Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
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Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
Mo,
I was wondering if you could shed some light on this question. I had it in the Pro Shop forum and although many looked at it there were no replies.
In my area (Long Island NY) there are pro shops that have different types of reviving methods. One shop has the oven and another has a bath that heats water to 140 - 145 degrees for 45 minutes. Does anyone know which method (if either) is better? I have used the oven before and was very pleased with it but have not tried the bath yet.
Tks
Zim
I was wondering if you could shed some light on this question. I had it in the Pro Shop forum and although many looked at it there were no replies.
In my area (Long Island NY) there are pro shops that have different types of reviving methods. One shop has the oven and another has a bath that heats water to 140 - 145 degrees for 45 minutes. Does anyone know which method (if either) is better? I have used the oven before and was very pleased with it but have not tried the bath yet.
Tks
Zim
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
If there's an oven available and you don't mind paying the charge, use it. The water methods are primarily for bowlers that don't want to pay to have a pro shop do it. -- JohnP
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I believe there are going to be some commercially avaiable "revivor" machines that use water in the near future. Using an oven at a pro shop does provide some level of trust. But to say the water bath method is inferior is incorrect.
If I were to develop something like the revivor oven, it would be water based. Much better heat transfer and provides an ability to remove oil from the surface of the ball during the extraction. And to be honest, I think I could build an amazing system for a lot less than the cost of a Revivor Oven. But I am a DIY type person at heart.
If I were to develop something like the revivor oven, it would be water based. Much better heat transfer and provides an ability to remove oil from the surface of the ball during the extraction. And to be honest, I think I could build an amazing system for a lot less than the cost of a Revivor Oven. But I am a DIY type person at heart.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
Spmcgivern's posting brings up an interesting question. According to the information I've seen on the web, the Revivor oven works by drawing out the oil by the use of thermal reaction. Is there something special about this modality of hot air vs hot water in causing absorbed oil to be drawn out? If, in fact, the determining factor is temperature then perhaps a water bath could be a better process for removing absorbed oil, especially since one could put a little dawn in the bath to help break up the oil.spmcgivern wrote:I believe there are going to be some commercially avaiable "revivor" machines that use water in the near future. Using an oven at a pro shop does provide some level of trust. But to say the water bath method is inferior is incorrect.
As I see it, the most important issue in either processes would be keeping the temperature constant. I know that my pro shop sets a temperature limit of 130 degrees F on their Revivor (or is it 132??? Who can remember... lol). In any case, to get a water bath to 130 F for up to two hours (the time that a ball might spend in the Revivor) you would either have to heat the water by some method or have a large supply of running hot water.
Considering that the shop that I frequent charges $20 to have the ball revived *and* that includes having the surface brought back to OOB condition (or any other surface you might specify), even if a home water bath would work, I'm not sure that I wouldn't be spending more $$$$ on my water bill than I save by doing it myself... and in addition I don't happen to have a ball spinner at home to work on the surface.
Interesting idea, though.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I would not pass the service up if there were a trustworthy, nearby pro-shop with a Revivor — especially if a legitimate resurfacing is included at a total cost of around $40. A soaking in any hot liquid makes absolutely no sense to me, however.
Relatedly, I found the hot water "bucket-system" doesn't work anywhere as well as some swear-to-the-moon bowlers claim. And using an oven/B-B-Q/dishwasher is far too risky, so "thumbs down" on these notions for lots of reasons.
There being no Revivors close to me, here's what I did . . . and the system seems to work extremely well:
First of all, the whole idea is not to boil, broil, bake or cook the ball.
What you want to do is heat the surface slowly and evenly to a temperature between 85*F to 95*F, which is plenty of heat to start the oil oozing out and dripping down. How to do this?
I used a well insulated, lidded cooler with a drain hole; roomy enough for two balls. At the non-drain end I placed a cat food dish covered with a diaper, upon which the ball was placed — grip holes pointed down. At the drain end, I ran a common household extension cord (14g) through the hole and attached a "pig-tail" light socket with a 40-w bulb — no sense to seal the hole completely. Between the ball and light I placed a piece of thin sheet metal, thereby preventing direct/uneven heating of the ball from the bulb. The bulb was supported so as not to be touching the plastic lining of the cooler, and the socket was below the up-righted bulb. Three hours after closing the lid and turning on the light, the ball was fairly warm (certainly not hot nor too warm to hold!), and it was sweating its oil like crazy all around.
