BallReviews

General Category => Miscellaneous => Topic started by: sammy the sage on February 25, 2007, 12:55:10 AM

Title: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: sammy the sage on February 25, 2007, 12:55:10 AM: Which company's balls are dying after 40-60 games?

Am talking about CURRENT equipment w/proper care.

And personal experience only...not friend of a friend garbage!
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: novawagonmaster on February 25, 2007, 09:00:45 AM: I will be the first to break your rules.

I only throw Lane #1, so I can only tell you that I have not had ANY balls die.

That said, LOTS of fellow league members and teammates have had problems with Ebonite equipment losing it's reaction. In fact, I have not heard any complaints lately about any other company. Only Ebonite.
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Jon (in Ohio)
CHROME WON'T GET YOU HOME!
F.O.S. Proud Saw user...see profile.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: cnimsk on February 25, 2007, 09:06:35 AM: Ebonite according to this web site. I haven't but I switch bowling balls back and forth as to what I use.

Chuck
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Martin710 on February 25, 2007, 09:08:32 AM: Well for me it's Ebonite. Although I don't know about their current balls because I don't buy from them anymore after what happened to my xxxcel which I bought in November 2005.That ball died after about 60 games and was discontinued by the company after about one year. Is it normal for a ball to be discontinued after such a short time or is it an admission that the ball was a mistake?
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: RSalas on February 25, 2007, 09:26:07 AM: quote:
ball death = operator error, its just good hygeine boys, you gotta clean those balls, especially after ya use em.

The operator also has to recognize that the ball is actually dying, and not that it isn't reacting as expected because of its use on the wrong lane conditions.
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...formerly "The Curse of Dusty," and "PoÃ¶ter BoÃ¶f" before that...
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: rabbit_sla on February 25, 2007, 09:31:56 AM: If you said that it is operator error on ball death, then why did ebonite come out with the hook again system. Also, why does big b and columbia also recognize ball death as a problem for bowling balls? I have had a brunswick riot zone die on me, but I bought the ball used with an unknown amount of games on it. I used it for about 2 years before it started dying on me. I used the hook again system on it and brought it back to almost new.
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It does not matter what type of shot you throw, it's the results on the scoresheet that counts.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: TWOHAND834 on February 25, 2007, 09:33:03 AM: I watch people all the time using different manufacturers equipement not using any type of cleaner to wipe their balls down after each league night. They only show up in a pro shop about every 20-30 games to freshen up the surface. The reason is that they dont want to spend 10.00 on a bottle of Energizer Cleaner or other cleaner for that matter. They dont think it is worth it. It is too expensive. So, instead, they spend all their money on new equipment only to complain that their balls are dying after 40+ games. In other words, they can spend 200+ on a ball every 6 months to a year but a 10.00 bottle of cleaner is too expensive.

It is not as though ball death is anything new. Bowlers complained about balls dying back in the late 90s into 2000. There was the all to familiar "TEC death" years ago. As a former pro shop operator, I would have people come in with balls from the mid 90s that are saturated in oil and complain that their ball doesnt look like it once did. If bowlers would swallow their pride and spend an extra 8-10 bucks on some cleaner and get more anal about cleaning their stuff, the ball death issue may subside quite a bit.

FWIW......I know and understand that that results and complaints vary from bowler to bowler on this issue as well as some people do say that they clean their stuff and still get ball death.
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Steven Vance
Former Pro Shop Operator

If anyone out there is worried about the scores being too high, try duckpin!!
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Martin710 on February 25, 2007, 09:44:04 AM: I have to respond to those who always blame the operator. I have always and still go through the same procedure. I wipe my ball after each throw, I clean the ball with a recognized ball cleaner after each three game set and I use the hot water bath to extract the oil after about 80 games. One of the cleaners I used was the Ebonite Powerhouse Energizer. Despite all this, my xxxcel died after about 60 games. I am not to be blamed for that ball's death. I did not even use it for spares.

