disposing old tennis balls

[ktmailserv]

disposing old tennis balls

Any ideas opinions on the best way of disposing old tennis balls? (know that recycling it for other purposes is always an option)

 

[nalvarado]

If they are not completely shot, I would donate them to a local high school with a team.

 

[shogun90]

Many elementary schools around here ask for tennis balls to place on the legs of chairs and tables so as not to scratch up the floors.

 

[SFrazeur]

Schools, rehab/retirement homes, adult daycares are always in need of tennis balls. They're great as sliders on walkers. or on chairs.

-SF

 

[g.hull]

house decorations. drill a hole then tie a string through it and attach it too the ceiling

 

[leafscat]

disposing old tennis balls

Any ideas opinions on the best way of disposing old tennis balls? (know that recycling it for other purposes is always an option)

You might want to check this site out - www.rebounces.com

 

[Limpinhitter]

You might want to check this site out - www.rebounces.com

"Service Unavailable!"

 

[Pocky]

dude their old, worn and smelly don't give it to anybody just toss them out

 

[DonnyDarko]

Wait until a nice holiday weekend when it's sunny, dry, and not too cold. Gather all of your old tennis balls into a bucket, then at about 8-9 in the morning go to your local dog park and dump the whole kaboodle into the middle of the park. Sit back and enjoy!

 

[doom]

Keep collecting them until you have thousands, then use them to construct a boat.

Then proceed to sail the seven seas on your tennis ball/boat monstrosity.

 

[cannonf]

"Service Unavailable!"

Think it is up now...

 

[esgee48]

Senior citizens center for their walkers or a box in the clubhouse.

 

[AllLeague]

Local club accepts mine. I don't know what they do with it but they have signs everywhere saying they recycle old balls, somehow. If it's only a couple balls, I just toss them.

 

[Richard Pur]

A neighbor of mine used to take them to a local animal shelter. Maybe give them away at your annual garage sale.

 

[Tmano]

About two months ago I filled a box with used tennis balls and I set it out side by the sidewalk with a note on it: only great for dogs!
They last a day.

 

[PimpMyGame]

1. Cut them up and superglue onto your car tyres. Hey presto! Another 10,000 miles.

2. Hand out to dog owners / kids at the local rec.

3. Place them around the house - psychology of always thinking about tennis when you see one, will build up competitive edge (copyright M Navratilova).

4. Shave the fluff off them, spin into a yarn and repair all your green clothes.

5. Chuck them in the bin.

6. Put them in a washing machine, marvel at how clean they come out, then chuck them in the bin.

 

[Znak]

I've been thinking about this recently, and feel quite guilty about how many I go through in a year. I wish there was an easier way to recycle them.

 

[sureshs]

Our club has a recycling program

 

[Crocodile]

For those of you who really want to live off the grid, you can use old tennis balls to build your house.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

 

[The Green Mile]

Hit them over the fence or onto court six, duh.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Hit them over the fence or onto court six, duh.

I am amused. If you're on a court in a park, best to knock them over the fence for the canines. They are genetically hard-wired, thru a lengthy evolutionary process, for a compulsory attraction to tennis balls. Note: You don't want those animals on court six. Dog urine and feces are particularly bad for court surfaces. For that matter, don't let your hitting partner use court six for #1 or #2 either. Need to train them not to do that.

 

[sureshs]

old tennis balls <not the same as> balls of old tennis players

 

[Ronaldo]

Wear them,

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@Znak

Some clubs have something like this for rejuvenating depressurized balls. You might consider buying one of the smaller ones for your own use. Won't put felt back on the ball but it will certainly but the bounce back into the ball -- for another 2+ weeks or 2+ sets (depending on use & how picky you are).

Temporary solution: Put your dead balls in a microwave or clothes dryer. The higher temp will increase the internal pressure and, hence, the bounce. Remember, P = nRT/V . Sadly, this is only good for about 10-20 minutes. Once the T drops to normal, P returns to 1 atm (~14.7 psi).

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Wear them,

Or if yellow clothes do not suit your skin tone, you might consider this:

Your dog will undoubtedly love all this furniture

Spoiler: Furniture for lounging

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

@Znak
.
RecycleBalls web site

https://twitter.com/recycleballs

Some clubs will recycle for you. One in my area used to give you a free can of new tennis balls for every 25 used balls that you brought in. At one time, the free balls were Wilson US Open. Loved that. After a while they downgraded to a crappy "Costco" Wilson ball (even worse than the Wilson Championship ball). Hated that. Eventually, they stopped giving out free balls altogether. But they still accept used balls for re-juicing (rejuvenating) or recycling. Accepted that.

