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duckhunter
06-08-2009, 07:51 AM
We are using fr uniforms from Cintas. Shirts are Indura and pants are Excel-R. A couple of guys are getting a rash from the pants, they did not get a rash from Carhartt relaxed fit denim which are Nomex. Anyone else had an issue with rashes from fr clothing?

thrasher
06-08-2009, 05:15 PM
If you are dealing with Cintas are these rentals that Cintas does the laundry on? Or are they purchased and you guys do home laundry? I suspect the issue is with the laundry not the fabric.

duckhunter
06-09-2009, 07:29 AM
Hey Thrasher,
You are correct that Cintas launders the clothing. The reason I suspect the fabric and not the soap is because the guys are not having a problem with the shirts, just the pants. The same soap is used for both, the only difference is the fabric.

thrasher
06-09-2009, 08:35 PM
For a long time the guys here bought thier own choices. We now use "Firewear" Uniforms but people have worn Firewear, Nomex, Excel, even something called Kermel. The company never ok'ed Proban because it can wash out. Excel is treated but manufacturer claims it's permanent, all the others are inherent FR. Never had a problem with rashes other than the stuff is HOT and doesn't "breathe" worth a damm. Afraid I don't have any other ideas. By the way we laundry our own clothes.

tramp67
06-11-2009, 01:55 AM
Are the guys wearing another shirt under the FR? Could be why the rash from the pants only. Another possibility is in warm weather, their legs are perspiring a lot, and the fabric doesn't wick away the sweat.

NMSA122-G
06-12-2009, 11:23 PM
We have the riverside clothes and yes we are getting rashes between the legs. Also the henley shirts we have don't have a collar and you get a rash on your neck from the bucket harness and sleeves rubbing.

The leg rash seems to be from poor fit. And yes they are hotter than hell!!!!!

LostArt
06-13-2009, 10:19 AM
Ugh, the Boss hates'em(the Wrangler jeans mostly). He hasn't mentioned any rashes though. I'll ask him. And they wear white shirts under the FR shirts.

bobbo
06-14-2009, 01:15 PM
We got the old type Bulwark and the new, some million calorie thing that is thick and stiff, and super hot. I bury all of them in the wash, and purposely do all the wrong things. I put them in the super hot cycle and load them with fabric softener to make them bearable to wear. The chafe and all those chemical reactions on the skin are gone. You can still put out a cigarette on them. The company has a rule a t shirt under has more calorie protection. But if your from the southern states where its 90 percent humid and its hotter in the shade and you sleeve and rubber glove. I can't imagine wearing the new type. The sweat would make you a conductive- Especially gloving that east coast 19.9, screw it-get comfortable!

lewy
06-17-2009, 04:59 PM
what is the arc rating that you need ? Is it different from state to state?

thrasher
06-18-2009, 10:52 AM
The required ARC rating is based upon calculations done at EACH utility. Most utilities calculate a worst case and then design thier rules based on that; so that they can have a simple to understand and enforce rule. Example on our system all distribution work outside the station fence requires 4 cal/cm2 while work inside the fence requires 9 cal/cm2. Thing is, we have 10 delivery points and only three actually need 9 cal, at another 3 stations 7 cal would work, and at the other four the same 4 cal clothing would work that is used outside the fence. But to make the rule easy to understand and enforce work inside the fence is 9cal and outside the fence is 4 cal.
By the way; in case your wondering why our limits are this low; our stations are small, serve rural areas, and all have high speed electronic vacuum reclosers in the stations. Our people do not glove anything over 35kv.