Tennis tutor balls jamming

[arnz]

I've had my tennis tutor plus for several weeks now and have been using the heck out of it, but the past 2 days its been acting up, some balls are not being grabbed by the wheels, and all the balls line up jammed inside, sometimes 3 or 4 shoot at the same time , sometimes the balls just overflow inside and fall inside the machine. Its starting to annoy me. I use a mix of pressureless Wilson balls, and some older pressured balls.

I used some light sandpaper to sand the wheels, I'm not sure if that good or not though. You guys who own ball machines have you experienced this problem and how do you solve it?

 

[RLWK]

I have this problem only when the tennis balls are wet. It is so slippery that the wheels couldn't grab the tennis balls and eject them out. Another problem i face is when the tennis balls become soft, it tends to jam on the rotating plate.

Yeah, i have this problem of balls overflowing out of the machine too.

Another part i dislike about my Tennis Tutor plus is the awkard handle on the machine itself. I am abt 1.75m tall and i find it very awkard and a bit difficult to push the machine around.

 

[arnz]

I have this problem only when the tennis balls are wet. It is so slippery that the wheels couldn't grab the tennis balls and eject them out.

don't tell me you play in the rain?

 

[RLWK]

don't tell me you play in the rain?

i played after the rain and dried the court. I guess i did a poor job as the ball went to some corner where there is big puddle of water.

Other than a few minor problem, my tennis tutor plus rockz and they gave me superb Customer Service.

 

[Owen0501]

I have this same problem - all my balls are the same Tretorn Micro X. I've not tried the sand paper but will give it a try.

 

[mark rodgers]

According to Sports Tutor you need to sand the wheels from time to time. They get slick from the ink on the tennis balls rubbing off onto the wheels. Also they lose their abrasion from use. The idea is to keep the feed wheels clean and roughed up. I have also used alcohol to remove ink/slick residue and that helps too! Then I sand them a little. It's easiest to turn on the machine and let the wheels rotate while you clean and sand them. Don't forget to take the balls out of the hopper first. LOL!

 

[mctennis]

According to Sports Tutor you need to sand the wheels from time to time. They get slick from the ink on the tennis balls rubbing off onto the wheels. Also they lose their abrasion from use. The idea is to keep the feed wheels clean and roughed up. I have also used alcohol to remove ink/slick residue and that helps too! Then I sand them a little. It's easiest to turn on the machine and let the wheels rotate while you clean and sand them. Don't forget to take the balls out of the hopper first. LOL!

Yes, I agree with this and do the same with my Tennis Tudor. I've had mine for years without any problems at all with it.

 

[freelythinking]

I don't have a jamming issue with my tennis tutor, but I have noticed that it started to lose its power..? What I mean by power, I mean the velocity of the projectile of a ball (even with speed dial pointing at around 7.5) ...Due to the power loss, if I use about 150 balls more half of them will land on the same side as the machine . The efficiency of the machine lacks somewhat. I'm guessing it's time for a tune up...

 

[mark rodgers]

My first thought is that the surface of the wheels are slick and not gripping each ball fully. First thing to do is to follow the advice of my last post. It's the easiest and least expensive thing to do. Also check the balls you're using. If they are old and losing their fuzz and/or pressure, the diameter of the balls are getting smaller. Since the distance between the feed wheels is fixed there would be less ball for the wheels to grab and so you lose feed speed. As a side note, if your machine has spin control and if you are now using more topspin than before, you are going to lose speed for the sake of spin. That's the tradeoff.

