Kegel IKON Lane Machine, Operation Manual, Page: 31 / 167

18
Lane Maintenance 101
Overview
Bowling lane maintenance is more than just pushing a button on a lane machine and
applying oil to the surface. It also requires giving attention to the approaches, gutters
and capping which all get dusty. Maintaining all of this area on a daily schedule is
important to provide the best service to your customers. Your lane machine also
benefits from keeping these areas clean. Here are a few suggestions that should be
followed to maintain your bowling center.
1.
One of the first things that should be done each morning is a walk across the
approaches. This is when you find out if the lanes, gutters and approaches were
dusted the night before. This is also great time to inspect the approaches for any
kind of possible problems that just jump out at you.
2.
Walking the lanes each morning also gives you a chance to see what the left over
oil looks like in the applied area and what it looks like on the back-ends as well. It is
possible to see many things, from unusual amounts of dirt to possible cleaning
problems with the lane machine. Who knows what can be found?
3.
Dust the gutters, caps and division rails each and every day. This greatly reduces
the amount of dirt the lane machine pulls into the conditioning compartment. It
sounds like a lot of work, but so what, it makes your life easier the more you run the
machine. If you want to provide the best conditions it will take time. Also, it’s
easier to keep up on a day-to-day basis.
4.
Dust your approaches no less than three times a day… if not four. Some areas of
the country, or world, will require this to just keep them from looking like they were
just plowed and ready for planting.
5.
Dusting your lanes between conditioning is another big bonus that seems to be a
lost art. High lineage along with dusty lanes are a bad combination, especially if
your lanes are synthetic. Dust will increase the wear on the surface and reduce
the life of your lanes, not including the changes that will result in the way the lanes
react and play.
6.
The approaches are very important to good customer satisfaction and you should
pay close attention to them. Besides frequent dusting, using a rotary buffer will
improve the slide consistency and cleanliness of your approaches when done
regularly.
7.
Keeping your lane machine spotless will help you find problems before they
become nightmares.
8.
Other areas that affect the cleanliness of your lanes is your pinsetters and ball
returns (anything that the bowling ball comes in contact with). Dirt comes from
these things, along with grease and oil that is very difficult for the lane machine to
clean off the surface.