Help finding a new ball

[tj4ndirish]

Ok, first post her, so be nice to me..........

I am currently using the Storm XXX Factor and the MoRich Awesome Hook. I don't know any of the specs other than a balance hole. When I have my balls drilled, I have them drilled as strong as possible.

I finished the last 18 weeks or so of last season avg 218, final book was a hair under 209. That was using the Storm. I've had a few good games this year with the ball and a few series, had my average up to 202. In the last 3 weeks (have to add that the first week my back went out) my average has slipped to 198.

My bowling style, well, I don't throw finger tip, I throw semi-finger tip, where I have the ball resting just above the knuckle on my thumb, I throw it around the mid 17mph's. I have a lot of rotation, not as much as some of the young punks, but still good revs. I stand left foot 8-9 boards left of center, throw over 15 out to anywhere from 6-10.

I don't know if this could be the problem..................but, the lanes have been farting around with the oil pattern, don't know what pattern as it is top secret. The first 15 or so weeks was how it was last season, looking on the net, it looks like the reverse block, the one they fart around with has the lanes flooded. I have to move right at least 10 boards and then throw it straight up 8.

Last week it seemed to be back to the reverse block, I was unable to get the ball back to the pocket, either of them.

So, after a long drawn out post. What i'd like is to find a ball that is going to cut through the oil that I can stroke and crush the pocket.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

[PSBA10]

First off, welcome to the site.

Just a thought: when was the last time you removed the oil from your balls? I suggest the hot water soak with a little dish washing liquid. This should return most of the ball's performance.

If you still want to replace your equipment look at this site. http://home.earthlink.net/~litefrozen/index.htm open the link ball reviews. This spreadsheet compares all balls manufactured over the last number of years. You can find the specs to yours and compare them with other listed balls. This will give you a good idea how they will perform with a comparable drilling to what you now have.

Good luck.

[tj4ndirish]

First off, welcome to the site.

Just a thought: when was the last time you removed the oil from your balls? I suggest the hot water soak with a little dish washing liquid. This should return most of the ball's performance.

Good luck.

Thanks for the welcome.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME about the hot water and dish soap? I've never heard that before. Only thing I have ever heard is baking the ball. I've done that once, but not for long. You can bet your sweet patunia that I will be giving my balls a bath this weekend.

Do I put it in super hot water or bath temp water? Soak it completely? I'd have to do it in my bathtub since my kitchen sink isn't deep enough.

I will check out the link you gave me.

Thanks.

[Graaille]

One method on the hot water bath - if you have a five gallon bucket, put it in the bathtub and then fill it up halfway w/pure hot water. (if you have a digital thermometer, make sure the water doesn't get above 130 degrees.) Put the ball in with as many holes as you can manage pointing down. Add a decent squirt of dishwashing soap, and turn the water flow down to a thin stream - still hot water only. Walk away. Come back 30-45 minutes later, take the ball out, wipe it off thoroughly, and set it aside to cool down slowly (The faster it cools down, the more likely it is to potentially crack).

Another method - if you know that your hot water temp isn't above 130 degrees, put the ball/balls in the dishwasher (soap is optional) and run it on it's longest setting, must make sure that it's set for air dry. Once it finishes, don't open it for a couple of hours - this will allow for the balls to cool at a slower pace which is a good thing.

[PSBA10]

Here is a post I made in another thread.

There is a great debate about baking the ball or the hot water bath. Here is my take on the subject.

The coverstock of a modern bowling ball is designed to be porous. The lane oil is absorbed into the cover thus allowing more friction between the ball and the lane.

In order to get the oil back out of the ball something with a lesser viscosity will need to penetrate the balls porosity and displace the oil. This is why I advocate the hot water bath. Heat alone will not displace the oil. Yes, it will enlarge the balls pores and capillary action will pull some of the oil out, but heat alone will not displace the oil. Hot water with a little dishwashing soap will both open the balls pores and penetrate the surface. As we all know oil will float on water, thus the water will displace the oil.

Once the ball is removed from the soak, it needs to be wiped off and set out and the water that has penetrated the ball allowed to dry. I leave mine out for 24 hours or so before I use them.

The Revivor system works better than just heat alone for 2 reasons. First the ball is spinning. This will create centrifugal force which will tend to move the oil out of the ball and it is being continuously wiped, at least the one I saw working. Coupled with a regulated heat source it is much better than simply baking the ball. I have never compared the Revivor results against the hot water bath.

