I may be getting way ahead of myself, as I've only bowled 14 games in the last week since my return to the game (after a 30 year hiatus), BUT...
I am using a 15# Ebonite Clash with specs of 19 lth, 38 hook,
cover: modified phazed bomber reactive, finish: 400 grit abralon,
medium oil lane condition.
Now what would I want for medium to heavy oil ? I think I would want a ball that would react similar to what I have now: throw it
the same and have it react on the lane the same, if possible.\
In the Ebonite line, I see The One and The Gamebreaker as possibilities. The Gamebreaker has 19 lth, 38 hook, cover GB10.7
and Finish of 2000 Grit Abralon, while The One has a lth 25,
hook 40, cover GB10.7 and finish 4000 Grit Abralon.
What is recommended, either from Ebonite or another manufacturer?
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The One is a great ball - from what I've heard the re-release is a bit stronger than the original. It does absorb a lot of oil, so it will die out a little quicker than some other options. The hottest ball on the market right now is the Cell from Roto-Grip, which is a pretty strong ball and seems to not absorb oil as much as most other heavy oil balls.

When you say "die out", what exactly do you mean? Die out during
a 3 game set and have to be cleaned... or ... die out and have to buy a new ball ??
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Ray, if I look for a medium ball on a house shot, I look at Storm balls. I use the Shift which is less aggressive than my other balls. Drilled for length, and a decent back end.

Dying out would mean that the cover would eventually become so soaked with oil that you'd have to buy another ball. You can usually restore them a couple times via baking, hot water bath, etc, but eventually it's time for a new ball. A resilient ball could handle 300+ games. Some of the modern sponges will have a tough time getting to 100. Also, oil-soaked heavy oil balls can eventually become great light-oil balls, because they still have a strong core for hitting power, with a weaker cover to help push down the lane on dry shots.

A softer coverstock will absorb oil much faster. It will lose its friction, which you can see. I have had my Scorchin Inferno resurfaced 5 times. Each time, it lasted fewer and fewer games.

I use it for really oily special occasions. I clean it after use, but have it resanded avery 3-4 times now. Which I do myself with the Pro Shop spinner.

Cqeorg: thanks, don't think I want to buy a new ball every year,
but maybe that's what it will come down to.

interesting stuff from all.
right now I can't get into the Storm or Roto-Grip web sites, wonder what's wrong with them.,,, maybe later.

Dennis , when you say medium ball on house shot, I assume you mean medium oil. I think I already have that with my Clash ball, but someday I might need another ball for heavy oil. One that,
hopefully, would perform like my Clash ball, same spot, same hook, etc.,, if that's possible.

It will probably be very difficult if not impossible to get a ball for a different condition that will allow you to play the same exact line. There are just too many variables, length and volume of pattern, friction of different lane surfaces and so on. You might be able to play in the same area but to say ball A or ball B will put you right on the same line isn't possible.

Buying new ball every year isn't always needed. A polished solid or polished pearl can last longer, the polish helps to repel the oil instead of letting it soak in, its the dull balls that tend to be problematic like Dennis said. They soak in oil. No matter what type of ball, regular maintenance is needed, the dull balls just need more. I just recently had to stop using a ball because it died, nothing I did helped, it was two years old with well over 300 games, probably even over 400. It was my benchmark ball, the one I made decisions on ball changes, or what balls to try.

Infernocal: thanks, what you say makes sense.
My Clash is a shiny ball; I have been cleaning it with Fantastik.
I guess is will last longer than a dull finished ball like the
Gamebreaker, for example, or the One that was described by cqeorg.
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I'm bowling on 2 different bowling lanes so far: one Brunswick and
one AMF, with similar results. Talked with person who oils the lanes and he tells me that he would describe his lanes as being medium oil. I would guess that all the lanes in my area are dry to medium.
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In any case, my scores are really good; almost like I had never
left the game. Spare shooting is giving a bit of problem - that's why I think I'll get a spare ball for joining a league.
But, if I ever decide to bowl in tournament, I might need a ball
that will perform best on medium to high oil lanes.
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Thanks to everyone who is helping me get up to speed and for
having patience with me when I ask stupid questions.
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I would say pick up spare ball if your going to bowl league or tournments. its probally one of the most used balls and must have imo.

