The Pyramid Phoenix Ball Revivor, uses a forced air heating system to heat a bowling ball to extract oil from the ball by circulating heat evenly around the ball.
About me I've been bowling for almost 30 years and have had a lot of experience using many ball cleaning and surfacing products, I even pieced together my own DIY ball revivor which I used for many years. So I feel I have a good eye for what works and doesn't in regard to ball cleaning.
The unit I got worked as advertised, it only required some simple assembly before use. Operation was simple I just placed my ball in the unit and pressed the on/off/ button to start the preset 30 minute heating cycle.
The unit automatically shut itself off at the end of the cycle, I opened it and wiped the now oil covered ball off, turning the ball over I replaced it into the unit and started a second heating cycle.
At the end of the cycle I removed the again oil covered ball and sprayed some ball cleaner on it and wiped away the oil. Thee ball was now clean and the surface “tacky†again. I'll give it 5 out of 5 stars!
Pros:
1: The heating unit is at the bottom of the Revivor, I like this because since heat naturally rises I believe the ball will heat more evenly (This is like my DIY one). Similar devices heat from the top down so have to force the heated air downwards.
2: Construction is fairly solid and of good quality.
3: The big ball cup in this can be taken out and used on your table if you need to have something to set the ball on.
4: It's made in sections which allow for easy cleaning and ball placement.
5: Price is lower than other similar units.
Cons:
1: This is a small nitpick the lid is just a little fiddly when you put it on, you might have jiggle it around so it seats fully.
How I reached my 5 star rating:
I've tested the Phoenix's operation for eight hours and with 7 balls from different mfg's, Checking internal and ball surface temperatures during this period.
I started with a internal temperature test (using a digital thermometer w/probe ) without any ball in it. Over a half hour cycle the temperature slowly rose to a final temperature of 153° which I figured was within the operating range. With a ball in the unit, the internal temperature still reached 153°.
(Note: I found probe placement could affect readings. Such as against the cylinder wall.)
Using a low cost IR thermometer ball surface temperatures measurements fell in the 120°-130° range which is about where you want it and where most other home revivor type machines reach.
This a new product from Pyramid Bowling and functions well IMO. I have several of Pyramids products and they are decent also and Bowlingball.com and Pyramid Bowling are pretty good about helping customers if they have a problem or questions about a product.
