Cold Hand Help...Idea

[9973720wb19]

When working in my shop, my hands are the first thing that goes (stop working) in the cold. I'm having heat installed, but it'd take a bit for the building to warm and not be that direct. With now having power, I was thought about installing a hand drier...yea...the bathroom kind. I thought this would be a cool (or should I say hot) way to quickly knock off the chilled hands.

[SandburRanch]

When working in my shop, my hands are the first thing that goes (stop working) in the cold. I'm having heat installed, but it'd take a bit for the building to warm and not be that direct. With now having power, I was thought about installing a hand drier...yea...the bathroom kind. I thought this would be a cool (or should I say hot) way to quickly knock off the chilled hands.

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Great idea but a $12.00 hair dryer would probably do as well and not shut off every 7 seconds or so.

And being portable it has numerous other uses like heating your tractor manifold etc.

You could also build a nice wooden box (with air intake port) to wall mount it just above the lavatory, or is that a sink in the shop.

[JB4310]

Any little electric heater that blows hot air would be good for your hands.

You do have to be comfortable to get any work done.

In my unheated small equipment shed I have one of those kerosene salimander type blasters, if I get cold I just crank that thing for a bit. that thing will warm you up quick.

JB

[Willl]

Gloves ?

[studor]

There is a thing called Raynauds syndrome which causes the hands to feel the cold more than normal. Lately the military has found treatments that correct the problem using warm water.
Those forced air dryers never seem to work in the rest stops so I am not sure how long they would function in any shop
Lately I have been using a little propane heater to warm my hands (and other body parts) in my unheated shop.

[Markcuda]

[Jstpssng]

When working in my shop, my hands are the first thing that goes (stop working) in the cold. I'm having heat installed, but it'd take a bit for the building to warm and not be that direct. With now having power, I was thought about installing a hand drier...yea...the bathroom kind. I thought this would be a cool (or should I say hot) way to quickly knock off the chilled hands.

Investing in a small space heater is worthwhile if you plan to do much in your shop or outside. I have a small gun type kerosene heater which my father used for backup in the greenhouses for years; using this I can blast heat under my tractor, ATV, or snowsled if they get left out in the weather. I can also plug it into an external thermostat if I want to keep an outbuilding warm. Unfortunately Northern Tools space from Northern Tool + Equipmentdon't seem to have a similar item anymore. They do seem to have all sorts of other neat heating items however.

[not2old]

I used warm water to warm my hands when I didn't have heat in my shop or was outside. This seems to work better than dry heat for me. Putting hand wrenches in a bowl of hot water, fishing them out and drying them before use allowed me to work much longer than with cold tools. I've recently moved to a new house where the garage was too cold to work in. I've added some heat and keep it about 55 degrees. I find this to be sufficient to allow me to work without quitting because of the cold.

[MF RED in MT]

When working in my shop, my hands are the first thing that goes (stop working) in the cold. I'm having heat installed, but it'd take a bit for the building to warm and not be that direct. With now having power, I was thought about installing a hand drier...yea...the bathroom kind. I thought this would be a cool (or should I say hot) way to quickly knock off the chilled hands.

I also have an unheated garage and right now it is 10 degs F in the garage, . I use a 30,000 propane tube heater that blows warm air in the area that I am working, and I have the heater hooked up to a 30# propane tank. For my hands I put on a pair of disposable Nitrile Gloves and then I put on a pair of mechanics type of work gloves, . These disposable gloves are the same type I use when field dressing a deer, . If you ever had a pair of these gloves on in warmer temps, then you know that your hands will sweat and that is keeping the heat on your hands, . Good luck with your cold hand problem. KC

[Iplayfarmer]

My hands and feet get cold easily, too, but I still work all through the winter in an unheated, detached garage. I layer the rest of my body very heavily, and then keep a kerosun heater running in the corner. I'll take about 5 out of every 30 minutes to warm up at the heater and then go back to wrenching, etc. I've been known to put a wrench on top of the heater sometimes to warm it up before using it.

The hand dryer may work, but I think there are better options. A little in-wall space heater that blows with less force may be best. You might also like something that you can direct toward your hands even while you're working. A 12 volt heater comes to mind. Even a little portable space heater that you can move over by where you are working would be good.