How long does a Wash & Oil Take?

Andrew S.

Gold Coast
Would appreciate some feedback on the subject of Lane Conditioning.
How long does it take to wash and oil your Centre?
Please also tell us how many Lanes there are, and if known, what make and model of oiling machine and also if known, what brand of oil is used.
Many Thanks.
 
Well at ashmore with the antiquated equipment thats there, it could be 5mins or 5 hrs to get it right, but unfortunately as the saying goes, (in ref to owner) you can lead a horse to water, but u can't make it drink.
 
I used to work at Campbelltown bowl, and we have 30 lanes there. We have a kegel, not sure what model. At the time I was there, we were using Kegel Prodigy Lane Conditioner, and we would wash & oil 3 x per week, and just do a "top up" on the days in between. To wash & oil all 30 lanes, it used to take about 40mins-1hr, I would have to stop half way & emtpy the recovery tank. On the "top up" days, it would only take about 20-30mins to do all 30 lanes.
 
Approx 1min per lane to wash/oil
Add about 5-10min either end for setting up and packing away.
Add extra 5min for larger centres (30+) for refill/empty

Add 5-10min for tech to talk to people
Add 5-10min for counter staff to realise they have put someone on a lane thats 2 away from being done.
Add 15-20min for trying to politely get rid of that league bowler who keeps talking to you about something.
 
Amagill, whats the difference between a full wash and oil and a top up?
And if the settings on the machine are changed to allow for a longer pattern will this make a difference to the speed of oiling?

Reason I ask
Centre A takes 27 minutes to wash and oil 20 lanes.
Centre B takes 35 minutes to wash and oil 16 Lanes. Centre B has a Kegel and Centre A has a Phoenix.
 
"Amagill, whats the difference between a full wash and oil and a top up?"

We lay the house pattern down every second day with a wash & oil. The days in between when we "top up", all that is done is add oil to the middle of the pattern that was laid down the day before...

eg; I think, from memory, our house pattern at the time was approx. 38-39ft long. The pattern was a typical x-mas tree, starting at 2-2, then 5-5, 7-7, 9-9, etc, etc... Total oil volume wass roughly around 20mls... The "top up" or "fill" pattern was much simpler, it simply laid a strip of oil right down the middle of the x-mas tree & total oil volume was around 15mls... Also, it only oiled to about 25ft down the lane...

This saved heaps of $$$ on the amount of lane conditioner we were going through, as well as wear & tear on the kegel... The fill pattern was still quite playable, though the shot was fairly different to the normal house shot...
 
Used to take an hour for me to wash 10 lanes with the VLS, then 2 runs a lane with the Century(didnt have to do 11-12 that often) With maybe a single run on tuesday if the pattern blew out too much Monday night. Then they wouldnt get touched till Thursday(by someone that actually worked there too, coz i worked on thursday then showed up to pracxtice when they were done!!)
 
Amagill, whats the difference between a full wash and oil and a top up?
And if the settings on the machine are changed to allow for a longer pattern will this make a difference to the speed of oiling?

Reason I ask
Centre A takes 27 minutes to wash and oil 20 lanes.
Centre B takes 35 minutes to wash and oil 16 Lanes. Centre B has a Kegel and Centre A has a Phoenix.

Andrew you will find the reason for that is that the Kegel depending on what Kegel it is are actually slower than most meachines this is why the conditions are at thier best when layed by a kegel

Let me know what Kegel it actually is and i may be able to shed some more ligh on it for u
 
Hi Andrew,
We have 16 lanes and use a Phoenix with Authority 22 conditioner.

With our THS we do a single pass and it generally takes around 30 minutes all up with setup and cleanup.

If we do a double pass (1st pass wash, 2nd pass oil) it takes around 40 minutes with setup and cleanup.

Hope this helps.

Rob
 
Tweed has 16 lanes, uses a Kegel Kustodian, and it takes 20 - 25 minutes to do a full wash and oil,
it may take slightly longer if the mechanic gets interrupted
 
Add another 5-10 min to make coffee

As a non-coffee drinker, I forgot about this!!!


Centre A might be using a shorter/lighter pattern that uses a higher forward speed. Centre B might have to unplug the cable and move it half way through the lanework. Centre A might have an experienced tech who is quick on the lane changes whereas Centre B might have a tech who is still gaining confidence with the machine. Centre A might have shorter lanes. Centre B might be running double passes. So many different answers really....

Sothe best answer to the question "how long does it take?" is easy.... "Till it's finished!"
 
so the centres you are referring to andrew are tweed and ashmore, right!

god i hope they get a kegel at ashmore soon, im gettin severe burn in my plastic ball and am havin to get jesse to polish all my gear every 2-3 weeks, its getting ridiculous. they need to realise that with all the reactives around that people bowl with now, that the oil is just getting ripped off the heads and it's just going to damage the lanes in the long run, and a phoenix cant get the required volume down and is just too dry, but hey, this is probably for another topic.

just a rant, but sadly true.
 
Jason its not really about individual Centres. I simply wanted to know if it was fair to compare the speed of a Phoenix with that of a Kegel. I used the 20 lane Phoenix example because I know exactly how long it takes to oil Ashmore which does have a Phoenix.

It was put to me that because the Phoenix oils fairly swiftly there wasnt much oil going on.

This may or may not be true however it does appear that the Phoenix has a faster 'default' speed than a Kegel, regardless of the length or volume of oil.

I really only started this thread because my knowledge of oiling machines is almost zero and there are some extremely well informed techs that use this site.
 
a phoenix cant get the required volume down

Nothing wrong with the Phoenix! Great machine to work with and puts out plenty of conditioner when set properly. It's such a good machine that Kegal stuck a new cover on it, called it a Crossfire and sold lots more!!!
 
Amagill, whats the difference between a full wash and oil and a top up?
And if the settings on the machine are changed to allow for a longer pattern will this make a difference to the speed of oiling?

Reason I ask
Centre A takes 27 minutes to wash and oil 20 lanes.
Centre B takes 35 minutes to wash and oil 16 Lanes. Centre B has a Kegel and Centre A has a Phoenix.

I think Centre A should get their phoenix and throw it on to the on coming Currumburra Rd Traffic Just quietly :D
 
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