We had a problem similar to this at one of the houses. Each lane was progressively slicker. Found out the guy running the machine wasn't letting it set flat long enough for the wicks to load up with oil.
Now they fill the machine at the end of the night and put it on the starting lane to be oiled.
In the old case, it took about 6 lanes for the oiler to put out the same volume from lane to lane.
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~~~SrK - Have balls, will travel
If it has teats or tires, you are going to have problems.