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.