The Columbia Rival is great ball for medium to heavy oil. I have it and love it.

Ray the Gamebreaker would be an excellent choice and shouldn't break your wallet either. To keep it from absorbing oil, just don't use it unless you need it. Most of us love to throw the new ball to death even when the conditions aren't right for it, that is why it dies when you need it for heavy oil.

No matter what ball you get it will absorb oil and needs to be properly maintained and have the right surface on it for the conditions you are bowling on. The more oil the ball encounters, the more oil it will absorb. When the ball becomes oil soaked it needs to be rejuvenated by sanding the ball with a low numbered (high grit) sand paper then putting it in a hot water bath with dawn dish washing liquid, or having your Pro Shop put it in a special oven designed to bake the oil out of the ball.

If you get a heavy oil ball and decide you want to see what it does and throw it on lanes that don't have enough oil, then the friction between the ball and the lane will glaze the Track into the ball. If you look at a clean ball and see the Track lines and how they have dulled into the cover of the ball, then it needs to be sanded and brought back because the pores of the coverstock have melted and sealed themselves from the friction. This is what helps cause ball death when the ball gets repeatedly used on the wrong lane conditions, then the plasticizer doesn't come to the surface and make the ball feel tacky, after a while it keeps melting deeper and deeper until finally the ball can't be sanded enough to get the plasticizer to come out any more.

As cgeorg already said, softer covered balls melt faster than harder ones, and require more maintenance to keep them from glazing over.

Coach is right, Ray. It is very common to start the night on fresh oil with a heavy oil ball, but, as you see the lane oil transition, carrydown and spread, most people put it away, in favor of a medium oil ball, that reacts better to that condition. So, on a typical house shot league, you rarely see a heavy oil ball used more than the first game.

People who use it more, burn the Track out quicker.

thanks guys !

Ray, did you see my PM? You should have a flashing light by MyStuff at the top. Hope it was legible. Often, the URL reference gets banned.

From reading all the posts, it seems to me that a Gamebreaker ball
would be a good choice (thanks Coach), but that I may hardly ever
get to use it. Who knows if I'll ever get to bowl in a tournament
with heavy oil lanes? But the knowledge I'm picking up here is
invaluable.
Next purchase will be a spare ball, as picking up the 7 pin (I'm a
lefty) is very difficult. Maybe the boss (my wife) could get me
a Gamebreaker ball for xmas.
I've bowled 17 games over 11 days since my "comeback" and this old
body is hurting. Best I slow down a bit and heal up.

You might rarely need the heavy oil ball, but it is nice to have it when you do need it. Many of us on this site have 10+ bowling balls for different conditions and different reactions on those conditions. Its hard to have the ball you might need if you don't know the condition you will be facing though. I rarely find that I need a med-heavy oil ball around my area, but when I do its nice to have it to help score.

Ray, another thing that is good about having a heavy oil ball is that you can play further inside on a house shot if you so choose. Also if you decide maybe to play in a tournament or try a sports shot league it might be good to have. The Gamebreaker looks like a good ball. The Cell or the Saga by Roto-Grip, the BW bite or Venom by Hammer, the Rival, Resurgence, or Arch Rival by Columbia, the Terminator by Legends/Lane Masters, and the Rising or Up-Rising by Track are all good balls to consider as well. But if you want to stay Ebonite, the Gamebreaker is the way to go.

Actually, most heavy balls are not good for playing further inside. You need a weaker ball that will push down the lane and store energy.

That's strange then because I play further inside with my Cell with not a whole lot of adverse effects. I do see what you mean though cgeorg. That makes more sense.

How inside is "further inside"? 3rd arrow, compared to 2nd? Or inside 4th?

13-15 board versus the 8-10 board, and about 4-5 boards further left than I usually start on the approach(20 board).

Two things I forget to mention were that I do leave the 8-10 on occasion, but I know or can at least come up with a few reasons as to why I leave it. And second I get a much better reaction out of the Cell when I move further inside and put more side rotation on it.

Red Zone has been an excellent and versatile ball for me. They can be bought pretty cheap too.