Edited on 2/25/2007 10:47 AM
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: MIBowler on February 25, 2007, 09:49:07 AM: for me its Ebonite and Hammer, i'm not just sayin this cause i throw mostly Brunswick but i got at least 300+ games on my strike zone and it still moves in the back end, just as much as my scorchin.
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My stats: High game sanctioned 299, high series 780 http://members.bowl.com/FindAMember/memberView.aspx?mp=1104&ms=6619&s=2005-2006
Arsenal:
Brunswick- FURY, Orignal Inferno(undrilled),Strike Zone, Scorchin Inferno, Smokin Inferno, Power Grove dry'r
Ebonite- Angular One
Hammer- Big Blue spare
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: The SuperHitMan on February 25, 2007, 10:14:17 AM: Rule #1: A bowler must clean his/her equipment after usage.

Balls that have died on me came from Ebonite and Columbia, after you alter the cover or clean it x'amount of times the ball quits. However Columbia wasn't always like that, I loveed the Choas series and the Power Torq.
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Wayne Saunders: AH-HUUUUUHHHHH KACE YOU SHOT 300 AH-HUUUUHHHHHHHH!!!

Janeen Hall: Congratulations Baby.

Tommy B: I'm proud of you.....

Mike Hall: I yelled the last shot in there....

K.C. White II: And I did it My Way Hooking the lane with a high-end piece, Take that Mr. Slater...I did it my way I got what I came for.

You don't get a ring for bowling all spares

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Team Member Of
Hoss Central Inc.

"I bowl for the tournament cashes/wins and I bowl for the honor score rings, but most importantly I bowl for the Love of the game"-KDW
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: dizzyfugu on February 25, 2007, 10:32:48 AM: quote:
quote:
ball death = operator error, its just good hygeine boys, you gotta clean those balls, especially after ya use em.

The operator also has to recognize that the ball is actually dying, and not that it isn't reacting as expected because of its use on the wrong lane conditions.
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...formerly "The Curse of Dusty," and "PoÃ¶ter BoÃ¶f" before that...

I second both - especially the last one. I never had a ball die on me (from any major manufacturer), nor heard it from friends and fellow bowlers.
It is IMHO either bad maintenance or simply improper use - when players insist on hooking reaction of their ultra-aggressive material even on lightest oil or late games. Ever heard of burnout on the lanes?
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DizzyFugu - Reporting from Germany
"Put some make-up on your face - Make this world a better place!"
Kahimi Karie, 'Good morning world'
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: toomanytenpins on February 25, 2007, 10:42:51 AM: i used to believe in ball death until i watched the oil run off my no mercy after about 10 minutes in a rejuvenator. I am no expert ,but i dont believe resurfacing will remove oil .In fact it probably compounds the problem.
After seeing what the rejuvenator did i decided to put all my junkyard dogs,(because i thought they had died),in the oven. I usually soak em but the oven gets out much more of the oil. I dont bowl until tonight but i honestly believe i am going to see a marked difference in performance. I baked a ball that i hadnt used at all since i soaked it and got a tremendous amount of oil out of it.I could be wrong but i am going to find out for sure tonight. Taking my wmb and my hercules which had both lost there bite and i havent used in quite awhile so we shall see.
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my style, the art of bowling without bowling
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: DON DRAPER on February 25, 2007, 12:44:07 PM: with proper cleaning, resurfacing, and use of the rejuvenator/revivor, your brunswick equipment won't see this happen.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Raven829 on February 25, 2007, 12:55:54 PM: Sammy,
I will also break your rules a bit in telling of my experience. First off, I will say that I am darn lazy when it comes to maintaining my equipment cleaning-wise. I have a spinner and change surfaces often, but I never clean my stuff after a league or tournament night. You may think that ball death would be a huge issue for me, but it's not. There was one exception to my no-cleaning...the One. The odd thing is that although I took great care in cleaning this ball constantly, it died quicker than anything else I've thrown.

As far as current equipment for me, I have the biggest issues with Hammer and Ebonite. Both my Black Widow and No Mercy lost lots of reaction (to be expected when I don't clean them enough), but both were brought back to brand new with some time in my oven. I also use Roto-Grip and some MoRich stuff a lot and I have never had a problem with loss of reaction even though I don't maintain them like I should. I've never owned a ball other than The One that got so bad that I couldn't bring it back to life.