After wiping the oil off with a clean 100% cotton cloth, I used another fresh cloth to wipe again but this time also using Kegel's REVIVE Ball Cleaner.
Then I placed the ball back into the cooler with the light turned off, and let the whole thing cool down evenly.
All of the above was done with a 1-yr old ball I wiped down after every shot, cleaned after each session, and bucket-washed several times. The amount of retrieved oil was surprising. Using a teammate's ball, which has never had any care whatsoever and is much older, I used the same process though over a six-hour period. Every two hrs I checked it and wiped it, but held-off on applying the cleaner until the very end. On the latter ball, I went through 6 rags — a lot more oil came out.
I was going to install a fan, thermometer and timer, but found them unnecessary because the 40-w bulb just doesn't generate enough heat — even in the tightly closed cooler — to harm the ball or cooler. No discoloring, warpage, melting . . . no surface pre-sanding . . . just two very clean balls ready to be resurfaced or put back onto the lanes.
For more ideas, do a Web search for EGG INCUBATORS and you'll find plenty of really good DIY suggestions that can be tweaked on the CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP for de-oiling a bowling ball.
Relatedly, I found the hot water "bucket-system" doesn't work anywhere as well as some swear-to-the-moon bowlers claim. And using an oven/B-B-Q/dishwasher is far too risky, so "thumbs down" on these notions for lots of reasons.
There being no Revivors close to me, here's what I did . . . and the system seems to work extremely well:
First of all, the whole idea is not to boil, broil, bake or cook the ball.
What you want to do is heat the surface slowly and evenly to a temperature between 85*F to 95*F, which is plenty of heat to start the oil oozing out and dripping down. How to do this?
I used a well insulated, lidded cooler with a drain hole; roomy enough for two balls. At the non-drain end I placed a cat food dish covered with a diaper, upon which the ball was placed — grip holes pointed down. At the drain end, I ran a common household extension cord (14g) through the hole and attached a "pig-tail" light socket with a 40-w bulb — no sense to seal the hole completely. Between the ball and light I placed a piece of thin sheet metal, thereby preventing direct/uneven heating of the ball from the bulb. The bulb was supported so as not to be touching the plastic lining of the cooler, and the socket was below the up-righted bulb. Three hours after closing the lid and turning on the light, the ball was fairly warm (certainly not hot nor too warm to hold!), and it was sweating its oil like crazy all around.
After wiping the oil off with a clean 100% cotton cloth, I used another fresh cloth to wipe again but this time also using Kegel's REVIVE Ball Cleaner.
Then I placed the ball back into the cooler with the light turned off, and let the whole thing cool down evenly.
All of the above was done with a 1-yr old ball I wiped down after every shot, cleaned after each session, and bucket-washed several times. The amount of retrieved oil was surprising. Using a teammate's ball, which has never had any care whatsoever and is much older, I used the same process though over a six-hour period. Every two hrs I checked it and wiped it, but held-off on applying the cleaner until the very end. On the latter ball, I went through 6 rags — a lot more oil came out.
I was going to install a fan, thermometer and timer, but found them unnecessary because the 40-w bulb just doesn't generate enough heat — even in the tightly closed cooler — to harm the ball or cooler. No discoloring, warpage, melting . . . no surface pre-sanding . . . just two very clean balls ready to be resurfaced or put back onto the lanes.
