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Author Topic: Does oil on the lanes dry out?  (Read 7411 times)

dicnic

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Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« on: April 27, 2009, 03:07:58 AM »
I was reading a review of the Brunswick Power Groove (as I just bought one) and noticed a reviewer mentioned "thin oil" and "drying out in a few hours". I thought that USBC specified the consistency of acceptable oil and especially on artificial lane surfaces, really did not "dry out".

I bowl in a morning league and also practice on Sunday mornings. In each case, the lanes are quite dry. The lane guy says he oils at midnight every night, the pattern is 7 - 7 and short.

Does lane oil actually "dry out"? Drying out usually means evaporate and I never heard of oil evaporating.

Can anyone shed some factual scientific knowledge on this phenomenon?
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AdrianS

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2009, 11:30:02 AM »
Its liquid, it evaporates one way or another eventually. But not all due to the travel of bowling balls over it.
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rockerbowler18

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2009, 11:53:00 AM »
Bowling balls absorb oil and/or pick it up off the lane. When your ball comes back, isn't there oil on the surface? Don't you have to bake the oil out of your balls every once in a while? Obviously this oil isn't self replenishing on the lane, so there's less oil as time goes on.
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TDC57

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2009, 12:14:30 PM »
I've been taking care of lanes for over 25 years. Oil definitely evaporates. I can do the lanes in the morning and in the summer when our place doesn't get much lineage, look at them in a couple of days and the oil has definitely disappeared. This is much more pronounced on our wood lanes than it would be on synthetics. During league balls sucking the oil on the lanes in the main reason it disappears. Evaporation does happen though, because any liquid will evaporate.

Dan Belcher

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2009, 12:17:22 PM »
quote:
Bowling balls absorb oil and/or pick it up off the lane. When your ball comes back, isn't there oil on the surface? Don't you have to bake the oil out of your balls every once in a while? Obviously this oil isn't self replenishing on the lane, so there's less oil as time goes on.
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I'm pretty sure he's referring to the lanes drying WITHOUT you bowling on them.  Like when you oil a lane and let it sit for several hours and it hooks more then compared to bowling on a lane right after oiling it.  Hence the evaporation question.

rockerbowler18

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2009, 12:19:38 PM »
Good point. I think I was running on autoresponse from just waking up.

The whole time I was answering that question I was thinking, "he can't be serious. Of course lanes dry out..."
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dicnic

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2009, 03:53:00 PM »
Dan Belcher is correct, perhaps I should have explained it in more detail!

The lane guy does the lanes at midnight. NOBODY touches them until we show up at 9:00 A.M. either for league or for Sunday practice.

There is nothing to disturb the oil on the lanes except evaporation. However, it simply amazes me that the oil could dissipate so much, unless they really have it thinned out with something that evaporates quickly and/or they are really skimping on the amount.

In any event, I would appreciate any comments fellow ball reviewers might have.
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Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

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dicnic

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #7 on: April 28, 2009, 03:24:14 PM »
ttt
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Dan Belcher

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2009, 03:27:43 PM »
quote:
Dan Belcher is correct, perhaps I should have explained it in more detail!

The lane guy does the lanes at midnight. NOBODY touches them until we show up at 9:00 A.M. either for league or for Sunday practice.

There is nothing to disturb the oil on the lanes except evaporation. However, it simply amazes me that the oil could dissipate so much, unless they really have it thinned out with something that evaporates quickly and/or they are really skimping on the amount.

In any event, I would appreciate any comments fellow ball reviewers might have.
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Just speculation, since I don't know any better than you do, but could some of it also be the result of oil being absorbed down into the lane surface itself?

dicnic

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2009, 07:14:09 PM »
I doubt it as the lanes are artificial and only going into their third year.

It's an AMF house and they are probably trying to reduce costs so my suspicion is that they are thinning the oil with something that evaporates. The lane man swears there is oil on the lanes but I rarely see oil rings on any pearl ball.

I have an old Track Champ (light blue, particle, real dull) which does show some oil rings now and then so something is on the lanes.
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Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

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Luke909

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2009, 11:20:41 PM »
The same thing happens to me sometimes when the lanes are oiled the night before other then in the morning right before league starts. The lanes are drier and breakdown quicker..
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JessN16

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2009, 12:56:26 AM »
I may be about to step in it but when I hear the words "oil" and "evaporate" in the same sentence, I think about motor oil and how that stuff never seems to evaporate into thin air no matter how thin you spread it or how long it sits..

What I don't know is whether bowling lane oil is applied as part of a solution (i.e., oil and another substance, particularly that which has a water or alcohol base), in which case yes, parts of the solution would evaporate. You can see this process for yourself in some two-stage lubricants, and I hear it's a factor in choosing the right gun oil for firearms.

A couple of other things are in play that make things look like the oil has evaporated -- first is absorption. Particularly on wood lanes, some of the oil can get under the topcoat and actually be absorbed into the wood.

The other is dust collection. If you oil lanes, then leave them for several hours, the dust that is in the air will collect in that oil, and that dust acts like particles in particle coverstocks, grabbing at anything that happens to be rolling on it. Dust is a friction multiplier. Ask lanemen who have worked at a center that has expanded from x-number to y-number of lanes what they thought of the sawdust in the air and what it did to the shot while construction was going on. If your house doesn't change its HVAC filters frequently or take good care of its pits, settees and carpet (if any), it can get pretty bad.

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Astroman

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2009, 04:11:11 AM »
AMF oil is terrible, especially the type we use. Carrydown is terrible and it breaks down fast.  Take into account that the house probably uses a wick machine, it could be an alcohol based oil.  I say that because we have wick machines, and AMF hasn't had a wickless machine since the black box of garbage called the Chairman.  

But yes, if the lanes were oiled the night before, they would be drier than if they were just oiled.  Also take into account the temperature inside the building and if its a high lineage center these play a big contributing factor on how fast the lanes break down.
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dicnic

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #13 on: April 29, 2009, 01:57:05 PM »
quote:
But yes, if the lanes were oiled the night before, they would be drier than if they were just oiled.


Because???

That is the gist of my original question. I will have to check into the brand of machine, but I am sure it is an old wick machine, I think a Century. I will also ask about the type of oil they use. Hopefully, I will be able to shed more light on this situation.

I just do not understand it. Dust particles getting on the oil surface during the 8 or so hours between oiling and use makes some sense but hardly enough to make the lanes appear as dry as they do.

More opinions, please.
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Never take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

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Weaser

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Re: Does oil on the lanes dry out?
« Reply #14 on: April 29, 2009, 02:13:44 PM »
The last few weeks the lanes have been conditioned at 10A instead of 4P for 6:30P league. First game is awesome then the worse carrydown (or something happens) that I have ever seen - NO backends??? At 4P, they seemed like a reverse block with clean backends, so I don't have a clue. Season is over so they have 18 weeks to figure it out.
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