Why Do Bowling Balls Crack? Today we take a deeper dive into why they crack and some simple steps you can take to help prevent it from happening.
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Great summary of your previews related videos. Question : are spare balls (either regular or clear spare balls) immune from this, as they are not porous and don’t contain plasticizer? Does light/heat damage them? Thanks !
You are correct plastic balls do not absorb and thus do not have the same issues.
I wanted to ask you that product(so far so clean) it won’t shine the ball as I apply it will it? And I have 18 bowling balls, of course I rotate my Arsenal(6 balls) every week but I have them on a old Brunswick wooden rack from the ally’ they were throwing it away so they gave it to me, it’s on wheels plus their are 4 golden tacks that make contact with the ball when you set it on the rack? Will that be ok?
And they are not outside they are in my sports room in the house. I thought the wooden rack would be ok, I will put the ball in 1 gal bags on rack’ but just wondering your opinion please what else can I or how to put these balls somewhere else? Can you help me?
So what size bag are you using to fit a bowling ball in?
Yes, I want to know the size of those zip lock bags.
2.5 gallon zip lock bags work well
Thank you for your reply.
Thanks for the reply.
Thanks for the video, i keep my bowling balls in the 6 ball carrier. Plastic bag and the box that the bowling ball was shipped in, would also work.
This leads me to a question.. to prevent the ball from cracking, you would put it in a plastic bag, so it doesn’t dry out.. but wouldn’t that also contribute to oil being retained on the cover of the ball, causing that oil to get absorbed back into the ball. Leading to poorer performance of the ball?
Wouldn’t you clean the ball from oil before putting it in a bag?
@Bowling XP ! Yes, you would, but no matter how slight it is, I’m wondering about the little greenhouse effect you’d effectively be creating with having the ball in a plastic bag.
Keep bag and box…helpful for LT storage.
What about age? How does that play out?
all reactive balls now are junk for as expensive as they are now they should come with a lifetime warranty. i’ve got bowling balls that are 30yrs. old and still look brand new.
Wouldnt heat be a factor because when its hot it would expand which would crack the ball?
From what i know, it is more about how quickly the temperature changes, and whether the whole ball has the same temperature. (meaning if the top is hot and the bottom a lot less hot).
We covered heat here…. https://youtu.be/UGWqtqO8Pjo
I stuck my ball in my bowling bag during the first shutdown and it cracked 4 months later
I am not involved in the sport these days. But in all the years I owned and operated a pro shop in a large center, I never once had a bowling ball that I owned crack, except one plastic ball that rolled very close to the fingers and it had some cracking around the ring finger. In my estimation, if you take care of your gear and especially not expose it to temperature changes that are drastic, you won’t see this problem. Don’t leave your gear in the trunk of the car overnight, ever and also don’t store your equipment in a garage. I took good care of my stuff but the only other thing I did differently from most guys was I never, ever left my stuff in the trunk of the car overnight and I kept all my bags in the basement or in my shop. I think it’s possible to avoid it 99% of the time by just doing those things.
I store all my bowling balls in my finished basement 66-70 degrees. My brand new Storm Marvel Pearl split in half. It only had 9 games on it.
I keep mines in my bag after I clean it with so fresh so clean and wow factor
Very helpful thanks Ron.
Glad it was helpful!
More good info; thanks, Ronald and CtD. Watched this while my IQ Tour was bathing in LevelUp.
You the man Ronald. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge. I think I remember you from ABTA and ABT. Anyways blessings my man.
I appreciate that
Cold and heat changes will also make a ball crack. If you live in the north east like I do you know the winters can get pretty cold. Don’t ever let your bowling equipment set in the car. Take it in the house. Had it happen to a few friends and also myself. Long day of work and then leagues. Got home and was tired so I thought I will get them in the morning. It was in the single digits that night. Next morning I came out and 2 of them were cracked. Never again.
Me and a friend store our balls in the same garage, on the same ball rack, mostly the same balls as well. Mine crack way more often than his do, he’ll I dont think any of his have, and these are all balls we use often. I started putting mine in plastic bags, but didn’t help at all… any other suggestions?
I would get them out of the garage for sure unless it temp controlled. What are your finger pitches?
@Ronald Hickland Jr temp controlled, same a/c system as the house so it stays between 68-72. I’ll have to ask my driller about pitches when I see him Friday
my pitch purple “first release” if it matters. cracked at the bridge then after using it and not leaving it in any extreme condition “pretty much room temo
Some brands crack more than others I’ve noticed too. Never had a storm or roto grip ball crack on me..ever. I leave my balls in my bowling bag and in the car during the winter which is also bad…never had an issue.
Have you seen the company that sells a bag that is suppose to help extend the ball life? Your thoughts.
I have, best of luck to them.
Always good info Ron. Replying here on one of your previous videos about heat Wasn’t sure you would go back and look at the comments
.I had one of my balls put in a oil extraction machine when they first came out.
When they opened up the machine and took the ball out the cloth on the bottom of the machine had turned purple, I figured it most have taken some of the resin out of the ball. Ball never worked as good after that. Never did that again, just kept them clean with ball cleaner and sometimes giving it a bath in warm water. Never had a ball crack.