For more ideas, do a Web search for EGG INCUBATORS and you'll find plenty of really good DIY suggestions that can be tweaked on the CHEEP, CHEEP, CHEEP for de-oiling a bowling ball.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I'm not planning on building one, but if I were, version 0.1 would resemble something like a fish aquarium , but insulated on 3 sides -- it would also have one side of the tank a little lower than the other 3 with a "spillway" so that the oil that floats to the top of the water flows out and into an external tank. The oil/water would then be pumped through a oil/water separator and into an instant hot water heater up through a check valve and back into the bottom of the fish tank. The water heater would be adjusted so that the temp was about 95* but could be ramped up to 120* gradually. Might even have a water outlet that's split so that it's pointed up at the bottom of each ball and maybe even an aquarium bubbler under each ball with the idea that the bubbles might aggitate the oil particles and help them make their way to the surface. Some water would be lost due to evaporation, but that's where the overflow reservoir (between the aquarium and the water/oil separator) comes in -- it could be big enough so that it would only occasionally need to be filled back up. There are some very efficient propane-powered instant hot water heaters that are adjustable for temp. and can be pretty affordable too (about $120) --- don't know about the water/oil separator -- but it would be nice to have a clear tube or something to hold the oil to see how much comes off the balls.Dr NO wrote: Spmcgivern's posting brings up an interesting question. According to the information I've seen on the web, the Revivor oven works by drawing out the oil by the use of thermal reaction. Is there something special about this modality of hot air vs hot water in causing absorbed oil to be drawn out? If, in fact, the determining factor is temperature then perhaps a water bath could be a better process for removing absorbed oil, especially since one could put a little dawn in the bath to help break up the oil.
As I see it, the most important issue in either processes would be keeping the temperature constant. I know that my pro shop sets a temperature limit of 130 degrees F on their Revivor (or is it 132??? Who can remember... lol). In any case, to get a water bath to 130 F for up to two hours (the time that a ball might spend in the Revivor) you would either have to heat the water by some method or have a large supply of running hot water.
Considering that the shop that I frequent charges $20 to have the ball revived *and* that includes having the surface brought back to OOB condition (or any other surface you might specify), even if a home water bath would work, I'm not sure that I wouldn't be spending more $$$$ on my water bill than I save by doing it myself... and in addition I don't happen to have a ball spinner at home to work on the surface.
Interesting idea, though.
Let me know if anyone has better ideas / tweaks.
- spmcgivern
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
This is more along the lines I was thinking. But instead of a solid amount of water around the ball, perhaps something like the Haus resurfacing machine where the pumped water is preheated to a desired set temperature. The collected water can drain into a tank with a heater and the oil will simply float on the surface of the water and you would pump from the bottom. This would ensure some level of clean water being pumped to the ball. If all items are insulated just a little, the energy used would be minimum.jpj6780 wrote: I'm not planning on building one, but if I were, version 0.1 would resemble something like a fish aquarium , but insulated on 3 sides -- it would also have one side of the tank a little lower than the other 3 with a "spillway" so that the oil that floats to the top of the water flows out and into an external tank. The oil/water would then be pumped through a oil/water separator and into an instant hot water heater up through a check valve and back into the bottom of the fish tank. The water heater would be adjusted so that the temp was about 95* but could be ramped up to 120* gradually. Might even have a water outlet that's split so that it's pointed up at the bottom of each ball and maybe even an aquarium bubbler under each ball with the idea that the bubbles might aggitate the oil particles and help them make their way to the surface. Some water would be lost due to evaporation, but that's where the overflow reservoir (between the aquarium and the water/oil separator) comes in -- it could be big enough so that it would only occasionally need to be filled back up. There are some very efficient propane-powered instant hot water heaters that are adjustable for temp. and can be pretty affordable too (about $120) --- don't know about the water/oil separator -- but it would be nice to have a clear tube or something to hold the oil to see how much comes off the balls.
Let me know if anyone has better ideas / tweaks.
I find nothing wrong with RMColorado's idea. Sounds simple and inexpensive. However, if there are any reasons why anyone wouldn't use commonly used methods such as water bath, dishwasher, etc..., then please comment. Many are using these methods and any reason not to use them they haven't thought of could save many troubles in the future.
I can't think of a reason not to use the dishwasher method as long as the heat cycle is turned off and the temperature of the water can be verified to ensure no damage. If there are other concerns, please let us know.
More specifically about the method RMColorado specifies is that it is essentially a Revivor oven. Only difference is no implementation of a thermometer to ensure the temperature does not exceed recommended values. Even a 40 watt bulb can far exceed recommended temperatures if left in an insulated environment like a cooler. The smaller the environment you put the bulb, the faster the rise in temperature from ambient. If someone wants to use a method such as this, then adding a temperature control to the system would be recommended. This can be done easily or very elaborately. This same philosophy should be used when using any medium for heating even water.
