Yes. Oil will kill a ball more than you think. I know this because it happened to me twice.
Dead Ball!
I have read many posts where people talked about their ball being dead or not performing anymore. Is this realistic? Does every ball "die" at some point after it soaks up too much oil? Or are their other reasons for a dead ball?
Yes. Oil will kill a ball more than you think. I know this because it happened to me twice.
Yes, Resin balls (especially if they are poorly maintained) can absorb enough oil to affect their performance.Originally Posted by santos314
As for Urethane while they too absorb oil, They don't particularly experience "ball death" as it happens with Resin balls.
And It's not a concern with plastic at all.
Right handed Stroker, high track ,about 13 degree axis tilt. PAP is located 5 9/16” over 1 3/4” up.Speed ave. about 14 mph at the pins. Medium rev’s.High Game 300, High series 798
"Talent without training is nothing." Luke Skywalker
All balls die. Some very quickly I've seen people claim ball death after 50 games but I haven't experienced it myself that quickly but I don't buy oil monsters either. If you wipe your ball, clean it after use, resurface it frequently most balls will last a long time and maintain adequate performance. Some bowlers do none of the above and they are okay with their balls for years others do all the above and it still dies. Some of it is in peoples heads too.
I am a proud member of Bowlingboards.com bowling forums and ball contest winner
Current arsenal
900 Global Badger Claw - Radical Ridiculous Pearl - Spare Ball Ebonite T Zone
Lol....thats kind of what I was wondering, no better excuse to get a new ball than "my ball died".
My Black Widow "died". Very well taken care of, refinished every 12 games, cooked every 20, per PSO instructions. Got to a point where the oil just wouldn't come out any more, and wouldn't finish the way it was a year earlier. It was my heavy oil ball, but will be relegated to Medium use now.
Old guy with power (15.5-16; 325). Current arsenal--Storm Summit, RotoGrip Idol Helios, Storm Phaze III, Storm SureLock (retired), Storm IQ Tour Nano and Motiv Rebel tank (spare/dry). High sanctioned game - 300 (5). High sanctioned series - 856. A.V. 300-s - 8. Longest string - 25.
2024/2025 YTD highs--High game-248; high series-674
I've had this happen with a few storm/roto balls. First one was a Rotogrip Defiant. Awesome ball for 30 games, after that, I couldn't get it to move to save my life. Tried baking, resurface, you name it. Went STRAIGHT. I then had a Storm IQ Tour Pearl (gold). Same thing, great ball, hooked a ton for 30 games. After that, I could cover 10 pins with it. Baked and resurfaced it and it gained just a tiny bit of life back, but not anywhere near how it was OOB. I still throw storm, still keep the same cleaning schedule (wipe every shot, clean every 3-6 games). Have yet to bake any of them or even resurface other than the occasional light coat of polish to get some length out of my Timeless. And they still all roll how they did OOB. Blows my mind.
- Current Arsenal: Storm Timeless, Storm Phaze II, Storm Pitch Black, Storm Drive, Rotogrip Hot Cell, Rotogrip Show Off, DV8 Turmoil Pearl
- High Game: 300 (3 11 in a row) / High Series: 799
- Current Average: 202 / PAP: 5" over, 1/8" up
- Rev Rate: 425rpm / 2-Hands
Ball life?
I wish I would have saved my original Black Hammer from the 80's. Can a 30 year old ball go bad over time? I know they could crack but can they rot or dry out? I know the Hammer was not a high performance ball but I was curious.
You already have a thread (Dead Ball) basically about this same topic another isn't needed.
Posts merged
Last edited by bowl1820; 10-25-2017 at 08:58 PM.
Right handed Stroker, high track ,about 13 degree axis tilt. PAP is located 5 9/16” over 1 3/4” up.Speed ave. about 14 mph at the pins. Medium rev’s.High Game 300, High series 798
"Talent without training is nothing." Luke Skywalker
Sorry... LOL
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