My ball has been stored in mini-storage for years, is it safe to use?

[tnedator]

Hey guys, a newbie here with a question.

I used to bowl regularly, but eventually got sick of going home smelling like smoke so bad I had to leave my clothes in the garage (no offense to smokers, just something my wife didn't like).

Anyway, I stopped bowling in a league probably 8-10 years ago. My ball, I Rhino I believe, has been in mini-storage in Arkansas that whole time. Outside temps typically range from high 20's/low 30's in the winter, and 90's to 105 or so in the summer. There have been a handful of times it's been below the high 20's in the winter. I have no idea how hot or cold it's been in the mini-storage building.

A friend of mine just put a bowling alley in his house, so I am planning to start bowling again. My questions are:

Is it likely the ball was damaged by the heat or cold?

If so, what does the damage do? Since this is a new alley, my biggest concern would be anything that could damage his lanes, like the ball breaking apart of something like that.

I will eventually get a new ball, but since I haven't bowled for so long, I was hoping to get back up to speed with mine. See how he's going to be oiling the lanes, and then get with a pro (a couple hours away for the closes) and get a new ball.

Should I be woried about the damage being so bad that it could damage his lane/ball return equipment in any way?

Also, if it is safe to use, is there anything cleaning/conditioning wise I should do when I pull it out of storage?

Thanks

[J Anderson]

I doubt if your ball would damage your friend's alley.
Any damage to your ball will be obvious when you take it out of storage, and I doubt if there will be any. What happens up here in CT is that bowlers take their ball from the nice warm bowling center and then put it in the ice cold trunk of their car until the next week when they take it out to find a nice big crack in it. In mini-storage the temperature change should be much slower. the only effect may be that the 100+ degree days may have pulled some oil from the ball which would be a good thing.

[DanielMareina]

Look for any cracks coming out of the fingers or thumb. That is really the only thing to worry about. There is a very small chance that gravity pushing on the ball in the same place for years can seperate the core from fill material. I have seen it a few times, and it makes the ball roll very oddly. Most the time you won't have to worry about that though. Good luck in your league!

[Trex]

I bought a Hammer blue urethane bowling ball from a guy who had it along with many other bowling balls in his back yard.

These balls had been sitting out side in cold, heat, rain, and snow....for two years!!

I bought the blue Hammer, a Danger Zone Tour, and a Hammer 3D offset super hook, and took these balls home and cleaned them up, then let them sit for about one month inside my home.

I then took these balls and put them on my ball spinner and gave them a light resurface. Then took them to the lanes to see how they rolled. Each ball worked as good as new as I have had these same balls new and remember how they reacted.

I was surprised that they still reacted as new after sitting out side for so long. before that these same balls had been sitting inside a burnt down bowling center. This guy bought the place and rebuilt it, and a guy who helped with the clean up got these balls out of the trash as the new owner had threw them away.

I still use these balls and they work just fine. :)

Good luck with yours. :)