If it's none of those then you're gonna spend some money. First your batteries. You probably have a good idea of how long your batteries lasted when they were new. If you're getting a lot less time then your batteries obviously aren't charging like they used to. If your battery is running out of juice quickly then consider a new set of batteries. You'll need two 12volt, 7.5 amp hour batteries. You don't have to buy them from Sports Tutor. Electronic shops sell them for about $16 a piece. Next up, feed wheels. Sports Tutor sells them for about $60 a set. Sports Tutor rep told me that they have better quality poly urethane. You still need to sand them lightly but they'll last longer. They send you both the wheels and an allen wrench to remove the key from each one. Then as a last resort try changing the feed wheel motors. Sports Tutor sells them for about $60 each. Sports Tutor rep told me that they are now improved over the ones my machine has (it's a few years old). They run slightly faster and stronger. They have only a few screws or bolts holding them against the frame so they are easy to replace. Just doublecheck the motor direction during installation. You don't want the wheels turning the wrong way! The very last thing is the feed speed control knob that's soldered on the control panel. I've never had to replaced it but I think you would need to replace the entire control panel unless you're an electronics kind of guy.

Personally I've replaced the batteries, feed wheels, feed wheel motors, and a ball hopper motor ($40). It's just normal wear and tear items that need replaceing from time to time. Good Luck!

 

[Trev343]

Im having the same exact problem as him can anyone help?

 

[firstblud]

where do u buy sand paper?

 

[mark rodgers]

Trev343, one other thing to consider is the age of the batteries. The feed wheels may seem to be running great when nothing is in between them. When a ball comes down the feed ramp and into the wheels, there is considerable resistance applied to the spinning wheels. If there is not enough torque the wheels can come to dead stop as it tries to feed a ball. So try replacing your batteries and see if that helps.

 

[volusiano]

When I first got my used TT+, I opened it up and cleaned the inside because it was very dirty with lots of ball fuzz and debris and dirt inside. When I put it back together, I started having the exact symptoms the OP is describing. Balls weren't getting grabbed by the wheels and they stacked up and overflowed inside the machine and so forth. Those grabbed by the wheels shot out funny, etc.

I sanded the wheel and it didn't help. So after some checking, I found that the rubber chute from the ball feeder to the wheel, which is supposed to rest on top of the metal bracket just under the hole where the ball goes in, is not resting on the metal bracket like it's supposed to. Instead, it was just hanging unsupported under the bracket. The reason for this is when I put the TT+ back together, I just snapped the 2 halves back without making sure that these 2 parts line up properly.

After I fixed this, the problem goes away. So it's something worth checking out.

 

[mark rodgers]

Volusiano, you're absolutely right. The metal ramp alone will cause the ball to hit only the lower feed wheel. When the plastic ramp is placed on top of the metal ramp, it makes the ball go between the two feed wheels as they should. Great suggestion.

 

[x-height]

I've only had this problem when the balls were starting to get flat.

 

[E46luver]

I am having this problem. Balls not getting gripped by the wheels.
I will try to sand them.

 

[esgee48]

Also read post 13 about the plastic ramp. Sanding the wheels does nada if the balls are not high enough to be grabbed.

 

[E46luver]

Plastic ramp is firmly in place. That will never get loose unless you take every bit of this machine apart. Not my issue. Not even sure how he could get the ramp to land UNDER the metal bracket, since the bracket is mounted on a wood plank. The ramp MUST land even with the bracket.

 

[mctennis]

I have a suggestion. Call their customer service. They are very helpful and may be able to give you some suggestions. I was having an issue ( not like you are having- the balls were coming out inconsistently- the actual wheels at the opening needed to be replaced- I tried sanding them but they were pretty worn evidently) and sent it back to their service department. They made the repair and sent it back to me. It was frustrating trying to self diagnose the issue. It was not an expensive repair and they replaced a few other items that needed replaced as well. I had a wheel on the unit that was cracked and one of the top flaps had a broken side hinge. All in all a very good service experience with them. GREAT service department.

 

[mctennis]

Another part i dislike about my Tennis Tutor plus is the awkard handle on the machine itself. I am abt 1.75m tall and i find it very awkard and a bit difficult to push the machine around.

I am not sure what model you have. Are you really "pushing" the machine around or pulling the machine with the handle? Mine is easily pulled with the handle and not easily pushed around.

 

[E46luver]

Did not have a single jam today.
Sanding the wheels totally fixed it.