I am not trying to discredit anyone's ideas or concerns. I just want people to be as knowledgable as possible.
Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I can only share my own personal experience with this, but I just tried Joe Slowinski's warm water & dishwashing soap method (http://bowlingknowledge.info/index2.php ... df=1&id=19" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;) on my Tropical Heat which probably had close to 200 games on it.
My efforts to clean it prior to this were minimal at best, and I was shocked at the improvement in reaction when I bowled on fresh oil the next day! In fact, I bowled on some really burned-out lanes the next day and literally didn't have control of the hook until I moved to play a line left of where I'd ever bowled before...
My efforts to clean it prior to this were minimal at best, and I was shocked at the improvement in reaction when I bowled on fresh oil the next day! In fact, I bowled on some really burned-out lanes the next day and literally didn't have control of the hook until I moved to play a line left of where I'd ever bowled before...
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
Me, too . . . but there's no reason to complicate simplicity.spmcgivern wrote:
If anyone searches the "incubator" sites as suggested, they will find many simple, inexpensive methods of creating a precisely controlled "birthing environment" that can easily be adapted to de-oiling a deceased bowling ball. Just a little reading will address any doubts or fears about trying a DIY approach — if that's something a person is inclined to do.
Moreover, it should also be obvious that an inherently dry method involves a minimum of chemicals and not polluting any water whatsoever. The wipe-rags can be dried and disposed of safely. Conversely, how is all the contaminated fluid going to be filtered or disposed of in using a wet method?
The method I described requires periodic checking. For a few dollars more, timers and thermostats can be incorporated for a walk-away-til-whenever method . . . but in the end, the ball still has to be wiped off while the oil is in a liquid state. Otherwise, the ball will reabsorb the oil. You can hire someone to do this for you, build a machine to do it, or DIY.
TEMPERATURE Since my first posting I did an experiment, leaving a 14# ball inside the cooler with the 40-w bulb left on for just over 9-hrs. The ball reached an almost hot-to-the-touch temp — far greater than what is actually required to thoroughly de-oil a ball, but also far below the degrees otherwise being talked about above. No problems were observed, and I let the ball cool down inside the cooler without the light for about another hour. So I'm pretty sure a 40-w bulb is perfectly safe over a prolonged period — and it can only generate so much heat in the first place.
Theorizing is one thing, but doing is another. If you follow my suggestions with an old throw-away ball, you'll risk very little, lose your fear, and gain quite a bit actual hands-on knowledge. For me, the results were as good as I can reasonably expect from a pro-shop service.
"Keep It Simple Sam" works just fine!
- spmcgivern
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
Your right, theorizing isn't the same as experimenting. If your system works for you, then great. I would still use a thermostat to protect a bowling ball.
I did look up egg incubators and on the DIY sites I looked at it was stated a thermostat is the #1 priority in your homemade incubator. Incubators must perform in a very small window of temperatures so not having a thermostat is a no-no.
Also, I think I recall being able to remove a bowling ball from a Revivor oven without any precaution to temperature. But I could be wrong.
But now I am intrigued with more of the egg incubation information I have now been exposed to. It does seem like a very easy and inexpensive method. Thanks for the insight. As RMColorado said, those looking to do their own "reviving" should look into the information from DIY egg incubation sites and see it those methods would work for them.
I did look up egg incubators and on the DIY sites I looked at it was stated a thermostat is the #1 priority in your homemade incubator. Incubators must perform in a very small window of temperatures so not having a thermostat is a no-no.
Also, I think I recall being able to remove a bowling ball from a Revivor oven without any precaution to temperature. But I could be wrong.
But now I am intrigued with more of the egg incubation information I have now been exposed to. It does seem like a very easy and inexpensive method. Thanks for the insight. As RMColorado said, those looking to do their own "reviving" should look into the information from DIY egg incubation sites and see it those methods would work for them.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
As far as I'm concerned, nothing else is as efficient as the Revivor oven. Ask fitdocsr, who just got one!
