Cracked Bowling Ball: Climate Effects | USBC Bowling Academy

[bowl1820]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d29J_eWUAt0

[Mike White]

They blame filler material for expanding at extreme temperatures.....

I blame the coverstock for trying to compress at room temperature.

I've had about 6 balls that have shrunk below the minimum USBC legal diameter, one had never been drilled and never left the display wall, and others came in to be plugged. Those weren't overly sanded, the coverstock simply compressed the filler material.

As for balls cracking, again I've have a few crack while sitting on the display wall. In those cases the filler material resisted compression, and the coverstock found a weak spot to start cracking.

Think about it, have you had a spare (plastic) ball crack anything like a resin ball?
It was in the same bag as the resin ball, so it lived thru the same temperature swings.

[Tony]

I had a Quantum ball a few years back that cracked while sitting in my basement, a buddy used it for 10-20 games didn't like it and gave it to me
was on a shelf in the basement never moved and was at an average temp between 50-65 the whole time. It had to be something with the ball
itself as it was never exposed to any temp extremes.
I would tend to agree with the cover stock shrinking, could moisture or more correctly lack of moisture be part of the cause?

[bowl1820]

I had a Quantum ball a few years back that cracked while sitting in my basement, a buddy used it for 10-20 games didn't like it and gave it to me
was on a shelf in the basement never moved and was at an average temp between 50-65 the whole time. It had to be something with the ball
itself as it was never exposed to any temp extremes.
I would tend to agree with the cover stock shrinking, could moisture or more correctly lack of moisture be part of the cause?

" on a shelf in the basement never moved" That's one of the thing's they say you shouldn't do is let them sit static for long periods.

There's a laundry list of theories on what causes a ball to crack, whether it's the filler expanding or the cover compressing or moisture evaporating from the ball etc.

It can can be one, none, all or a combo of reasons. The thing is just do what you can to prevent it.

Some of the main things are make sure the holes are beveled, store at a constant temp, rotate them every few weeks and if your going to storage for a long time wrap them with plastic wrap or put in a plastic bag so they are not exposed to the air.

Will any of these guarantee they won't crack "NO".

You just got to live with it these days, Balls can crack.


Here's a link to a thread about long term storage:
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/17250-Long-term-Ball-storage-and-cracking?highlight=long+term+ball+storage

[Tony]

" on a shelf in the basement never moved" That's one of the thing's they say you shouldn't do is let them sit static for long periods.

There's a laundry list of theories on what causes a ball to crack, whether it's the filler expanding or the cover compressing or moisture evaporating from the ball etc.

It can can be one, none, all or a combo of reasons. The thing is just do what you can to prevent it.

Some of the main things are make sure the holes are beveled, store at a constant temp, rotate them every few weeks and if your going to storage for a long time wrap them with plastic wrap or put in a plastic bag so they are not exposed to the air.

Will any of these guarantee they won't crack "NO".

You just got to live with it these days, Balls can crack.


Here's a link to a thread about long term storage:
http://www.bowlingboards.com/threads/17250-Long-term-Ball-storage-and-cracking?highlight=long+term+ball+storage

Thanks, that's good info to have, my newer balls get used pretty often and are kept in the upstairs closet. To be honest I had forgotten about
that one and when I went to see if I could find a older ball to give to a friend starting out I found it.
I'll have to be more careful with the next ball(s) that get out out regular use.