Start of Lane Conditioner From Foul Line

[Mike Wilson]

How far out from the foul line do you not apply lane conditioner in order to keep customers from tracking lane conditioner back onto the approaches.

[JoelJoanis]

The machine does 4" minimum

[Wookie8662]

Good poll, this should be interesting.
I think our machine is 15", so I voted 18.

[A_Ike]

Phoenix-S TE - Conditioner start seems about 4”, but I always wipe a clean line about 6” out with a towel.

[Griz]

Our old Excel laid the oil right on the edge of the foul line. We were constantly cleaning lane oil off the approach. We have our new Envoy set up a 6 inches and have noticed a huge improvement.

[DBZodos]

When we got our IKON, we had a discussion about this during the installation training. The owner wanted to start oil 24" out, to help with open bowlers and seniors tracking oil or slipping. But the pro shop operator and us mechanics felt that was too far so we agreed to a compromise of 14". After about 6 months of that I was noticing quite a bit of new wear on the lane panels at the foul line. It was clear that a lot of bowlers were setting the ball down closer to the foul line than we had thought (I know I do).

We have a custom "DO NOT CROSS FOUL LINE" decal on every lane that is about 6" wide, so I adjusted the setting so the machine starts putting down oil just on the other side of the decal. I think that required a setting of 9" allowing for the crush from the buffer brush. The decal protects the first 6" of lane.

[Motivated]

Phoenix-S TE - Conditioner start seems about 4”, but I always wipe a clean line about 6” out with a towel.

Similar here. I swipe a towel across with my foot to clean up any drips so the oil ends up being about 10" from the foul line. We've discussed setting the machine to 18-24", but decided we'd probably get too many complaints from bowlers who set the ball down early.

[Kanga (James)]

Once we were able to use the start brush setting we went straight to 20" which ends up being around 24" from memory. We did it because the modem oils are so difficult to remove from the approach. It never really affected the approach if someone took a step over the line back in the day. Now the oil stays on the approach until you rub it down with isopropyl, metho or approach conditioner.

We've been starting the oil at 20" for at least 4 to 5 years without any noticeable wear to the unoiled area.

[gecko smacker]

When our center had the Century Gemini Silver Bullet L S/C (green, no handle) and AMF Silver Bullet Magnum machines, distance from foul line was 2"to 3". It was possible to edge it to the foul line, but not preferred. With our black Kustodian Walker (6-button, green LCD screen, 2008), and manual FLEX (blue, 2015), it is when the machines reach the end of the foul line, (or the distance from edge of machine to the buffer brush lane contact point).

The only bowlers I've seen pass the foul line are: unsupervised toddlers (and parents who chase after them, while they are walking on the lane conditioner), kids from school field trips (even though my manager educates them on bowler etiquette prior to bowling), and those who rarely bowl (as bowling is not their preferred sport), but are brought/"dragged" in by friends/peers.