Don
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"On-base percentage is great if you can score runs and do something with that on-base percentage. Clogging up the bases isn't that great to me. The problem we have to address more than anything is the home run problem."
~Dusty Baker being a total fool
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Cobalt Bomb on February 25, 2007, 12:56:22 PM: Is it possible that the brand of lane conditioner used, the age/type of lane surface, and the surface of the ball(sanded,polished)have as much to do with "ball death" as anything else?
Joe
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: TheProphet on February 25, 2007, 12:59:17 PM: Ebonite/Hammer...
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Big Jake on February 25, 2007, 01:36:35 PM: quote:
with proper cleaning, resurfacing, and use of the rejuvenator/revivor, your brunswick equipment won't see this happen.

yeah right!!! tell that to my Scorch'n which died on me after in just two months.
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Big Jake
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: DON DRAPER on February 25, 2007, 01:49:34 PM: you may have to contact brunswick about your infernos. my scorchin' inferno has been used since july and it's still going strong. it gets cleaned after every use, gets resurfaced on a haus machine after every 100 games, and put through the rejuvenator after every 50 games( it's kept dull ). if after all your care you may have a warranty issue.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: BOWL119 on February 25, 2007, 02:07:56 PM: EBONITE
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T.J.

BOWLING IS FUN NO MATTER WHAT YOU SCORE. BUT A 300 IS ALWAYS NICE.

STRIKE ZONE, ONSLAUGHT, REVS, FLIP & PYRO. STAND 22 AND THROW 10 OUT TO 5 AND CRUSH THE POCKET. AT LEAST THAT IS THE PLAN OF THE NIGHT...

GOOD LUCK AND GOOD BOWLING!!!
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: DON DRAPER on February 25, 2007, 07:47:19 PM: what have you done to restore the mammoth ? did you clean it after every time you used it ? with so few games a resurface probably isn't necessary. did you use the rejuvenator or revivor ?

it's entirely possible you are not seeing enough oil to use this ball. this ball is very, very aggressive. it's wetsanded 400 grit at the factory. it's the highest load particle ball in brunswicks history. you may need to sand the coverstock to a finer grit. you may need to throw the ball harder. there are several possibilities.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: bstone on February 25, 2007, 08:15:38 PM: I'm trynig to find a ball thats alive when it leaves my weak o'l hand...
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"The difference betwen porcupines and bowling centers is that porcupines have pricks on the outside."-unknown-I borrowed it from someone else
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: mainzer on February 25, 2007, 08:15:47 PM: Ebonite and Storm around here I don't throw those two companies but more people complain about those two companies than anything else
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Mainzerpower
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Tex on February 25, 2007, 08:36:23 PM: Funny I was just joking about this last week during league. For years I remember people complaining about how their Columbia stuff died, especialy the balls made during the Chaos era. Pulled my Chaos out last week and roll 245 with only one ball out of the pocket, sent messengers across for a couple strikes and had 10 boards more than any other ball in the bag or anyone else on the lane. My Chaos was from the first seminar Columbia held outside of San Antonio when the ball was introduced. Sometimes I am not sure if it is the ball or how the ball in maintained. If you take care of a ball it will last longer. Not to say some don't die, I am certain I have had a couple just like everyone else. If I picked balls I have had that died or cracked I might say Ebonite also, but I have a Timberwolf in the closet that is still pretty strong.
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: FastTracker33 on February 25, 2007, 08:38:11 PM: Ebonite is all that gets complained about around here!
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-BrIan
Track Legion

Inertia, EQuation , DEsert HeAt
http://trackbowling.com/
"Track...you Just can't Beat That!"
Title: Re: Balls dying...which company the worse?
Post by: Slopsurprise on February 25, 2007, 08:41:51 PM: Ebonite is the worst by far followed by storm IMO. I dont have much faith in any Ebonite stuff as far as Storm, if its dull, or partcile is it might have problems IMO. The Pyro, Paradigm, trifecta, XXX Xtreme. Though, I had not had problems with the Ace when I had one?????

Edited on 2/25/2007 9:40 PM