Some other tennis recycling programs:
http://www.greenecoservices.com/five-places-to-recycle-tennis-balls/
https://rebounces.com/tennis-ball-recycling-into-tennis-courts/
http://tennisballcourts.com/

 

[Raul_SJ]

Note: You don't want those animals on court six. Dog urine and feces are particularly bad for court surfaces. For that matter, don't let your hitting partner use court six for #1 or #2 either. Need to train them not to do that.

I often see dog walkers leave the park footpath and enter the courts. Is that against the rules/etiquette? Never seen anyone complain.

So I assume a good number of these dogs will stain the courts as no dog is court potty-trained.

 

[Harry_Wild]

Dog owners always want tennis balls!

 

[Pandora Mikado]

@Znak

Some clubs have something like this for rejuvenating depressurized balls. You might consider buying one of the smaller ones for your own use. Won't put felt back on the ball but it will certainly but the bounce back into the ball -- for another 2+ weeks or 2+ sets (depending on use & how picky you are).

Temporary solution: Put your dead balls in a microwave or clothes dryer. The higher temp will increase the internal pressure and, hence, the bounce. Remember, P = nRT/V . Sadly, this is only good for about 10-20 minutes. Once the T drops to normal, P returns to 1 atm (~14.7 psi).
.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

I often see dog walkers leave the park footpath and enter the courts. Is that against the rules/etiquette? Never seen anyone complain.

So I assume a good number of these dogs will stain the courts as no dog is court potty-trained.

Yup, against the Law -- or at least against the rules at many courts. Some places, in their list of court rules, specify 'No Dogs' (except for blind tennis players?). Wilcox HS, in Santa Clara, eventually closed their courts because of dog issues and other vandalism. This was supposed to be a shared facility between the HS (during team & school hours) and the city of SC (during all other hours). Not the best neighborhood in SC. There had been fires set and some other vandalism.

But the dog issue was the last straw. Large signs (3' x 5' or larger) went up specifically prohibiting dogs. No lights on these courts. Dog owners from the neighborhood would bring their dogs over, at dusk, to free-run around the courts once the tennis players had left. Even after the signs went up, dogs were still set free to run and do their business on the courts. Less than 2 months after the large signs went up, the courts were locked up for good -- except when the HS team or PE classes were using them.

 

[Pandora Mikado]

disposing old tennis balls

Any ideas opinions on the best way of disposing old tennis balls? (know that recycling it for other purposes is always an option)

Many simple DIY things can do

If you see kids around the court give them one of the above DIY and make someone smile

 

[Ronaldo]

For years never really disposed of old balls. Had three corny keg pressurizers to pump them up.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

For years never really disposed of old balls. Had three corny keg pressurizers to pump them up.

Had no idea what you were referring to until I found the vid below on YT. Did you pressurize to an absolute (not gauge) pressure of 30 psi (or something less)? How long are the balls kept under pressure? What % of balls did not survive the process?

 

[Ronaldo]

Had no idea what you were referring to until I found the vid below on YT. Did you pressurize to an absolute (not gauge) pressure of 30 psi (or something less)? How long are the balls kept under pressure? What % of balls did not survive the process?

Never used more than 14 psi. All balls lived to bounce again. Always started with pop n fresh day-old balls. So no flat balls. Any balls that were noticeably going flat were removed. Began to pllay more and practice less. Stopped using them. Moved, lost storage. Found these on the bay, $30 each

 

[max]

Huh. I had a plastic one long ago in the 1970s and it never worked.

Eventually the felt wears off, no?

Me, I shred my tennis balls and make them into carpet.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Never used more than 14 psi. All balls lived to bounce again. Always started with pop n fresh day-old balls. So no flat balls. Any balls that were noticeably going flat were removed. Began to pllay more and practice less. Stopped using them. Moved, lost storage. Found these on the bay, $30 each

Ok, so it appears that you are referring to 14 psi gauge pressure rather than an absolute pressure (~29 psi) here.

Amazed that you never had any causalities. The club where I was taking used ball for exchange/recycle indicated that they often lost a few in the re-pressurizing process. Perhaps they had a few older balls, they used a higher gauge pressure or they left the balls in the pressurizer too long.
.

 

[Ronaldo]

Ok, so it appears that you are referring to 14 psi gauge pressure rather than an absolute pressure (~29 psi) here.

Amazed that you never had any causalities. The club where I was taking used ball for exchange/recycle indicated that they often lost a few in the re-pressurizing process. Perhaps they had a few older balls, they used a higher gauge pressure or they left the balls in the pressurizer too long.
.

