Summer, hot weather, survival

naturelover · #21 06/05/11, 01:53 PM

An alternative to seeds in neck tubes is water retaining gel crystals such as you see used for potted plants and cut flowers in vases. The gel crystals are what are used by chefs and bakers who have to work in hot kitchens year round. They use them in tubes for around the neck and longer, wider ones for fastening around the waist.

Another alternative to that is ordinary garden mulch and grass clippings. The mulch tubes need to be tied or safety pinned instead of stitched at one end so the mulch can be emptied out and recycled and replaced every couple of weeks, as it will eventually rot from the moisture.

In the summers here when the temps start getting up into the high 90's / low 100's I see the local Asian and East Indian farmers and hay makers switch over from loose cotton clothing to loose silk clothing. They wear big blousey pantalooned type silk trousers that look rather like women's patio pants and wide, long sleeved untucked loose blouses that flap in the breeze and aerate and cool the skin. I figured they know what they're doing so I followed their example and picked up some cheap, oversized silk clothing at the local Value Village thrift store. The silk definitely allows for better evaporation of sweat than cotton does, it is more durable, more comfortable and lighter weight than cotton and it blocks UV radiation better than cotton does.

I go armed with a spray bottle full of cold water that I use frequently to spritz myself and to keep my clothing and straw hat damp. The spray bottle also comes in handy for shooting at wasps and flies when they start bugging me. Being shot out of the air or soaked with water is discouraging for them.

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Txsteader · #22 06/05/11, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie

I find that soaking my feet in cold water is also a great comfort.

That's a fact. I have to sleep w/ my feet uncovered in summer, even w/ A/C & a fan!

7thswan · #23 06/05/11, 02:46 PM

I use the jel Tie thing,Avon sold them a while back. Long skirt works well, if I have to climb or move fast ,it's easy to Tie a knot on the side of the hem. Skirt feels real nice when it gets wet from watering. Long sleeve mens shirts, bulky and keep the sun off. I used to wear t-shirts or cut off flannel , but now have started getting these sun blotches on my forearms. Scared me when I saw pictures of my uncle in calif. he just died about 4 months ago from skin cancer. I have a straw hat and have started seeing them for sale more than before. When I have to do picking of some garden plants, a pair of cut off socks on the fore arms helps. Shoes make me feel at least 20% hotter.

mnn2501 · #24 06/05/11, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthkitty

When things NEED to be done, I just can't sit around inside and do nothing no matter what the weather is doing. .

I see so many northerners come down to the south and have the above attitude and 99% end up with heat stroke, or say how they could never live in the south or they just can't take the heat.

Southerners get up early and work until it heats up too much and then nap or take it easy during the heat of the day and then work again at night when it cools off a bit (and by cool off I mean when it goes below 100F and the sun isn;t beating down on you)

Frankly with: shade, a breeze (mechanical or natural) and a cool drink (and shorts and a t-shirt), 105F ain't bad,(add a pool and it's down right cozy) -- its when you're trying to work under the sun at 3PM when its a 105F that'll kill you.

Also why do these danged stores and offices think they need to cool off Texans to 72F when you have to walk back outside into 100F? makes no sense to me. If you want it cold then go live up north.

Ernie · #25 06/05/11, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by earthkitty

When things NEED to be done, I just can't sit around inside and do nothing no matter what the weather is doing. Today though, I simply must rest.

When things need to be done I have to get up earlier to do them. Working in the garden at 5am is a joy. Working in the garden at 2pm is a misery.

You cannot brute force this stuff and try to tough your way through it. Weather can, and will, kill you.

InvalidID · #26 06/05/11, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ernie

I get up near dawn and work until it gets too hot, then I come inside for the rest of the day. I take a good long nap in the heat of the afternoon and then once the sun starts to set I go back to work outside until either the mosquitos drive me back in, or it gets too dark to see.

Also, when working out in the garden I tie a wet bandanna around my neck and let it drape across my neck. That seems to help the heat somewhat.

Inside has become just as big of a misery though. Our house has a very puny air conditioner and I'm unwilling to replace it. 88 degrees inside feels worse than 97 does outside and in the shade.

I've come to the conclusion that most "modern" homes aren't designed for minimal living. They aren't situated in shade, or in a location to catch the breeze. An adobe or earth-bermed home would be a blessing right about now.

Allow me to share a few tips with you on this Ernie.

