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Author Topic: Cracked balls  (Read 18409 times)

BeerLeague

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Cracked balls
« on: September 11, 2018, 08:54:09 PM »
In the past 12 months I have lost a Ride, a Snap Lock, and an iQ Tour.  They all cracked all the way around the ball.  They are stored in my finished, climate controlled basement on a ball rack when not in use.  I do not leave gear in the car overnite.

WTF is with all the Storm stuff randomly cracking?
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BowlingForDonuts

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2018, 09:07:51 PM »
More and more I think it is just bad luck.  Supposedly wood racks are bad but I use them too (along with a totes for some of my balls).  I haven't had any crack including quite a few Storms balls since I got back in bowling but only been a few years.  I rotate all mine every two weeks but probably just voodoo on my part.  Supposedly the best way to store is in plastic bags in a ball box which I do for my NIB but everything with holes I like to throw at least every now and then.  More and more I think it just comes down to luck as long as not in car in cold or something.  Now loss of ball reaction I find is mostly user driven but cracking is so darn random seems like.  I also live in the middle of the Sonoran desert so climate may play role too.

(edit:  I did have one Storm ball a Shift crack long ago but I stored it in a roller bag for like 5+ years in the garage without moving it.  Luckily the far better BVP Rampage was also in the bag and didn't crack and in fact threw a good set with it just yesterday.  Shift was a total dog so if had to have ball crack glad it was that one).
« Last Edit: September 12, 2018, 11:20:22 AM by BowlingForDonuts »
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don coyote

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2018, 10:10:41 PM »
I hate to add to this but after my Critical Theory, AND Virtual Gravity Nano cracked I have stopped buying high end Storm balls. I still have a Trauma ER and a Anarchy I use often but I have experienced no other cracks whatsoever.

Sorry, I forgot I had a Lane #1 Blue Death crack all the way around it. Even ripped the finger insert.
« Last Edit: September 11, 2018, 10:13:34 PM by don coyote »
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psycaz

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #3 on: September 13, 2018, 11:48:40 AM »
It’s become a right of summer in our house to have at least three crack. Company logo doesn’t matter. It’s mostly Storm here because we own a ton of Storm stuff. But have lost balls from other companies as well.

No rhyme or reason to where they’re stored.

Hell, my Hustle PRO cracked while I was bowling with it. No idea on that one. Cool day, ball was in my house all day. Only in the car for the 5 minute ride to the lanes. 3 shots in, crack.
« Last Edit: September 13, 2018, 11:50:19 AM by psycaz »
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Antec

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #4 on: September 15, 2018, 03:12:18 PM »
I was reading this thread last night and fearing the day a ball of mine cracked. I store all mine in the box, in a bag, with a cup in the box. Last week I got out my ball oven, and noticed one ball on the shelf exposed sitting on a cup!

I just started bowling again after 3 years off. So it has been sitting there for 3 years like that. I don't go in the closet that much as it is where I store my bowling and golf stuff, it is in my home office which is climate controlled.

So today I drove out to my pro shop to pick up some balls I had drilled up. Got home was just cleaning them up to put in my bag. Thought since I had a box, I would put the one sitting on the shelf in it for storage. So I grab it.

Cracked between the finger holes. My DV8 Endless Nightmare is done. Tonight I am going to go and inspect all balls in storage and will report any findings.
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Bowlaholic

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #5 on: September 15, 2018, 06:05:08 PM »
I have posted numerous times in the past on my ball cracking experiences.  However, I now believe I may hold the record...…..22 balls since 2014.
Most 900 Global, next Storm/Roto Grip, next Ebonite/Columbia 300, next Brunswick/Radical, and last Motiv.
All have been stored on ball cups, in plastic bags, and rotated every month in a climate controlled home.
Here is the latest cracking (today).  I throw 15 lbs. Three months ago, a friend of mine gave me three 14 lb. balls when he dropped down in weight.  I stored these for the future when I may have to drop down in weight.  One was a Roto Grip Rumble which he has kept in his garage all these years in blistering heat in Florida without a problem.
Today, I went to rotate it & others and discovered it was completely cracked all the way around the ball.  Moral of the story, apparently sitting for years in severe heat does not crack them, but move them to a climate controlled environment.....well you decide.  From here on going forward, I only buy Motiv, because I only had one Motive ball (Chronic Paranoia) crack out of many Motiv balls I have owned to date.
« Last Edit: September 15, 2018, 06:07:00 PM by Bowlaholic »
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ignitebowling

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #6 on: September 15, 2018, 06:53:55 PM »
Ive gone 15 + years with having a total of 3 balls crack.  In the last 2 years ive had 6+ crack.  All kept in doors in my office.  I do not use finger or thumb inserts.
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HankScorpio

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #7 on: September 15, 2018, 09:23:34 PM »
I bought a Marvel Pearl at the beginning of summer. Great ball... until it cracked at the end of summer.  I was able to replace it with another Marvel Pearl, which promptly cracked within 3 weeks. I’m heading to my PSO tomorrow to replace it, and I probably won’t replace from Utah.
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Antec

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #8 on: September 16, 2018, 06:39:30 AM »
Just got done going through my little collection. All are fine! I did find 3 NIB's that did not have cups in them, so I corrected that.