Never left the balls in the can more than a week. Added day-old balls. Our club added 4-6 cases of balls monthly. Trashed flat balls at that time. Problem indoors is the balls are stored in carts agaist the walls behind the curtains. Icy cold. Rarely used thirty or more balls to practice when the courts were full. Lugging the jug and bag and hopper was no longer worth it. Kinda cool opening that keg on-court, What A Rush!

 

[dgold44]

disposing old tennis balls

Any ideas opinions on the best way of disposing old tennis balls? (know that recycling it for other purposes is always an option)

I just put them in the trash or i used to launch them into an empty court or backyard

 

[Chadalina]

@Znak

Some clubs have something like this for rejuvenating depressurized balls. You might consider buying one of the smaller ones for your own use. Won't put felt back on the ball but it will certainly but the bounce back into the ball -- for another 2+ weeks or 2+ sets (depending on use & how picky you are).

Temporary solution: Put your dead balls in a microwave or clothes dryer. The higher temp will increase the internal pressure and, hence, the bounce. Remember, P = nRT/V . Sadly, this is only good for about 10-20 minutes. Once the T drops to normal, P returns to 1 atm (~14.7 psi).

Id do that in a friends microwave, but not mine

Velcro sticker and a tennis ball = nice door stop

 

[Ronaldo]

Used to nuke my balls and wrap them in a warm towel then whip them out when needed. Exhilarating

 

[Ronaldo]

Btw, after rapping my balls I'd stuff them in an insulated cooler. Gotta make them stay warm,

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Huh. I had a plastic one long ago in the 1970s and it never worked.

Eventually the felt wears off, no?

Me, I shred my tennis balls and make them into carpet.

You taking about this? Still around & at available at Amazon for $17. 4 stars, so they must work for a some ppl. Oddly, TW has a link for a Racquetball version but not one for tennis balls. The felt on extra duty (XD) balls should last longer than SD balls. Prince Tour XD hold their pressure for quite a long time but are not easy to find these days. ProPenn Marathon XD felt is supposed to last much longer than these and other balls. Some also like the Dunlop Grand Prix XD balls for durability.

http://www.tennisballsaver.com.es/en/tennisballsaver-2/

 

[max]

You taking about this? Still around & at available at Amazon for $17. 4 stars, so they must work for a some ppl. Oddly, TW has a link for a Racquetball version but not one for tennis balls. The felt on extra duty (XD) balls should last longer than SD balls. Prince Tour XD hold their pressure for quite a long time but are not easy to find these days. ProPenn Marathon XD felt is supposed to last much longer than these and other balls. Some also like the Dunlop Grand Prix XD balls for durability.

http://www.tennisballsaver.com.es/en/tennisballsaver-2/

Not that make, but the same idea. This one was clear plastic, had a screw-on top with a pump on top.

 

[NLBwell]

For that matter, don't let your hitting partner use court six for #1 or #2 either. Need to train them not to do that.

I think that is only encouraged in San Francisco.

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

Not that make, but the same idea. This one was clear plastic, had a screw-on top with a pump on top.

Seem to recall something like that. But I don't remember it being clear, Had a simple hand-operated pump on top, right? Do you recall the name of the device or the manufacturer? Was it a ball manufacturer or someone else?
.

 

[Deleted member 23235]

@Znak

Some clubs have something like this for rejuvenating depressurized balls. You might consider buying one of the smaller ones for your own use. Won't put felt back on the ball but it will certainly but the bounce back into the ball -- for another 2+ weeks or 2+ sets (depending on use & how picky you are).

Temporary solution: Put your dead balls in a microwave or clothes dryer. The higher temp will increase the internal pressure and, hence, the bounce. Remember, P = nRT/V . Sadly, this is only good for about 10-20 minutes. Once the T drops to normal, P returns to 1 atm (~14.7 psi).

339 for the mini... ouch.
corny keg solution is $60!

 

[SystemicAnomaly]

339 for the mini... ouch.
corny keg solution is $60!

Is that the Mini 60 or the Mini 30? $60 for Corny Keg solution sounds great -- if you are a DIY type.
.

 

[NLBwell]

Seem to recall something like that. But I don't remember it being clear, Had a simple hand-operated pump on top, right? Do you recall the name of the device or the manufacturer? Was it a ball manufacturer or someone else?
.

I remember one with a clear handle and I believe one with yellow and black, maybe also.
The pump ones got more pressure into the ball than the screw on one, but broke much more quickly (seal wouldn't hold pressure).

 

[Ronaldo]

Recall the corny keg at times added too much pressure.