Boosters Vs Accelerators????

Hi this may sound to all you experienced guys VERY stupid as me being more used to the 82/70's than the Brunswick A series i work on now but can some one please explain the difference between a ball booster and ball accelerator??
Thanks guys.
Senator.

[Steve Stafford (JBEES)]

Re: Boosters Vs Accelerators????

Senator,
The booster is a device mounted above the common return track to "boost" the speed of the ball to get it back to the bowler quicker than with gravity feed...Zot sells an add-on kit that would fit your A's nicely. The accelerator speeds the ball up to 60+ mph (depending on pulley size and motor speed). It uses a lower return track setup than your A's begining at the lift rods. The kickbacks are different to accomadate this modification. At the entrance to the common track is a trough like device that guides the ball as a long belt (length is about 5 feet or so) pulls it through. It is then "spit" out and down a track at whatever speed it is setup to run at. The track is made of plastic going to the front instead of metal rails. This keeps damage to minimum. If the speed of the setup is high enough (25 mph or so) a device (called a "retarder") is used just before the power lift to slow the ball down. Made from either leather or the newer cloth style...it slows down the ball enough to prevent tearing up the power lift. Most mechanics have slowed down the setup so the "retarder" is not needed at the power lift.

OK ... that was pretty winded. I hope that helps you understand the differences between the two...

Just my two cents worth...

Steve