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Author Topic: Ball rejuvenator  (Read 29528 times)

charlest

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Ball rejuvenator
« on: March 10, 2013, 03:01:59 PM »
May I unashamedy recommend a new ball rejuvenator invented by a bowling friend. It's a ball oven called the NuBall. I have one and have been trying it for the past 2 weeks. It extracts oil from balls via heat applied with a fan to circulate the heat via a thermostat (ranging from 95 to 155 degrees; recommended temp is 135 degrees Fahrenheit).

Please check out the information on their website:
http://www.scbp.biz
and
the product can be purchased through Amazon via
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BCQ0YG6/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&seller=

Please be aware that the price listed currently ($169.95 +$20 shipping) will soon be raised, as it is a very low introductory price.
(FYI This is not mine: I am not selling it. I am recommending it.)

I have been told to add this about the warranty which will be added to the NuBall when it is shipped:

NuBall should be very difficult to damage.  If any part of NuBall is accidentally damaged, replacements for all broken parts will be sent for the asking. 
 
More possible is that the top (fan, heater, thermostat etc) might stop working.  If so I will send them a new top section.  I will not send a whole replacement machine - I will replace only the part(s) damaged or not working.
 
Both statements are good for two years from the date of purchase.  The company phone number and email address can be found on the back page of the Operating Instructions.

« Last Edit: March 10, 2013, 07:25:45 PM by charlest »
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trushj

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #31 on: March 17, 2013, 01:24:14 AM »
a quick review:

I got my unit on Friday and gave it a go. first off, I will say my experience mirrors the posters above me who have used it.

first ball: storm virtual gravity nano (approx 50-60 games).

first I sanded the ball with a fresh 500 abralon pad on 4 sides then put it in the nuball. left it alone for about an hour and a half at 135 degrees. when I finally checked it, there wasn't any visible oil anywhere on the surface to wipe off. confused.

second ball: a highly used and neglected brunswick avalanche slide. (too many games to venture a guess.)

here's where the confusion disappeared. sanded the ball to 500 and put it in. left it for an hour still using the default 135 degrees. when I opened the top, the ball was covered in oil. pulled it out, cleaned it off and put it back in for another hour. same result. rinse and repeat for another hour. another hour goes by. pulled out, cleaned oil off and put back in for another hour. this time, there was far less oil, but still - cleaned it off and put it back in. kept checking every 20 minutes after. after about 3 1/2 hours it stopped producing oil to the surface. I then re-hit it with 500 abralon and brunswick high gloss polish.

third ball: storm modern marvel (approx 60-70 games).

sanded to 500 abralon, and saw similar results to the nano. i left it in for an hour at 135 degrees. while it produced a little amount of oil to the surface, it was mostly in the track area. cleaned it off and left it for another half hour, but didnt see any more oil to clean off.

I have some more balls to do, but I will say that in my limited tests, it's perfect for what it does for the price. I have no intention of dropping $1600 on a revivor oven, and also don't want to spend $20 a pop for a session in a revivor oven at a pro shop. while its not "set it and forget it" for a ball that's going to pour out oil, a little TLC over the course of an afternoon will produce very similar results to the revivor oven at pro shops.

thanks charlest for the recommendation. and hopefully your friend sells a ton more of these!

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Steven

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #32 on: March 17, 2013, 01:53:53 AM »
Quote from: MI 2 AZ on March 16, 2013, 11:20:51 PM
When I attempted to set the middle barrel section on top of the bottom base piece, I had a bit of frustration in not being able to get them to mesh snugly.  The top section fit snugly on the middle but the bottom gave me a bit of trouble.  It seemed like the bottom was a bit too small or the middle was a bit too large to fit snugly together.  After a bit of fiddling with it, I got them to sit together.  I found out later from the designer that because of the molding process, there has to be a bit of an angle between the top and bottom ends of that large middle section.  This resulted in the bottom of the middle being about 3/16 larger than the top of the middle section.  Not a big issue for me, but something that others may want to be aware of especially the first time setting it up.  After a couple of times of putting it together it does become easier and something that becomes second nature.


