win a ball from Bowling.com

Author Topic: Long term Ball storage and cracking  (Read 16556 times)

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Long term Ball storage and cracking
« on: August 23, 2014, 03:17:48 PM »
Was over at BBE and they had some interesting links posted for a blog post by Jeff Richgels about balls cracking and a article in the Fall 2008 edition of Pro Shop Insider written by Rich Jacobson.

Click here for The 11th Frame: The Ebonite article that tells you how to keep resin balls from cracking – and how I got it wrong

Click here for the Ebonite Article

The main points of Rich Jacobson's "Ask Ebonite.com" article were that while there are other factors in balls cracking, the main reason for it happening during long term storage were gravity and leaving a ball in a static position for a long time.

The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to rotate the ball a quarter turn every few weeks.

The second factor is open air exposure, which has to do with the curing process of the balls. While the ball surface is fully cured when it leaves the factory, They will still continue to cure for month or even years.

The recommendation to help reduce the chance of cracking is to store the ball in a ziplock bag or wrapped with plastic wrap or a plastic bag. You want as tight a fit as you can get, to insulate the ball from the outside air and store at room temperature.

While this might not stop all cracking totally, it might could help reduce it.

Thinking about it, balls do typically have a plastic bag around them when they come from the factory.

I made a joke one time about storing balls in a vacuum antigravity chamber I guess I wasn't far off!

Hmmm Ziplock has them bags with the vacuum pump I wonder




« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 08:22:31 PM by Aloarjr810 »
Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

 

charlest

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 24523
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #1 on: August 23, 2014, 07:33:53 PM »
This is all very odd.
I have many drilled bowling balls that I am not currently using. They sit, sealed in their original plastic bags, in their original boxes, on a wooden shelf, and I never rotate them at all. Yet none of them have cracked. This is over a period of 13 - 15 years. Am I just lucky? or is this just a stab in the dark?

(Correct your link; it has an extra "*" at the end of the url.)
« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 07:38:43 PM by charlest »
"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #2 on: August 23, 2014, 08:24:44 PM »
(Correct your link; it has an extra "*" at the end of the url.)
Fixed them both
It wasn't extra "*" (at least it didn't show here) the insert hyperlink added a whole extra set http://'s on both links
« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 08:28:51 PM by Aloarjr810 »
Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

itsallaboutme

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2001
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #3 on: August 23, 2014, 08:38:52 PM »
Scientific data or it's just another guys opinion.

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #4 on: August 23, 2014, 08:41:53 PM »
Am I just lucky? or is this just a stab in the dark?

As to that I don't know.

This isn't the first time I've heard of rotating sitting balls. I know ball's get flat spots if they set too long on a hard surface without moving them, I've seen that myself.

So pressure building up on a spot contributing to cracking seems reasonable.




Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #5 on: August 23, 2014, 08:44:17 PM »
Scientific data or it's just another guys opinion.

Well if you read the article it said it came from Ebonite . so you know as much as I do.
« Last Edit: August 23, 2014, 08:50:39 PM by Aloarjr810 »
Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

TDC57

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1273
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #6 on: August 24, 2014, 12:49:44 AM »
I was always told to keep balls in their original plastic bag, in their box. I have also rotated them occasionally, keeping them from sitting on the area the holes are, so they don't get undo pressure on them in a weaker area. I also bought foam rubber from Walmart and put it at the bottom of the box so, the ball never really rests on the bottom of the box. Has kept me from having too many problems.

MI 2 AZ

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8150
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #7 on: August 24, 2014, 02:44:23 AM »
I've been storing unused bowling balls in plastic bags since at least 2006 and haven't had one of them crack yet. Don't really rotate all of them though, only the ones I pull out to use on occasion.  I posted a couple of times about it but I was usually a thread killer.  :)   
I obviously had the wrong idea of the balls drying out instead of still curing.


http://www.ballreviews.com/track/real-coverstock-death-t134760.0.html;msg533251#msg533251

http://www.ballreviews.com/brunswick/balls-cracked-in-half-even-stored-safely-t138352.0.html;msg554390#msg554390
« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 02:51:38 AM by MI 2 AZ »
_________________________________________
Six decades of league bowling and still learning.