I did see some balls that I want to take out soon. On a funny note, the first box I grabbed the ball was a Hammer Cold Blood, did not even know I had it!
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charlest

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #9 on: September 16, 2018, 07:10:00 AM »
Quote from: Bowlaholic on September 15, 2018, 06:05:08 PM
I have posted numerous times in the past on my ball cracking experiences.  However, I now believe I may hold the record...…..22 balls since 2014.
Most 900 Global, next Storm/Roto Grip, next Ebonite/Columbia 300, next Brunswick/Radical, and last Motiv.
All have been stored on ball cups, in plastic bags, and rotated every month in a climate controlled home.
Here is the latest cracking (today).  I throw 15 lbs. Three months ago, a friend of mine gave me three 14 lb. balls when he dropped down in weight.  I stored these for the future when I may have to drop down in weight.  One was a Roto Grip Rumble which he has kept in his garage all these years in blistering heat in Florida without a problem.
Today, I went to rotate it & others and discovered it was completely cracked all the way around the ball.  Moral of the story, apparently sitting for years in severe heat does not crack them, but move them to a climate controlled environment.....well you decide.  From here on going forward, I only buy Motiv, because I only had one Motive ball (Chronic Paranoia) crack out of many Motiv balls I have owned to date.

It's not the sever heat nor the severe humidity that damages balls; it's the change in temperature or humidity that cracks them. The reason is simple: like a thermostat that uses the difference in expansion rates to show the rise in temperature, almost all balls consist of 3 different substances, core, filler and coverstock. All expand and contract at different rates. Most can handle that expansion and contraction, but when the rate is larger or quicker, something has to give. Thus the cracking.

Additionally, the old Lane Masters balls used to have their cores made of urethane. It was partly that that gave them so much hitting power, but since they were 2 piece balls: core and coverstock, their expansion and contraction rates were very similar. So they cracked much less often than 3 piece balls.
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BowlingForDonuts

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #10 on: September 16, 2018, 11:23:37 AM »
Quote from: charlest on September 16, 2018, 07:10:00 AM
Quote from: Bowlaholic on September 15, 2018, 06:05:08 PM
I have posted numerous times in the past on my ball cracking experiences.  However, I now believe I may hold the record...…..22 balls since 2014.
Most 900 Global, next Storm/Roto Grip, next Ebonite/Columbia 300, next Brunswick/Radical, and last Motiv.
All have been stored on ball cups, in plastic bags, and rotated every month in a climate controlled home.
Here is the latest cracking (today).  I throw 15 lbs. Three months ago, a friend of mine gave me three 14 lb. balls when he dropped down in weight.  I stored these for the future when I may have to drop down in weight.  One was a Roto Grip Rumble which he has kept in his garage all these years in blistering heat in Florida without a problem.
Today, I went to rotate it & others and discovered it was completely cracked all the way around the ball.  Moral of the story, apparently sitting for years in severe heat does not crack them, but move them to a climate controlled environment.....well you decide.  From here on going forward, I only buy Motiv, because I only had one Motive ball (Chronic Paranoia) crack out of many Motiv balls I have owned to date.

It's not the sever heat nor the severe humidity that damages balls; it's the change in temperature or humidity that cracks them. The reason is simple: like a thermostat that uses the difference in expansion rates to show the rise in temperature, almost all balls consist of 3 different substances, core, filler and coverstock. All expand and contract at different rates. Most can handle that expansion and contraction, but when the rate is larger or quicker, something has to give. Thus the cracking.

Additionally, the old Lane Masters balls used to have their cores made of urethane. It was partly that that gave them so much hitting power, but since they were 2 piece balls: core and coverstock, their expansion and contraction rates were very similar. So they cracked much less often than 3 piece balls.

+1.  Another edge to 2 piece balls like the Hy-Road, HB, Quantums is less likely to crack from what I have heard.  Same with especially old urethane (which is often 2 piece) which is why those are what go in the garage.
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MI 2 AZ

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #11 on: September 16, 2018, 12:02:12 PM »
Do thinner cover stocks play a role?

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bowler100

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #12 on: September 16, 2018, 12:12:58 PM »
Quote from: MI 2 AZ on September 16, 2018, 12:02:12 PM
Do thinner cover stocks play a role?
Possibly, but I have personally lost two hyroad pearls (one was crack terribly too) due to cracking and it has a thick coverstock construction. Thick covers can STILL crack!
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milorafferty

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #13 on: September 17, 2018, 09:28:19 AM »
Quote from: jkirkerx on September 16, 2018, 06:40:31 PM
I think it from the core swelling as it cures. Like on my Hyroad Pearl and Marvel S, the core swelled 3 years after drilling them. Had to pull the IT, plug 1/4” and drill again. But they sat in the box within a bag and when I broke them out To use, they swelled on me about a little over an 1/8”. So when the core swells you get That clean crack around the ball.





From everything I have seen, it's not the core swelling. It the cover contracting. I have yet to see a ball that has a diameter that is larger than legal, but I have several older balls(especially the old Lane Masters/Legends stuff) that have shrunk in size quite a bit.
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Bowlaholic

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Re: Cracked balls
« Reply #14 on: September 17, 2018, 10:40:02 AM »
My PSO would agree with Milo as that's always been his position on why balls crack.
It would seem to explain why the Roto Grip Rumble mentioned above cracked.  It sat for years while being used and after it was retired in the garage in extreme heat (Florida) with no problems.
Then when it was given to me, I put it in the air conditioned house and it cracked.  It took a few months, but regardless it cracked. I'm so use to this problem, l don't get upset anymore...………..who my kidding, it still makes me mad as h_ll!
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