LOL, this is the exact experience I went through. The inventor was very helpful in explaining the situation in an e-mail. It does become second nature after piecing it together a few times. I'm guessing at some point he'll update the documentation. Regardless, NuBall works well.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2013, 01:55:52 AM by Steven »
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nospareball

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #33 on: March 19, 2013, 09:31:38 AM »
Looks like he took a dehydrator top from that Gander mountain link and rebranded it.  Clever
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charlest

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #34 on: March 19, 2013, 09:58:10 AM »
Quote from: nospareball on March 19, 2013, 09:31:38 AM
Looks like he took a dehydrator top from that Gander mountain link and rebranded it.  Clever

Don't make assumptions.
That is not what was done.
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OHBowler

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #35 on: March 19, 2013, 12:00:51 PM »
I see the price went up a $100?
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milorafferty

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #36 on: March 19, 2013, 12:27:00 PM »
For $189.00 shipped I thought it was very cheaply made, it works great, just cheap. No problem with it for the price. If I had paid $279.00 plus shipping, I would want my money refunded.

Quote from: OHBowler on March 19, 2013, 12:00:51 PM
I see the price went up a $100?
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charlest

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #37 on: March 19, 2013, 01:47:41 PM »
Quote from: OHBowler on March 19, 2013, 12:00:51 PM
I see the price went up a $100?

It was an introductory price, as was stated.
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duvallite

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #38 on: March 19, 2013, 01:51:34 PM »
Quote from: OHBowler on March 19, 2013, 12:00:51 PM
I see the price went up a $100?

So now it would be about $300 shipped?  Not for me, even though it looks nice. I"ll continue to use my own appx. $60 DIY food dehydrator ball oven which works well enough, even if it ghetto looking  ;-)
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Steven

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #39 on: March 19, 2013, 02:09:32 PM »
Quote from: milorafferty on March 19, 2013, 12:27:00 PM
For $189.00 shipped I thought it was very cheaply made, it works great, just cheap. No problem with it for the price. If I had paid $279.00 plus shipping, I would want my money refunded.


Milo, you bought one too?? I though you were happy with your dedicated ball dishwasher.


$100 bump already? Wow, I guess they were serious about the introductory low price. I'll agree that the build quality could be more refined, but it does what it's supposed to. As long as the fan and thermostat work, the NuBall unit should have a long life. I've already run 15 balls through the process, so in many ways I've got some significant pay back.


What I've found interesting is that the balls I fanatically maintain extracted no oil. None. The second tier practice balls that I give a quick cleaning once over before throwing in the bag extracted a lot of oil. My Lane#1 Time-bomb took two sessions to get completely de-oiled. 


For bowlers who do little or nothing to maintain their equipment (the vast majority), NuBall is worth the investment. If you follow a regular intense cleaning regimen you'll continue with regardless, you may not see the full cost/benefit.   
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Mbosco

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #40 on: March 19, 2013, 02:13:45 PM »
For my part, I thought the price bump was going to be much bigger.  At least up to $500 shipped.  And for something reliable, and guaranteed for two years, if you bowl more than just once a week I think it would still have been worth it.
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milorafferty

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #41 on: March 19, 2013, 02:17:17 PM »
Yea, I'm tired of that extra dishwasher taking up so much room. Now I can sell it on craigslist for the $100 I paid for it a few years ago. LOL

The problem with a dishwasher is you have to wait at least a day to let the ball dry out. I love this product, and would pay the $189.00 for it again. $279 plus shipping seems a stretch though.

And I completely agree about how much you maintain your equipment relating to needing this or not. I don't worry about my practice stuff, and they just poured oil. My regular rotation balls get cleaned after every use and didn't show a drop.

Quote from: Steven on March 19, 2013, 02:09:32 PM

Milo, you bought one too?? I though you were happy with your dedicated ball dishwasher.


