart/liter (potassium), it really brings it back to where it needs to be chemically. Just try it. You can "roll yer own" Gatoraid with regular drink mix and a little of this, and a little of that and save some bucks. People mostly slept outside in the summertime, even in New York City, up until the 1950s or 1960s, when the crime got bad.
It's SUMMER TIME it gets warm this time every year, my wife keeps complaining, now the HAMB is infected. Bob
I was just in Montreal and everyone was complaining about the heat. It was 70 degrees and I was loving it. People in Florida start hoarding liquor and mumbling about the end times if it drops below freezing for more than a few days. Thanks, —louis
Maybe some of you with earlier century houses have these. Another popular device in the 19th and early 20th centuries was the sleeping porch. "Sleeping porches are often found on houses by bodies of water," . "The air was so pleasant in the evenings by the water that people would want to sleep in a protected space outside.
Back in the early '70's I was an MP stationed in NorCal between Reno and Susanville. The barracks were "temporary" World War II construction with saw dust insulation. Trying to sleep during the day after working a 12 hour grave yard shift during the summer was next to impossible. Couldn't decide to have the window fan blow in or out but in reality it didn't make a bit of difference. If you didn't get to sleep by 9am you could forget about it.
After having a heart attack back in 2011, I had been unable to work in the shop for any length of time during the summers. I decided that I would spend the money to install a mini-split heat pump in the shop. It has been one of the best investments I have made for the shop. Quick to install, and reasonably priced through Amazon. I just considered it as a part of building my shop and bit the bullet on the cost. No different than a good roof to protect my investment on tools, it was an investment in my health. I wanted to be able to enjoy my hobby time during the hot Texas summers and the purchase has certainly accomplished that. It also cut the B/S of having to go and get propane bottles filled for heat in the colder months. It's 10:30 am here and already 87 degrees Temp Humidity Index of 92 degrees....headed to 100 degrees by 3 o'clock this afternoon here. Who knows what the THI will be at that point.
Another new term that has gained traction in the last few years. Heat index. No doubt a term devised by the A/C cartel to sell more units. Growing up it was hot.We read the thermometer to see what the air temp was so we could grumble about it as we did chores,field work,went fishin' or played town team baseball or beer league softball. Now with the heat index....holy crap you would think the world was going to explode."It's 95 outside but the heat index says it's 102" Don't let the kids out...they might simultaneously combust. " Stay hydrated,know your limitations,yada yada yada
I might occasionally complain about the heat, but next to what you have to live with, I will take 90s-100s and high humidity anytime over the climate you have most of the year. I can usually find a way to cool off, but cold weather to me is a killer, I get a chill in October and it never leaves me until about May when the beloved heat returns.
The Jalopy Journal
