The History of Bowling Oil

[MICHAEL]

Article History Of Oil







Background - the numbers below reflect values from the PBA National Tour and were provided by Len Nicholson and John Davis. The primary ingredient of lane conditioners is mineral oil, a by-product of petroleum distillation.


1970 - approximately 4 milliliters (ml) of conditioner was applied to each lane. In 1970 the conditioners contained 10% mineral oil and 90% solvent. The solvent helped disperse the mineral oil evenly across the surface of the lane and would then evaporate. So in terms of the amount of actual "oil" placed on the lane in 1970, it was .4 ml.


1971 - approximately 6 ml of conditioner was applied per lane, with the percentage of mineral oil increasing to 20%. Effective amount of oil per lane was 1.2 ml, or 3X the amount of oil used in 1970.


In 1971 the average number of games bowled per lane during a PBA event's qualifying rounds between re-oiling was forty-eight (48).


1973 - "soakers" were first used in '73 and STP was added to the conditioner to help increase viscosity. The ratios were 19 parts mineral oil, 79 parts solvent, and 2 parts STP.


1975 - the Shure D and Yellow Dots were introduced, and the percentage of STP being added to the oil almost doubled to 3.5%.


1978 - the LT48 was launched and oil volumes took a dramatic increase. The percentage of mineral oil increased 50% and the amount of STP being added climbed to 5%. Compared to 1970, the depth of the oil was 450% greater, and because of the STP, the oil was thicker and more slippery.


Up to this point in PBA history, the distribution of oil was fairly even from front to back.


1980 - the introduction of urethane caused a dramatic shift in the volume and distribution of oil applied to the lanes. Total volume per lane increased to approximately 10 ml. and solvents and STP were removed. New "slick agents" were introduced. 1980 oils typically contained 1-2 additives. Effective increase in the volume of oil on each lane compared to 1970 - 2,500%!!! Not only is there 25X as much oil on a lane, the majority of it is loaded into the front part of the lane.


1990 - volumes have now climbed to 15 ml per lane and oils contain 4-5 additives.


2000 - volumes average 22 ml per lane and oils now contain 7-8 additives and slick agents.


2010 - volumes are as high as 28 ml per lane and oils contain 10-12 additives and slick agents. Not even considering the "slickness" and "viscosity" of today's oil, the volumes are 70X what they were in 1970.

[The German Shepherd]

Wow! Thank you for that post. Very informative...

J.

[bowl1820]

Ah Gary Beck's article on oil, let's include Mo Pinels thought's on it also:

Mo Pinel:
"Good article, but I disagree with the percentages of mineral oil and solvent in lane conditioners in the old days, at least within my sphere of knowledge. I have been involved with bowling chemicals and finishes since 1979 as a maufacturer, consultant, or technical director. In 1979, I was hired as technical director of US Polychem. My knowledge of conditioners goes back as far as DBA 501 and 511, and Perry Austen Old Style. Solvents were added to the early conditioners as leveling agents since a lot of conditioners were applied by spraying in those days. The solvents reduced the surface tension of the oil, allowing it to level smoothly. The highest percentage of solvents that I'm familiar with is 36% solvent. Another important factor to be considered is that lanes were not stripped clean everyday, by most bowling centers until the mid '90s, so they were just adding incremental oil on a daily basis. Once you strip and oil everyday, you must start from scratch every day, as long as the cleaner section is working properly. So the trend to more oil is not as drastic as it appears. A distortion of history is occurring. We ARE using a lot more oil than we used to. If we were stripping well everyday in the early '70, I believe we would have used between 10 and 13 mls of oil on a daily basis. Just an estimate by a guy who has been in this business since Moby Dick was a guppy!"

[billf]

Seems to reason the en that as long as the ball companies to continue to make balls hook more and more they will just increase the amount or type of conditioners used. Let's face it, if centers wanted to the typical house pattern would be a ton harder to score on. But that wouldn't make people want to bowl (the general public) so we end up with patterns that help balls to the pocket.

[GeorgiaStroker]

Everybody knows that when bowling balls are first harvested and squeezed you get extra virgin bowling oil. each squeezing after that decreses the quality of the oil.

[TheSheibs]

Everybody knows that when bowling balls are first harvested and squeezed you get extra virgin bowling oil. each squeezing after that decreses the quality of the oil.

Hahaha....that's pretty funny...seems like with my 10 years of no bowling saw a lot of changes, not only in the balls core but the oil used on the lanes. Do you suppose they stopped striping the lanes and starting fresh because they just couldn't afford to have lanes down to do it or they just didn't want to pay these people any more?

[GeorgiaStroker]

The lanes are more likely to be stripped and started fresh everyday now than they were before the mid 90's. The lane machines will usually make 2 passes over each lane. first pass cleans off the old oil and second pass puts down fresh oil. Before the lane machines, stripping the lanes was done by hand and took a lot of time and labor so it was not done very often. Also the introduction of synthetic lanes made the stripping procedure easier as they do not absorb oil like wood lanes do.

[kev3inp]

Curses! Oiled again! Those slippery weasels! Bring on heavy oil, I'm ready now. One year at the Gathering, though, I swear one of the conditions was so heavy I could see a rooster tail off the back of the ball.

[MICHAEL]

Curses! Oiled again! Those slippery weasels! Bring on heavy oil, I'm ready now. One year at the Gathering, though, I swear one of the conditions was so heavy I could see a rooster tail off the back of the ball.

LOL..... Now that's some thick oil!!! lol..... Our new kegel machine does it all in one trip down. It cleans on the way down, and sprays the oil on to 1000,000.00 or a and inch on the way back, no cords, all battery powered... If fact once it is set up, it needs no body around to do its job. It moves itself down the lanes with out any help!! AMF in North Kansas City has it! One of the few lanes around that does have this great technology!!!! Fun to watch in ACTION! Great on sport pattern's. Mainly because of its unique method of spraying, instead of rolling it on!

All establishments should have one of these babies!!! They are made here in Missouri,,, St Joseph MO.