$100 bump already? Wow, I guess they were serious about the introductory low price. I'll agree that the build quality could be more refined, but it does what it's supposed to. As long as the fan and thermostat work, the NuBall unit should have a long life. I've already run 15 balls through the process, so in many ways I've got some significant pay back.


What I've found interesting is that the balls I fanatically maintain extracted no oil. None. The second tier practice balls that I give a quick cleaning once over before throwing in the bag extracted a lot of oil. My Lane#1 Time-bomb took two sessions to get completely de-oiled. 


For bowlers who do little or nothing to maintain their equipment (the vast majority), NuBall is worth the investment. If you follow a regular intense cleaning regimen you'll continue with regardless, you may not see the full cost/benefit.   
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jkiser01

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #42 on: March 19, 2013, 02:24:20 PM »
wow, getting ready to order one but not at the higher price. Oh well, not a big deal.. I didn't realize the price was going to change in just the few days its been talked about on here..
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charlest

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #43 on: March 19, 2013, 02:33:52 PM »
Milo,

All I can say is that the device is made, as near as I can tell, by the KISS principle. I think a 2 year warranty is admirable in this day and age. While most of it is plastic, it quite durable (almost like a bowling ball  ;)) unless you put it in a trash compactor or a tree shredder. I'd call it made to a price point, not "cheap". There are very few moving parts to go wrong and the designer is a 50 year (Or thereabouts) bowler; so he seems to have know how to make it right without making it complex. 

I'm glad you wrote a 2nd reply, stating, "I love this product, and would pay the $189.00 for it again. $279 plus shipping seems a stretch though." I agree with that concept personally. I also think that since the next price up is $1500 more or less and if you do a lot of bowling and understand how balls are affected by use, maybe I'd have to save a little bit more before i jumped on this purchase, but I think I'd still do it. I also had my own methods for extracting oil from balls and they worked but they were not as simple as this device make it.

FYI The price now includes the previous $20 shipping cost. So the actual price increase is $70.
« Last Edit: March 19, 2013, 02:37:09 PM by charlest »
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milorafferty

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #44 on: March 19, 2013, 03:22:05 PM »
I'm not trying to put it down, just being realistic.

As I said, I'm glad I bought it and thank you for bringing it to our attention(now I can get rid of the portable dishwasher!)

I can honestly say that it works every bit as well as the expensive units sold for pro shop use. It doesn't rotate the ball and it only does one at a time, but for a home unit, it's awesome. It does however have a cheap feel to it and it should have an on/off switch in my opinion. I would still have second thoughts about the new price point, but as someone with north of 100 bowling balls, I would probably buy it anyway.

Quote from: charlest on March 19, 2013, 02:33:52 PM
Milo,

All I can say is that the device is made, as near as I can tell, by the KISS principle. I think a 2 year warranty is admirable in this day and age. While most of it is plastic, it quite durable (almost like a bowling ball  ;)) unless you put it in a trash compactor or a tree shredder. I'd call it made to a price point, not "cheap". There are very few moving parts to go wrong and the designer is a 50 year (Or thereabouts) bowler; so he seems to have know how to make it right without making it complex. 

I'm glad you wrote a 2nd reply, stating, "I love this product, and would pay the $189.00 for it again. $279 plus shipping seems a stretch though." I agree with that concept personally. I also think that since the next price up is $1500 more or less and if you do a lot of bowling and understand how balls are affected by use, maybe I'd have to save a little bit more before i jumped on this purchase, but I think I'd still do it. I also had my own methods for extracting oil from balls and they worked but they were not as simple as this device make it.

FYI The price now includes the previous $20 shipping cost. So the actual price increase is $70.
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ImBackInTheGame

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Re: Ball rejuvenator
« Reply #45 on: March 19, 2013, 04:21:39 PM »
The next price point up is $499 for the Alley Cat Ball Oven.  I think if he could keep the price under $250, that would be perfect.  $249.99 just sounds like a good price for something like this which is similar to what we pay for a personal ball spinner.  I'm sure I'll regret not buying when the price was $209 shipped...
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