ABC/USBC Lifetime Member since Aug 1995.

Juggernaut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6498
  • Former good bowler, now 3 games a week house hack.
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #8 on: August 24, 2014, 07:04:06 AM »
 First of all, I want to say that I have several balls in storage, some of which haven't even been drilled yet.

 That being said, what real good is a ball if it is in storage, and what have you really lost if a ball in storage cracks open?

 If it was all that great, shouldn't it be in your bag instead of your closet( or wherever you store them)?

 And, if it is a great piece, but you aren't using it, it either wasn't all that great, or you've found something even better that replaced it, haven't you?

 I have had balls I was using to crack in my bag, and I knew the loss. But, I have had balls crack while in storage and figured if I wasn't using it enough to even know for sure when it happened, it wasn't that big of a loss.

 As an aside, I am old enough to remember when the ONLY place that had balls in "storage" was the pro shop at the bowling center.
Learn to laugh, and love, and smile, cause we’re only here for a little while.

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #9 on: August 24, 2014, 08:05:19 AM »

 That being said, what real good is a ball if it is in storage, and what have you really lost if a ball in storage cracks open?

 If it was all that great, shouldn't it be in your bag instead of your closet( or wherever you store them)?


Did you read the Ebonite Pro Shop Insider article?

The why of the storage was explained in it and was referring mainly to those who didn't bowl over the summer. Which a lot of people do.

"This happens a lot overtime summer months when most bowlers store their bowling equipment from
June until September when their fall leagues begin. They open their bag and are surprised to see a crack
that wasn’t there a few months prior."


« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 08:10:29 AM by Aloarjr810 »
Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

Juggernaut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6498
  • Former good bowler, now 3 games a week house hack.
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #10 on: August 24, 2014, 11:01:13 AM »
Yes, being the ball idiot that I am, I have read many articles about modern balls, and why they crack, and how to prevent it, including this one.

Learn to laugh, and love, and smile, cause we’re only here for a little while.

Aloarjr810

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2149
  • Alley Katz Strike!
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #11 on: August 24, 2014, 11:45:23 AM »
Yes, being the ball idiot that I am, I have read many articles about modern balls, and why they crack, and how to prevent it, including this one.

I'm sorry if my reply offended you and I wasn't saying you were a idiot.

It just seemed your questions of why anyone would store a ball, implied there was no good reason to store ball to begin with so why care if it cracked.

I thought there was the possibility you may have only read the first article and not the second. So I asked

Then I just pointed out that the Pro Shop Insider article mentioned bowlers storing them over the summer when they didn't use them waiting for the fall leagues to start. Which has nothing to do with whether they were good or bad balls

Again I'm sorry if my reply offended you.

I forgot this was ballreviews and you have to be careful how you phrase anything lest someone take offense.


« Last Edit: August 24, 2014, 11:51:16 AM by Aloarjr810 »
Aloarjr810
----------
Click For My Grip

Juggernaut

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6498
  • Former good bowler, now 3 games a week house hack.
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #12 on: August 24, 2014, 12:00:17 PM »
No, I know that. The term idiot is one that I chose for myself because I spent so much time and effort in learning everything I could about bowling for so long, thinking that one day it would amount to something.

 It did not.

 But, I do know a lot more about bowling than most people would ever suspect, or believe.
Learn to laugh, and love, and smile, cause we’re only here for a little while.

MI 2 AZ

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 8150
Re: Long term Ball storage and cracking
« Reply #13 on: August 24, 2014, 12:55:01 PM »
Storage - I can't answer for everyone, but for myself, I bowl on THS and a sport league and I have found some balls work better on THS and others on sport patterns.  Our house changes the THS every so often so sometimes I will find an older ball that works better when a lane pattern change is made.  This year, we will be using three patterns in leagues plus a new pattern every three weeks for the sport league. 

I was also experimenting with different layouts to see what patterns/conditions they would work for me on so if they don't work currently, they go into short term storage until the pattern changes and I can try it again.  I also once found a ball had cracked over the summer when I was not bowling.

_________________________________________
Six decades of league bowling and still learning.

ABC/USBC Lifetime Member since Aug 1995.