BALL LIFT MAINTENANCE

Nobody likes to deal with a major breakdown in the bowling center. Mechanical equipment needs preventative maintenance to provide a great experience for the customer. One of the most stressful breakdowns that can happen is when there is a problem in the ball lift on the approach. It not only stops the pair of lanes it happened on but will disrupt the pairs to the left and right.

Good maintenance of the ball lift can eliminate these interruptions and prevent ball damage. Always follow the manufacturers recommendations for safely working on the ball lift. The ball lifts should be inspected once per month. Follow the manufacturer maintenance procedures for inspecting the motor and bearings.

Check the belt for wear. As belts age, they will become frayed or cracked. Belts also will become very shiny after years of wear. This glazing can cause the belts to slip on the pulleys. If you use the Multi V style belt as shown in the photo below, also check the pulley on the belt idler. Lube the bearing in the pulley and check the pulley for wear. This pulley can cause a high-pitched squeak when the surface becomes worn.

Check the condition of the lift wheels. Inspect ball contact surface as well as the sides of the wheel. A failure of the lift wheel can cause ball damage. A bright flashlight is a great tool when checking the wheels.

The lift tracks are a critical item to check. Failure of the track can cause balls to stop in the lift and damage balls. The wear surface, the mounting holes and the back of the track should be inspected. In the photo below the wear surface looked good, but the back side of the tracks showed cracks.

When the time comes to change these tracks, keep in mind that the metal C-track can be detached from the frame by removing the 5 bolts. You can also remove the lift wheels to make more room to remove the metal track.

If replacing more than 1 track at the same time, note that the metal tracks are different depending upon where they are mounted to the frame. The photo shows the difference between the tracks. It is a great idea to have one of each side with urethane track on the shelf.

You may have to loosen the subway track to remove the bottom tracks.

Once per year, check the bearings inside each hub assembly. This is also a good time to check the key and keyway on the shafts. Use care that you do not over lubricate the 1-way clutch on the lower hub. To save time, I prefer to keep a hub assembly ready to install.

Take the time to inspect the ball lifts. You can prevent ball damage and bowling delays with a little preventive maintenance, and no one will have to do the “walk of shame” from the back of the bowling center.