Hot weather welding/cutting protection

[HerbD]

Thanks for the tip jbman, I'll look into those. We've already broken the record last month for consecutive days over 100 degrees (17 in a ROW in May!) We're on a roll for June also, but somehow we have become more conditioned to 100 plus and actually expect it to be hot. I stop welding when it gets to 110.

One of the things, among others, that drew me to TIG welding was fewer sparks than ARC welding. When you work in shorts and no sleeves ARC welding can be a pain, literally. Unfortunately the more destructive part of welding, UV rays etc, can hurt you even more.

HerbD

[clearchris]

At first I thought I had gotten into a spider web under my welding table since I weld in the back yard, then I realized that my shirt had melted and stuck to one of the closer welds which was still hot. I had read not to wear synthetic shirts, but that didn't pertain to me of course. Dad was a welder all his working life and always wore heavy longsleeve work shirts.

Yeah, I learned the hard way on synthetic shirts burning too, though thankfully not while welding. Nylon is especially bad because in addition to it burning, it melts, becomes sticky and burns the %^&* out of you.

[bhardy501]

Back in the late 80s I worked at a place that made car haulers, big trailers that haul about 12 cars. In the summer it would get very hot in the fab shop. You would get very sweaty inside your leathers. When we would stop for break I would take my leathers off and hang them in front of one of the big fans. After about 10 min. the wet inside of the leathers would get nice and cool and stay that way for a pretty good while after you put them back on. Any time I had to stop to change out parts and reset the jig I would hang them up and get a quick recharge on cooling them off. An old welder told me about doing this, I was suprised how well it worked and how long the cool would last inside the leathers. I tried it with one of the green jackets and it only lasted a few min then I was burning up again. Now if you are out in the sun your cooling effect would be shortened. Also remember to stay hydrated you can get in trouble with heat exhaustion and heat stroke a lot quicker than you think.

[kb3gun]

kb3: Just out of curiosity, were you grinding without a guard?

Yes. No guard. I was grinding with a 36-grit flap disk. I know the guard should be used, but it's just not functional to have to re-position the guard all the time for different angles and directions.

[poodle]

No matter what you choose to wear be sure and watch for signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. A few years back while welding on a cement lined injection line down in a ditch, I found myself freezing to death even tho the temp. was around 106. It took a while for it to dawn on me that it just was not right. I came out of that ditch and got in front of my trucks A/C . I also placed wet towels on my head and neck then called it a day. Everyone else was at a safety meeting that afternoon. It would also be a good idea to work with someone if possible so you can keep an eye on each other.

[SICFabrications]

tillman makes decent sleeves that you can wear while wearing a t-shirt... during the dead raw heat of summer, that is what i use. i burn through alot of t-shirts, however, i stay cooler than those fellas that like to wear full leathers.

latest project that i am working on is a sand barge. deck of the sand barge was 158 at noon today.... and using 3/16 jet rod @ 290 amps, it was sickly kinda hot...

hmmm... was gonna post some pics for example from my gallery, but dont know how to do that... i am on jobsite right now and am using my laptop. my pics are stored on my home pc, but i have some pics entered into the gallery here.... i guess.... dig through them until you see a barge...lol

[KHK]

I was at a welding supply today they had 8 or 10 big blue machines on the floor. Anyway they had a head ban that hooked up to the welding helmet that cooled your head. The battery operated unit was quite heavy but it is a good idea. There were vents for the front and back of the head ban. It was made by big blue as well.

[Tritium]

Old thread but sometimes you can find Nomex shirts, jackets, pants and gloves at military surplus stores and online. They are material that is flame resistant used on the flight-line and other military situations.
I have found some nice nomex at http://www.sportsmansguide.com Just look at their surplus clothing section.

Thurmond

[arandall]

I haven't tried any of their Nomex, but I have ordered other stuff from Sportsman's Guide, and found them to have good prices, quick delivery - even here in Canada, and were very nice to deal with.

[Tritium]

SG doesn't have much nomex currently. They do have a surplus nomex coverall (Canadian military) for under $40 but not much else but gloves. There is quite a bit of pretty cheap nomex shirts and Camo shirt-jackets on e-bay though. I have a pair of nomex pants but I need to get a shirt-jack to try out.

Thurmond