1) Close and curtain all the windows on the hot side of the house, open the ones on the cool side.
2) On the hot side place a fan in a window facing out. This will suck in air from the cools side and spread it through the house. Works wonders.
3) Paint your roof white. This worked for me as I have a metal roof. I would still have done it if it were shingles but it would be ugly.
4) This is a great one and made all the difference here. Bury, about 5 FT down, a 6 inch wide piece of PVC pipe. Put an intake on one end (make sure to put a good screen and maybe a chimney cap to keep the mice out) and run the other end into the house.
The air 5 ft down is 55 degrees. If you put a small fan on the end of the pipe that runs into the house you'll be drawing in very cool air. It's worked pretty well for us here.

AngieM2 · #27 06/05/11, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvalidID

Allow me to share a few tips with you on this Ernie.

1) Close and curtain all the windows on the hot side of the house, open the ones on the cool side.
2) On the hot side place a fan in a window facing out. This will suck in air from the cools side and spread it through the house. Works wonders.
3) Paint your roof white. This worked for me as I have a metal roof. I would still have done it if it were shingles but it would be ugly.
4) This is a great one and made all the difference here. Bury, about 5 FT down, a 6 inch wide piece of PVC pipe. Put an intake on one end (make sure to put a good screen and maybe a chimney cap to keep the mice out) and run the other end into the house.
The air 5 ft down is 55 degrees. If you put a small fan on the end of the pipe that runs into the house you'll be drawing in very cool air. It's worked pretty well for us here.

Pretty darn neat information, thanks

naturelover · #28 06/05/11, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by InvalidID

4) This is a great one and made all the difference here. Bury, about 5 FT down, a 6 inch wide piece of PVC pipe. Put an intake on one end (make sure to put a good screen and maybe a chimney cap to keep the mice out) and run the other end into the house.

The air 5 ft down is 55 degrees. If you put a small fan on the end of the pipe that runs into the house you'll be drawing in very cool air. It's worked pretty well for us here.

I'm having difficulty visualizing how this would work. There is not much air below ground so where would the intake air be coming from? Are you suggesting a very looooong pipe be buried underground so that intake air from outside above ground will get cooled as it's passing through the pipe underground?

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InvalidID · #29 06/05/11, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturelover

I'm having difficulty visualizing how this would work. There is not much air below ground so where would the intake air be coming from? Are you suggesting a very looooong pipe be buried underground so that intake air from outside above ground will get cooled as it's passing through the pipe underground?

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Yeah, mine is about 50ft long. I was told it wouldn't work, you have to use water blah blah blah. The air coming out of that pipe is 20-25 degees cooler than the air outside in the height of summer. We have high humidity and 90-95 degrees at the peak of summer here.
I think a large part of why it works is because I draw the air out slower. A higher speed fan might draw the air too fast, not giving it time to cool down enough.
It did take a little tinkering to get it just right, but I figure most folks here are pretty adept with DIY and can work out most of the lil stuff.

ETA: I went out to smoke a cigg after posting. 50ft is a bit short, I'd say it's closer to 70 FT long.

**Cabin Fever** · #30 06/05/11, 05:17 PM

When it gets really, really hot around here - around 80 to 85F or so - I take frequent rests in the shade and sip a glass of ice cold water straight from the hand pump well. If I feel overheated, a soak in a lake or river does the trick for cooling down.

If the night temps are real warm - around 65 to 70F or so - you might find us sleeping in the basement where the temp is usually around 60F during the summer months.

InvalidID · #31 06/05/11, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngieM2

Pretty darn neat information, thanks

No problem! I don't think #4 would work as well in say Arizona or Texas. But if I remember right, Alabama was more humid than it is here. I'm pretty sure it works so well because of the moisture in the air.

One concern might be mold in the pipe, though mine has been in the ground for about 2 years and I haven't had a problem yet. Just have to make sure not to let rain water get in there.

AngieM2 · #32 06/05/11, 05:29 PM

Is is just in the ground, no opening at the end of it? I could see this working if the end was into a void area, but is dirt at the end?

naturelover · #33 06/05/11, 05:30 PM

Okay. I can see an alternative method to this too, so that one wouldn't have to dig such a long deep ditch to install the pipe. This should work well especially wherever the water table is very high, such as in my area.

Dig a deep enough wide hole instead of a ditch and then put in a much longer COIL of PVC pipe rather than a straight length, then fill it in with dirt again. If the water table is high enough then the water would also help promote cooling of the air inside the pipe.

Kind of like the reverse method of heating household water inside coils of pipe buried inside hot compost piles. Only this way cooling air instead in the pipe buried in earth and water.

Thanks for the suggestion.

.

naturelover · #34 06/05/11, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngieM2

Is is just in the ground, no opening at the end of it? I could see this working if the end was into a void area, but is dirt at the end?

