humidity question ???

[jhova]

What is the ideal huimidity supposed to be inside your center to maintain ideal shot qualities ?? for instance kegel has pre programmed house shots that they have tested and deemed quality shots. How controled is their enviorment for testing as opposed to the average center ? ive just started keeping track of humidity in the building and compairing it with the scores shot that day/night to see if I can establish some sort of relation between the two . just looking fo a good starting point > thanks

[8270king]

The Kegel shots at "starting points" before you make some changes so they play well in your house.

The difference between Main Street ans Stone street is huge - like almost 18 feet in applied oil on the forward pass

So any of these or other patterns will need modifications

With that being said I think the scores go up when the humidity goes down

[jhova]

im at around 31/33% humidity- not sure if that is considered low on average in centers ... im not using a kegel pre programmed shot , was just curious if anyone knew what conditions they considered "ideal" >>>>>

[BigClive]

Isn't that considered quite dry for humans let alone a building?

[shamefowjze]

Kegel is in Florida which is humid year round and changes hourlybecause of our 30 minute daily showers. The Kegel Training Center, where mostof their IN HOUSE testing is done, has no special environmental control other thanA/C. Bear in mind, those are STOCKpatterns. They do NOT take topography, surface, conditioner, cleaner ratio orany other variables into effect.
People are typicallycomfortable with a RH (relative humidity) in the 30 to 50 percent range. I seemore changes in the pattern with temperature than I do with humidity. Theproblem with controlling the RH and temperature in a bowling center is that itis such a large area to control. I can't think of one center (other than theUSBC Training/testing center) that has equipment to control the temperature orRH over the lanes (we won’t get into under the lanes at this point). The costassociated with that would be unjustifiable and staggering, I would imagine. Ihave said for years and I still maintain that if you keep everything the same,keep your lane machine in proper working order (at all times), have goodworking HVAC, keep the temperature the same year round, do the lanes at thesame time each day, and so on your pattern should play the same all the time.With that being said yes, if it is a little colder with a lower RH in thewinter than in the fall the lanes should characteristically play the same,that's not to say there won’t be a 1-2 board difference or the lanes open up afew frames earlier but the characteristics of your pattern will be the same.That alone will make your lanes easier.

[BigClive]

If I had the luxury of just 30% humidity I'd use it as an excuse to have illuminated ultrasonic humidifiers causing glowing fog to cascade down ornamental pillars.

But then, I tend to think in terms of interesting illuminated experiences.

[Ted]

In the northern climes, you are going to have to add humidifiers. And the true ideal is based on the outside air temp, since you are taking that cold air with a certain amount of moisture content and expanding it inside by warming it up.
Outside of the extreme colds, I suggest that whatever humidity you can get the air down to in the summer with AC, try to get it to within 20 to 30% of that in the winter.
In a 24 lane center located above the mason dixon line, you may have to add 20 gallons per hour to get the relative humidity up to a comfort level. You know you are adding too much when the whole inside of the front door is iced over. (RE Bowlers Journal, Aug 1989 issue - an article I wrote)

[8270tom]

I'm here in humid Hawaii and noticed the pin action in Vegas is super compared to the pin carry here. Just another complaint from our bowlers about how come we don't have pins like Vegas. Go figure.

[amechwannabe]

There is a "design criteria" that brunswick has posted on their website. In that DC, they suggest RH in the 45% along with a consistent temp of 72^ F.

Of course, many of us are in older houses and have old HVAC equipment, or single doors, that allow the outside to come indoors. The center where I worked for years was built in 1960 and still had the original air... a center on the other side of town was built in the same time period, had double front doors, but single side doors, and still has the old air units. Yet one more in the area which was built in the mid 70s was built with double doors and they have changed the air handling units a couple of times, so their shot is much more consistant than the other two houses.