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- kwettig
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
When I attended the advanced IBPSIA pro shop course this past summer in Arlington, this topic was brought up. An industry expert talked about plasticizers and how they are drawn out of a ball using the oven method. Personally, I have a revivor in my shop and have used it extensively over the last year. My destroyR has over 500 games on it and I would put it up against a new one any day. It's been in a revivor for well over 12 hours at 120* over the course of the last year. Where I, as well as others on this forum, have a problem is that if the revivor oven method was drawing these plasticizers out of a ball, why does a new ball not sweat these plasticizers out? I don't know anything about coverstock and conditioner chemistry. I couldn't really wrap my head around why he mentioned this and why he thought a water based method would be better. Until I saw an announcement for "The Wave" by Powerhouse. Apparently they are moving on from their "Hook Again" treatments. While this new method might work well and all, I'll stick with the revivor method that's helped me keep every ball I've purchased since opening our proshop stay as good as the day I drilled it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/74746901@N02/6961161409
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
[quote="kwettig"]When I attended the advanced IBPSIA pro shop course this past summer in Arlington, this topic was brought up. An industry expert talked about plasticizers and how they are drawn out of a ball using the oven method. Personally, I have a revivor in my shop and have used it extensively over the last year. My destroyR has over 500 games on it and I would put it up against a new one any day. It's been in a revivor for well over 12 hours at 120* over the course of the last year. Where I, as well as others on this forum, have a problem is that if the revivor oven method was drawing these plasticizers out of a ball, why does a new ball not sweat these plasticizers out? I don't know anything about coverstock and conditioner chemistry. I couldn't really wrap my head around why he mentioned this and why he thought a water based method would be better. Until I saw an announcement for "The Wave" by Powerhouse. Apparently they are moving on from their "Hook Again" treatments. While this new method might work well and all, I'll stick with the revivor method that's helped me keep every ball I've purchased since opening our proshop stay as good as the day I drilled it.
If the plasticizer comes out of the ball in the Revivor I would think that it would come out in their new water bath.I would think that 140* is 140*(or whatever temp. it is set at).
The Revivor was probably the best purchase I ever made other than lessons.After doing hot water baths on 10 balls I quickly realized that wasn't how I wanted to spend my free time.
If the plasticizer comes out of the ball in the Revivor I would think that it would come out in their new water bath.I would think that 140* is 140*(or whatever temp. it is set at).
The Revivor was probably the best purchase I ever made other than lessons.After doing hot water baths on 10 balls I quickly realized that wasn't how I wanted to spend my free time.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
The plasticiser (resin) comes out because the oil stays in. The balls soak up oil. It displaces resin from the coverstock, and too much builds up on the surface of the ball - you start to get slip instead of grip from shear forces. Heating the ball closes up the pores by expansion, forcing excess resin out of the ball and restoring the correct amount at the surface.
Of 4 balls I tested (a long time ago) I did get one - a brand new undrilled Nighthawk - to bleed with a heat gun. No revivors back then.
The ball I tested the exudate on was a well used rotogrip SD73, ran the bleed through a GCMS, it was all resin - no oil in it at all. FWIW.
Of 4 balls I tested (a long time ago) I did get one - a brand new undrilled Nighthawk - to bleed with a heat gun. No revivors back then.
The ball I tested the exudate on was a well used rotogrip SD73, ran the bleed through a GCMS, it was all resin - no oil in it at all. FWIW.
Chemistry is like cooking - just don't lick the spoon.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I have recently purcahse a Revivor Oven as well. All I can say is it is far better than the water treatment method I was doing previously...The pads wipe the oil away better since I did fold a few stacked paper towels under them for a lil added pressure.
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I have done some crude testing thus far, hot water with degreaser versus the Revivor.
Basically I soaked a ball that had ~150 games on it until oil was no longer coming out. Took three water changes.
I then put this ball in the Revivor and checked on it about 15 mins later. It was completely covered in oil.
Reaction was noticably stronger after using the Revivor.
Basically I soaked a ball that had ~150 games on it until oil was no longer coming out. Took three water changes.
I then put this ball in the Revivor and checked on it about 15 mins later. It was completely covered in oil.
Reaction was noticably stronger after using the Revivor.
Gregg Helms
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*The opinions expressed are solely those of the writer and not of Brunswick Bowling & Billiards Corporation
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- spmcgivern
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Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
I have put more thought into this than I should. Here are some of the thoughts of each system and their pros/cons that I came up with. Please comment freely.