What I use is a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 filled with hot tap water and some dishwashiing liquid (the dishwashing liquid further reduces the water's viscosity). I allow the ball to soak for about 10 minutes rotating the ball several times during the soak. Then I wipe it off. I repeat this procedure twice then I allow the ball to "dry" out of the bag for about 24 hours to make sure the water has evaporated.

You will be surprised at the results.

Let us know how it works for you.

[tj4ndirish]

Well, unfortunately this was posted too late today. League was tonight. Another bad night........170, 170, 226.

Wife has a bowling function Saturday night for her office. I will be doing the soak tommorrow after I get off work.

Is the guideline for temp the 130? I don't know how hot my water heater is, but I have the thermometer. The last poster said soak 10 minutes and rotating, is that 10 minutes rotate and another 10 minutes or just a total of 10 minutes with several rotations?

The soak does make sense as the dish soap will tend to pull the oil out. One more question, how much dish soap and do I mix it to sud up?

Thanks.

[PSBA10]

I just use hot tap water. I have a tankless water heater that is set to 118°. That temperature does a fine job.

I allow the ball to soak for 10 minutes. I rotate it several times during the soak so that the oil below the equator of the ball will have a chance to float up and out of the ball. I don't know if it is required, but that is what I do.

I put about a teaspoon full of Dawn in the bucket. Normally it does not suds up. Again I don't think it really matters.

[Phil]

just kind of an add on question to this thread...... how often should this be done to your ball??

[Graaille]

Depends. For noted oil drinkers (Hammer soaker covers, Cells, etc...) it might be every 40-50 games, for less thirsty balls you might go every 75-100 games. It just depends on how much you throw it, and when you start to notice a decent amount of ball reaction loss.

Of course, if you combine this with a quick resurfacing/coverstock refresh on a spinner - so much the better.

[PSBA10]

I don't know of an actual "approved" schedule. It depends on the conditions you see on the lanes. If you bowl with the lanes flooded, it will need to be done more often. I bowl on a THS one night and about twice the oil on another. I soak my equipment around 30 to 35 games, or if I see a loss in reaction sometimes sooner. Typically this is once a month.

[GarretG]

I am 60 just had a Bedlam And a Total bedlam drilled. The Total is awesome in heavy oil and the Bedlam is not a slouch either. There is about 6 to 8 boards difference between the two. I am at the 190s but i have been out of it for years. I am partial to Columbia my boy has a full swing great reacting also, but too much for me i am just tweaner

[bowl1820]

Hot water and dawn method

Heres one of the original instructions for doing the bath.

MoRich Bowling Ball Cleaning (Updated Jul 2009) (http://www.morichbowling.com/BowlingBalls/BowlingBall_Cleaning.htm)

In the event your Pro Shop does not have a Revivor Oven, your next best approach is to simply give it a "Hot Water Bath." Though the process is easy, don't rush the steps! So here we go...

1. Have the ball wet sanded to about 400-grit to open the cover's pores.
2. Fill a tub or bucket with hot tap water so that it just covers the submerged ball.
3. Dip the ball in the water and when you remove it notice how the water is being repelled by the oil.
4. Squirt about 2-3 teaspoons of Dawn dish detergent (the foamy version lathers and extracts dirt and grime the best) on the ball cover and literally massage it into the coverstock.
5. Place the ball back in the water and let it set for a few minutes.
6. Rub the surface while under water with a clean towel.
7. Remove the ball from the soapy water and rinse it with hot water.
8. Rinse the tub (or bucket) clean and refill it with hot water (no soap).
9. Place the ball back in the water and rub it again with a clean cloth. You will probably notice that a soapy film will appear in the water. This is residue that was trapped in the coverstock (much like the oil and dirt was) and the cloth is helping to remove it from the surface.
10. Repeat steps 5 through 9 until no soapy residue remains, This make 2 or 3 times to achieve, depending upon the amount of soap that was used. You don't want to use too much soap, but you need enough to cut through the oil and dirt.
11. After the soap has been completely removed from the coverstock, towel dry it, and allow the ball to further air dry at room temperature.
12. Have the ball wet sanded with 400-grit paper and then follow the steps to bring it back to its factory finish as described in our resurfacing section.

[jakester]

Soaking works well... your pro shop should have one of the professional ball ovens, they usually take a couple of hours if you haven't done it before. I have a gas fireplace and set my equipment in front of that keeping a close eye on it so it won't overheat. I wipe it with water/dish soap to cut the oil frequently while it's heating. Also, clean your equepment as soon as you get done bowling to help prevent oil from soaking in.

