I bought a Seismic Equalizer when they were brand new. Got it drilled shortly after receiving it and used it less than 5 times total.. meaning 5 visits to a bowling alley or less and an average of 3 games per visit.. so less than 15 games.

Anyway, I stored it in the box it came in and stuck it in my closet. I hadn't used it in 6 months or a year. I didn't have a bowling bag for it, because I had got out of bowling a long time ago and no longer had any equipment.

To my surprise the ball was cracked!

I've got nothing heavy placed on top of it. I had not moved it.

I've never seen this before. I've had Columbia, MoRich, and a few others over the years, but none of them have ever cracked.. even after dropping one out a 2 story apartment building onto concrete/blacktop it didn't crack or even chip!

I usually like buying the oddball brands because usually nobody at the bowling alley has one and they're all like what's that? But I won't buy a Seismic ever again that's for sure.

I miss my MoRich Total Annihilation. That ball was fantastic!

I know of conflicting information regarding the storage of balls, but it all pertains to the same basic idea -

1. You need to rotate a drilled ball from time to time, even in a climate controlled environment. Gravity stresses the weakest part of a ball until it cracks somewhere around one of the holes. Rotating a ball from time to time helps more evenly distribute the stress.

2. Or maybe there is no need to rotate it, it just needs to be stored with the holes facing downwards. Storing a ball with the holes facing up is a great way to ensure it cracks as soon as possible, because as mentioned, gravity is literally trying to crack it open like a pistachio. 

There is a lot of pseudo-science (read: crap that's so ridiculous you would expect a child to come up with it) on this particular subject.  For an example, see #2 above.  You'll hear people say things like it's from too much super glue on your inserts, or storing bowling balls on wooden racks.  I've even seen someone blame it on using a hi-rev style.  It's up to you to decide what sounds reasonably plausible.  There is not, unfortunately, a universal, scientifically verified reason why bowling balls crack.

That said, the primary idea for why balls crack is that when exposed to heat or cold, the core/cover expand and contract at different rates, which can cause a ball to crack.  This is why it is recommended not to store bowling balls in extreme heat or cold, not to leave them in the car, etc.  This is based on actual science.  Another possibility is poor quality control in the plant where the ball was poured.  Impurities in the resin could potentially make it more likely to crack.  People like to immediately jump to this one, which I encourage you not to do.  I'm also not going to say there's any particular company to avoid...I'm just gonna say Visionary stuff seems to never crack, and they also had the absolute best quality control in the industry, bar none.

I don't know of any actual science that indicates rotating bowling balls is important, but I don't pay that much attention to the subject, so I might just be uneducated about it.  I don't see any downside to doing it, though, and it's not like it takes much effort.

There is a lot of pseudo-science (read: crap that's so ridiculous you would expect a child to come up with it) on this particular subject.  For an example, see #2 above.  You'll hear people say things like it's from too much super glue on your inserts, or storing bowling balls on wooden racks.  I've even seen someone blame it on using a hi-rev style.  It's up to you to decide what sounds reasonably plausible.  There is not, unfortunately, a universal, scientifically verified reason why bowling balls crack.

That said, the primary idea for why balls crack is that when exposed to heat or cold, the core/cover expand and contract at different rates, which can cause a ball to crack.  This is why it is recommended not to store bowling balls in extreme heat or cold, not to leave them in the car, etc.  This is based on actual science.  Another possibility is poor quality control in the plant where the ball was poured.  Impurities in the resin could potentially make it more likely to crack.  People like to immediately jump to this one, which I encourage you not to do.  I'm also not going to say there's any particular company to avoid...I'm just gonna say Visionary stuff seems to never crack, and they also had the absolute best quality control in the industry, bar none.

I don't know of any actual science that indicates rotating bowling balls is important, but I don't pay that much attention to the subject, so I might just be uneducated about it.  I don't see any downside to doing it, though, and it's not like it takes much effort.

Very well described sir, most of these equations play a factor.

Really?  I never knew that.  Thanks for the info!

I have lost 20+ over the last 4 to 41/2 years. Yes, I own/owned a lot of balls.
All were first drills and only about 25% had a weight hole.
I have to admit since putting them is plastic bags and rotating them every month or two, the number of balls cracking completely has diminished significantly from what it was for me.  With one exception, I had my 900 Global After Dark solid crack completely a few weeks ago, but it was replaced under the warranty.

Mayday, Mayday this is Tucson calling.  We need a new driller.  Hurry!!

Maybe not like a pistachio, but if the holes are up, you're putting the stress risers in a bad location. 

The three most prominent causes of cracking are bad glue placement, lack of bevel and improper storage.  Keeping a ball in the bag and box it came in will reduce the effect of humidity changes or the ball "drying out" and I'm not 100% sure on rotating the ball, but it can't hurt, and if it can't hurt, there's no reason not to do it if there's the slightest shred of evidence that it may help. 

On the glue placement, this is just straight science.  Very very little glue is actually needed to keep an insert in the ball, and if you place the glue at the top of the hole, it will get into the pores of the coverstock and since it doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the cover does, it will most of the time eventually cause cracking.  If not the big split that runs down the side of the ball, you'll get the small circular cracking just around the fingers or thumb. 

With the bevel, just more science again.  A more rounded hole spreads out direct shock as much as possible, while a sharper edge will fracture much more easily OR will allow cracks to start much more easily.  Temperature of course is a well known and accepted cause, so no need to elaborate on that. 

There are a lot of crazy off the wall excuses out there, but these that I've listed ARE legitimate AND enough so that sharp holes, poor storage, and/or glue placement can void a warranty.  Usually they'll only void stuff due to lack of bevel because the other is harder to see through a picture, or just impossible to tell, but all will cause a ball to crack consistently. 

Quote from: shakezilla9 on August 06, 2019, 02:00:08 AM

2. Or maybe there is no need to rotate it, it just needs to be stored with the holes facing downwards. Storing a ball with the holes facing up is a great way to ensure it cracks as soon as possible, because as mentioned, gravity is literally trying to crack it open like a pistachio. 

I would love to know how storing a bowling ball holes down reduces the effect of gravity "literally trying to crack it open like a pistachio".  Please include a vector diagram.