Revivor Oven:
- Use of controlled heat to raise the temperature of the converstock
- Removes oil by way of heating the coverstock causing "expansion," pushing oil to the surface
- Pressure differential between the compressed coverstock and the atmosphere is the driving force for oil removal.
- Atmosphere applies lower pressure causing highest pressure differential. This leads to oil moving faster in the coverstock to the surface
- Using hot air has a lower heat transfer rate causing long heating times to remove oil
- Oil must be removed from the coverstock separate from the process
- Must be used at pro shop unless an individual buys a Revivor (cost)
Use of Water (for this case, I will consider both a water bath method with stagnant water and a water "washing" method with heat control and constant water movement over the surface)
- Use of heated water to raise the temperature of the coverstock
- Removes oil by way of heating the coverstock causing "expansion," pushing oil to the surface
- Pressure differential between the compressed coverstock and the atmosphere is the driving force for oil removal
- Water applies higher pressure causing a lower pressue differential. This leads to oil moving slower in the coverstock to the surface
- Using hot water has a higher heat transfer rate causing shorter heating times to remove oil
- Oil is constantly being removed from the surface of the coverstock when using a wash technique
- Water baths require replenishment of hot water
- Water baths can be done at home
Initially, this list is a beginning point in making a decision to which method one would use. I feel both methods have benefits and both can be used equally safely.
The Revivor Oven does have the benefit of providing a higher pressure differential causing oil to be extracted faster once the coverstock has been heated. And since the pressure at the surface is lower, it can be assumed more oil may be able to be extracted when compared to the water method. However, using heated air as a heating medium will take longer, but that may be offset with the quicker oil removal once the set temperature is achieved. One area of possible improvement (if it hasn't been done already) is a way to remove oil from the surface of the bowling ball during the process. Not having a Revivor Oven myself (have used one), I am also not sure if there isn't a fan in the Revivor Oven allowing the heat transfer to improve.
A professionally designed water system (possible Powerhouse Wave) can be a viable option to the Revivor Oven. A water based system can heat the coverstock quicker perhaps decreasing the time required, but will give up some of that time benefit due to the lower pressure differential between the coverstock and the water. The pressure differential can be reduced if the amount of water staying in contact with the ball is reduced (something like a water spraying method or only keeping a small water film on the ball). Another negative to the water method is the amount of energy it will take to heat up the water source. If the process time can be reduced with the use of water, then the energy usage may be less.
Ultimately, one should know the positives and negatives of each system when they decide on which they will use. I know this is a technical forum and this list/assessment can be expanded with user comments. I know many people trust the Revivor Oven, but these type of discussions are what keep imaginative juices flowing.
Revivor Oven:
- Use of controlled heat to raise the temperature of the converstock
- Removes oil by way of heating the coverstock causing "expansion," pushing oil to the surface
- Pressure differential between the compressed coverstock and the atmosphere is the driving force for oil removal.
- Atmosphere applies lower pressure causing highest pressure differential. This leads to oil moving faster in the coverstock to the surface
- Using hot air has a lower heat transfer rate causing long heating times to remove oil
- Oil must be removed from the coverstock separate from the process
- Must be used at pro shop unless an individual buys a Revivor (cost)
Use of Water (for this case, I will consider both a water bath method with stagnant water and a water "washing" method with heat control and constant water movement over the surface)
- Use of heated water to raise the temperature of the coverstock
- Removes oil by way of heating the coverstock causing "expansion," pushing oil to the surface
- Pressure differential between the compressed coverstock and the atmosphere is the driving force for oil removal
- Water applies higher pressure causing a lower pressue differential. This leads to oil moving slower in the coverstock to the surface
- Using hot water has a higher heat transfer rate causing shorter heating times to remove oil
- Oil is constantly being removed from the surface of the coverstock when using a wash technique
- Water baths require replenishment of hot water
- Water baths can be done at home
Initially, this list is a beginning point in making a decision to which method one would use. I feel both methods have benefits and both can be used equally safely.
