If you find that your ball machine is regularly suffering from a ball jam, please check the wire that hovers above the drop hole. This wire should prevent more than one ball falling down the chute at any time.
Note: This article addresses the issue of ball jams occurring even when the carousel is not running. In case you are experiencing ball jams only when the carousel is running and not pausing for the chosen interval after a ball is fired, continuing to drop more balls into the drop hole please refer to the article here.
For V1 machines:
Over time, this wire may bend towards the front of the machine, allowing multiple balls to drop into the hole which will cause ball jams. Simply bend this wire back towards the center of the carousel and check that it adequately prevents multiple balls falling into the drop hole.
For V2 machines:
Check that the wire marked below is in place on your machine. It is unlikely for this wire to be bent permanently and cause ball jams but in case you find it bent try bending it back towards the centre of the carousel. If you find balls going through and jamming the wheels when you are filling an empty hopper, try shifting the location of where you are dropping the balls into the hopper. If you think the wire bends under load when the hopper is fully loaded try reducing the number of balls in the hopper, a Spinfire V2 ball machine is designed to hold a maximum of 150 balls.
If the points above do not resolve your issue, then please consider the tennis balls that you are using. We strongly recommend the use of Spinfire Touch pressureless tennis balls which we know are trouble free.
Old balls and inexpensive balls are more prone to jamming and could be the cause of your problem. The felt may have worn down or be of poor quality that the throwing wheels are unable to grip the ball and fail to shoot it.
Ensure the balls are not damp, as this also makes them slippery.
Finally, ensure that the throwing wheels don’t have any build up that makes them slippery or that they are not too smooth. For instructions on cleaning your throwing wheels, please read this article: https://www.spinfiresport.com/kb/cleaning-the-throwing-wheels/
If this fails so solve the problem, please contact your local Spinfire distributor for assistance or send us an email here.