Pin Cleaning

[Guest]

I am wondering if anyone has any opinions on pin cleaning. Basically should i buy a machine or do it the old fashioned way (by hand)? In either case what type of cleaning solution works best.
What companies are making pin cleaning machines?
How much do they cost$
Thanks
bbmech

[Guest]

Re: Pin Cleaning

I just take rubbing alcohol to them

[mouse]

Re: Pin Cleaning

I clean all my 16 lanes pins by hand one machine a day. Takes time...I use DBA pin cleaner, then rinse the pin in water. A pin cleaning machine would be nice

[Ed Fox]

Re: Pin Cleaning

I clean mine once a year right before we hand it to the kid at the B-day party.

Charlie [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[Guest]

Re: Pin Cleaning

what is advantage of cleaning pins?

better pin action?

better machine functions?

or looks?

thanks for input

[GPS]

Re: Pin Cleaning

Whe I ran amflites I never cleaned pins. Since I started using twisters once a year cleanning with a DBA spin clean machine.

[KL Kevin]

Re: Pin Cleaning

Cleaning pins serves many purposes:

Oily pins don't make it up the Cross conveyor belts very well ... if we don't clean them about once every two months, we start to get pin gates locking at the wrong time, because the pins are slipping back after the gate locks.

Dirty pins can cause scoring problems with CCD camera equipped systems, they don't reflect light as well as clean ones do.

Clean pins present a better image of the center ... the customers are here to knock them down, and if they look gamey, it lowers the perceived value.

Dirt anywhere in a bowling center is not a good thing, but dirt on pins will transfer to the ball when it impacts them, and then back to the lane surface ... everything needs to be as clean as possible to minimize ball tracking and lane finish wear.

I have an old perry-austen twin-pin, and use regular old lane stripper diluted slightly more than normal ... and the best part is that my chasers do the work [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif[/img]

We have about 6 lanes worth of spare pins, and they rest about 3 weeks before we do 6 more lanes worth, so every pin in the house gets cleaned about every two months

Kevin

[ August 30, 2001: Message edited by: KL Kevin ]

[russ]

Re: Pin Cleaning

I don't know what type of pinsetters you guys have but if you have A2's there are a couple of products that will greatly reduce the frequency of having to clean pins. One is the heavy duty pit carpet cover (12-862919). I couldn't believe how much cleaner my pins were staying when I switched to these instead of the white ones. The other is the cross conveyor pin wiper cloth (12-862941). This is a new style held on by velcro instead of the clips and rods the first ones had.They pick up an amazing amount of dirt and really seem to help the pins get up the cross conveyor.
I wash my pit carpet covers twice a week and conveyor wipers once a week, and haven't had to clean pins in over six months.

Russ [img]/content/btubb/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif[/img]

[MNSCORER]

Re: Pin Cleaning

BBmech:
Reread Russ"s comments, also K.L. Kevins, it says worlds.
Curtis, very dangerous to use alcohol, as the rag can catch fire from static, but you don't know it, because there are no visable flames.
Voice of experience, unfortunatly.
Roscoe>