The Revivor Oven does have the benefit of providing a higher pressure differential causing oil to be extracted faster once the coverstock has been heated. And since the pressure at the surface is lower, it can be assumed more oil may be able to be extracted when compared to the water method. However, using heated air as a heating medium will take longer, but that may be offset with the quicker oil removal once the set temperature is achieved. One area of possible improvement (if it hasn't been done already) is a way to remove oil from the surface of the bowling ball during the process. Not having a Revivor Oven myself (have used one), I am also not sure if there isn't a fan in the Revivor Oven allowing the heat transfer to improve.
A professionally designed water system (possible Powerhouse Wave) can be a viable option to the Revivor Oven. A water based system can heat the coverstock quicker perhaps decreasing the time required, but will give up some of that time benefit due to the lower pressure differential between the coverstock and the water. The pressure differential can be reduced if the amount of water staying in contact with the ball is reduced (something like a water spraying method or only keeping a small water film on the ball). Another negative to the water method is the amount of energy it will take to heat up the water source. If the process time can be reduced with the use of water, then the energy usage may be less.
Ultimately, one should know the positives and negatives of each system when they decide on which they will use. I know this is a technical forum and this list/assessment can be expanded with user comments. I know many people trust the Revivor Oven, but these type of discussions are what keep imaginative juices flowing.
Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
The Revivor oven has pads on the bottom of it that constantly removes the oil from the ball. When your ball is completely dry you know all the oil has been removed.
The oven is far superior than a water bath and a lot less maintenance and personal time.
The oven is far superior than a water bath and a lot less maintenance and personal time.
- spmcgivern
- Member
- Posts: 554
- Joined: February 28th, 2011, 7:53 pm
- THS Average: 225
- Positive Axis Point: 4 3/4" and 1/4" up
- Speed: 17-18 at pindeck
- Rev Rate: 400
- Location: Houston, TX
Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
Comparing the Revivor Oven to a homemade water bath isn't really a fair comparison. True, there isn't a commecially available oil extraction device that uses water so the Revivor Oven has that beat.spillup24 wrote:The Revivor oven has pads on the bottom of it that constantly removes the oil from the ball. When your ball is completely dry you know all the oil has been removed.
The oven is far superior than a water bath and a lot less maintenance and personal time.
However, the average bowler has to travel to the pro shop and pay money to use the Revivor. This is dependent on time to get to the pro shop, the pro shop hours, having to possibly return to get the ball (which also requires another trip) and not having the ball for a period of time. The Revivor also cost the bowler $$$$ money. Yes a bowler can coordinate all of this with his weekly trips to the bowling alley for league, but the use still costs money. What may be easier and cheaper is to use a bath type method where there are fewer logistical concerns. I do believe the Revivor will do a better job than a water bath, but a water bath is better than nothing.
And if a pro shop operator can reduce the time to conduct an oil extraction by using a different method than the Revivor, they will. A commercially developed water method may do this and can have a comparable performance to a Revivor Oven. So now the pro shop owner will be able to conduct more extractions in the same amount of time which equals more $$$$ money for the pro shop.
- MegaMav
- Moderator
- Posts: 4694
- Joined: April 27th, 2007, 5:00 am
- THS Average: 225
- Sport Average: 200
- Positive Axis Point: 5.5 Over & 1 Up
- Speed: 16.0 MPH - Camera
- Rev Rate: 375
- Axis Tilt: 14
- Axis Rotation: 45
- Heavy Oil Ball: Radical - Informer
- Medium Oil Ball: Brunswick - Fearless
- Light Oil Ball: Radical - Bonus Pearl
- Preferred Company: Radical Bowling Technologies
- Location: Malta, NY
Re: Ball Revivor Over or Ball Revivor Bath
This situation is what sold me on getting one for personal use.spmcgivern wrote:However, the average bowler has to travel to the pro shop and pay money to use the Revivor. This is dependent on time to get to the pro shop, the pro shop hours, having to possibly return to get the ball (which also requires another trip) and not having the ball for a period of time.
Plus I like it as a little perk for my teammates when they really need it.
Im lucky to have the means to afford one, its definitely not a reasonable situation for everyone.
Just the convenience to be able to do it for 2 hours while I do something else around the house made it worth it to me, I really dont like going back and forth to the pro shop.