No, the intake opening in the pipe is above ground outside. It will be sucking in warm air from outside but the air will get cooled as it passes through the pipe underground.

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InvalidID · #35 06/05/11, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngieM2

Is is just in the ground, no opening at the end of it? I could see this working if the end was into a void area, but is dirt at the end?

Both ends are open. On the intake side I have 3 layers of screen and one of those chimney caps to keep out the mice and such. The other side comes up through my kitchen floor into a small box I made for it. The box has a very small fan in it that draws the air through the pipe and into my kitchen.
I have a fan on the other side of the house drawing air out of the house and it helps to pull the cool air from the pipe and open windows on the shady side of the house through.

AngieM2 · #36 06/05/11, 05:37 PM

oh okay.

wouldn't that cause condensation and water collection?

I know Dad buried a pvc pipe with his wires in it while in the panhandle of TX. He had to dig it up to repair a wire, and there was water in the pvc pipe.

And would that be a way to collect water?

InvalidID · #37 06/05/11, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by naturelover

Okay. I can see an alternative method to this too, so that one wouldn't have to dig such a long deep ditch to install the pipe. This should work well especially wherever the water table is very high, such as in my area.

Dig a deep enough wide hole instead of a ditch and then put in a much longer COIL of PVC pipe rather than a straight length, then fill it in with dirt again. If the water table is high enough then the water would also help promote cooling of the air inside the pipe.

Kind of like the reverse method of heating household water inside coils of pipe buried inside hot compost piles. Only this way cooling air instead in the pipe buried in earth and water.

Thanks for the suggestion.

.

I thought about that too but I was worried that having the pipe touch itself, or if I didn't have a decent layer of dirt between each layer of pipe it might slowly heat up and loss efficiency. Also I had a lot of left over 6inch pipe... LOL

A higher water table would be really nice. My ground is mostly clay so it holds moisture pretty well. That might help a lot too, I hadn't considered it before.

wyld thang · #38 06/05/11, 05:42 PM

On the other side of the mountains on the high desert there are ice caves, holes in the ground that were parts of lava tubes. In winter the freezing air and water gets down in there and the ice freezes up, and stays frozen all summer even though it gets really hot and dry(100'). THey aren't very deep caves at all before you get to the ice. Of course it's like a freezer too. THe Pioneers used to get ice in there, or store things in the caves.

They name them funny names. We named our farty son "Dark Hole Wind Cave" after seeing that name on the map(you know. his "indian" name, haha).

ANyways, anything below grade will stay cooler. We have a basement that is below grade on two sides and the room with the cement wall below stays between 48 and 70 degrees with no heating/cooling assistance, outside temps range 15 to 105 degrees. We also have trees shading the house, and the southern side on the floors above is all roof no windows so that also makes a big difference in keeping cooler inside.

InvalidID · #39 06/05/11, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AngieM2

oh okay.

wouldn't that cause condensation and water collection?

I know Dad buried a pvc pipe with his wires in it while in the panhandle of TX. He had to dig it up to repair a wire, and there was water in the pvc pipe.

And would that be a way to collect water?

So far I haven't had a problem though I admit it could be a problem. My intake side is lower by about 8-10inches so if water does end up collecting I think I could pump it out.
In the interest of full disclosure, that low side wasn't by design. It was a total accident due to lazy digging...lol

PhilJohnson · #40 06/05/11, 05:58 PM

I live in an old farmhouse with tall ceilings and a basement. At night if it is cool out I open up what ever windows will catch a breeze and let the wind whip through the house. I also will use plenty of fans if it there is no breeze to suck in the cool night air. I keep all the windows covered up with blankets except the north windows during the day. Also all the windows are shut up during the day. It keeps the first floor somewhat comfortable but the second story gets rather stuffy. I did turn on the AC upstairs a few days ago. I'll enjoy the AC while I can afford it.

I try to work during the morning and later in the evening provided I don't get carried off by horse flies and mosquitos. I wear loose clothing and wear sandals all the time. Since I don't burn easy up north keeping covered isn't a big concern. I have a hard time with heat.

I went down to Arizona last August. It was 100 degrees plus during monsoon season so it was humid as well. I went out on my bike when it was 104 degrees. Rode about 4 miles, drank plenty of water (a quart every quarter mile). I thought I was doing ok, a lot of sweat but I didn't feel too bad. Well I wound up getting heat stroke, mostly thanks to the fact I was staying in an un-airconditioned trailer home with no electric. After the third day I had enough and sprung for an air conditioned hotel room. My father who was with me had a much easier time dealing with the heat. He worked through out the day, although he took a lot of breaks and took it real easy.