Ask your center manager if they've changed their oil or stipper or stripping schedule. It make a huge difference on theh backend, if threy're not stripping the lanes frequently or have changed the amount of stripper/water solution.

[tj4ndirish]

Ok, so I did the soak thing. Went to a new house that I've bowling in once, they were holding a charity thing. Bowled 168 first game and 200 second. Had to slow the ball down, and had to move right.

Maybe I did it wrong as I did it before some of you posted your methods. I do not have a ball spinner, so it is impossible for me to sand before soaking and then polishing. Plus my home lanes are a 40 minute drive, so making the trip there is inconvenient. I guess I can go to a local pro shop.

Can I use a scouring pad on the surface as I'm "rubbing" in the dish soap?

I'm just getting more and more frustrated with the ball reaction. In 5 weeks, I've dropped 6 pins in average. I know they've changed the oil pattern, but I just can't fight through it.

By the end of practice I know for a fact that I'm going to have a bad night and by half way through the first game, i'm ready to go home.

I'm the anchor on my team and I just feel like I'm letting my team down.

[tj4ndirish]

Update..................

So, I decided to try the soak one more time. I put it in hot water and soaked it.............I flipped it around and looked at it, when I flipped it to the bottom, I noticed on my track that the lines were very pronounced, put my finger in and rubbed off a lot of oil. I let it soak several minutes, pulled it out and poured dish soap onto a scouring pad and wiped down the ball. Then soaked it some more and then rinsed. I then rubbed it with alcohol.

So now I'm anxious to see what happens Thursday night..........of course as long as we don't get snowed out.

[Graaille]

If it's really oil soaked, you might have to do the hot water bath multiple times to really get it pulled out. When I buy a used ball that has a reputation for being an oil drinker, 6-10 soaks in a row is not uncommon for me before I throw it the first time - even if the person I buy it from swears that they are good about cleaning/maintaining their equipment. The first 2-3 soaks may only pull a small percentage of the oil out. Don't rush it, and after you finish the bathtime regime - remember to allow the ball to dry out thoroughly before you use it. You won't have time to soak it again before Thurs, but over the weekend - if you're still noticing a loss of reaction - pure hot water (as long as it's not above 130 degrees F) and a squirt of soap, let it sit till it's warm - rinse ball and bucket, and repeat until there isn't any oil that comes out of the track area or is sitting on top of the water.

Alternately, you can put the bucket in the bathtub, fill it 2/3 of the way full w/the hot water and detergant, put the ball in, then leave the hot water going at an extremely slow pace - just enough to keep the water hot. Come back 45 minutes later, pull the ball out, dry it off and set it aside for 48-72 hours in a warm area.

[Stormed1]

At seminars for the brands under the Ebonite umbrella Ron Hickland said 40-50 games for a hot water bath. And 100 for a hook again or rejuvination

[tj4ndirish]

So one more question. When I get to the lanes tomorrow night, should I take my ball to the pro shop and have them put a sand on it? Or just play it as is?

[Graaille]

Play it as is. If you have in mind the finished grit that you want the ball surface to be, you could visit the pro shop after you bowl, but after the hot water bath, you'd then have to go back to the pro shop in a few days to have them adjust the surface back up and polish the ball (if that's how you had it.)

[tj4ndirish]

Ok, so another night of bowling, but with some improvement.

I warmed up with my Storm Triple XXXTreme and did ok. With loft, I was able to get back to the pocket. I was extremely excited after my first shot in warm up as the ball found the pocket and killed the pins, however, last week was the same way. I talked to our "sub" who is an excellent bowler and he suggested the loft and it worked.

I also talked to the Pro Shop guy and he told me to bring the MoRich Awesome Hook down to have it sanded, so I did.

I started game one with the Storm, I think one strike in the first 4 frames. So, being adventurous, I pulled out the MoRich. Now, for some reason I tend to get mental blocks and am unable to swing my arm to get the ball out on the lane. First ball was straight up 17 to pocket for a strike, second ball was straight up 19 for a head pin strike, third was up 19 again, this time Brooklyn..........you guessed it, strike. While I was happy with the strikes, I was upset with the mental errors.

So, I put the Morich under the rack for about a game, I did ok with the Storm, but not 100% where I wanted to be. With the Morich, I finally got rid of the mental farts and was able to put it over 15 out to 8-10 and it rolled to the pocket. I was happy with the way the ball was doing.

So, after the long post..................I bowled 198, 201 and 221 for a 620. Back to where I want to be.

Thanks for all the help you guys have been. I'm going to do another post about another ball that I'm thinking about.