Then we have 2 different views of what it means to play inside. 13-15 at the arrows still very close to the Track area.

Inside/outside is a relative term.

Inside to me is 18+ and outside is 1-7 board. The rest is all comfort zone for me. It is different for everybody.

Demo there is only one reason you leave the 8-10 and that is the ball has lost too much energy on it's way to the pocket, you see a slow 10 or 8 pin, that is telling you that you need to move farther into the oil because the ball is losing too much energy.

Historically the term, "inside" is starting the ball inside of 15, the Track is between 15 and 8 and outside is right of 8, the twig is 4 to the gutter.

Usually, when I leave the 8-10 playing I guess further inside then I usually do i.e. the Track, I usually throw it soft and the angle that the ball its the pocket isn't right.

i use my Track kinetic energy for that kind of oil. Lane Condition:Medium-Heavy
Coverstock:Reactive Resin, Finish:Polished Color:Navy / Orange
Performance:Mid Performance

its not that expensive either. most people dont like Track that much but this is my first one and i shot a 208 with it friday. my first game over 200. but i've only had a hook ball since march, so you can see why i love it. i have used a straight ball before then (for a long time). Track is owned by Ebonite. and it does take on a lot of oil like most because of its cover. plus its polished like your clash. also i own a clash and this thing is its big brother to me. check one at the Pro Shop if they have one next time and compare it to your clash. and talk to them about it. its an amazingly similar ball. its a med performance ball also and it hits like a tank too. its forgiving a little too. which helps with me

Most people I see with a Cell are playing inside with a break at about 8, and plenty of side rotation. Seems to be pretty common.

Again, Dennis, what do you mean by "playing inside"? I doubt they are playing 5th arrow. The ball would not hit.

Well, most that I see are playing center arrow, +- a couple of boards. My Coach plays dead over the center, out to about 8. And, since he owns the local Pro Shop too, I am sure he has had some input into how others roll.

He had me standing and rolling inside at 17 out to 10 when I bought my Shift. He won't sell me a Cell, since he says it doesn't match my game.

Jeez, and you guys call me a strapper. I almost never play that deep.

It's not terribly difficult to be playing that deep on a fluff shot... so long as you have an aggressive ball. But as far as the original topic goes, the gamebreaker or The One are both very successful Ebonite balls, probably the most successful in their lineup at the moment. As well as the edition of the new Playmaker, which I will be picking up eventually. For medium heavy oil, either the Gamebreaker or The One would be good choices, and well priced as well. The Cell is a good choice as well since the ball can be very versatile in it's drillings. Whatever ya choose should be fine, since you're still just gettin' back into the game and you just need something to fill in the large gap. The time will come when you want like 20 balls for no real reason, haha. Because I'm totally not like that...

The Gamebreaker is pretty good. I'd also like to recommend the Secret Agent, The Break, and Awesome Revs to add to your consideration pool as well.

how is the secret agent? i've read some good things about it.

From what I've picked up about it, it can get down the lane(with enough oil of course) with a pronounced move off the breakpoint(not like a snap though). The coverstock is a particle/solid Hybrid as well as well as the second strongest cover in Storm's current line(R2S). Also, it seems to be a pretty versatile piece and takes surface adjustments pretty well. I'd say it's one of their best as of late, along with the Gravity Shift and Dimension.

Agent, Special agent, and Secret agent all seem to be pretty similar, especially when you look at their website's picture of the ball's Track down the lane to the pins. Can anyone compare these
3 balls ? Obviously there are differences like coverstock and finish, but similarities like weight block and flare potential,
but I don't understand what the differences will do to the ball when on oily conditions ?

btw: I like that the curve of these balls is down the lane over the second arrow, without a huge curve at the end; seems to me
to be able to control the ball easier than the big bender style
balls.

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Dennis, I'd be interested to see the drillings they use. I would also be surprised if they could get in much deeper than that, although I suppose the proper drilling and surface treatment might make it playable. Then again, why would you do that when you can get a ball that is made to play inside?

What I have found with my heavy balls (Big One, Infinite One, Cell) is that they will roll out and hit very weak if I try to get in much further than 3rd arrow. The Big One can handle getting a little deeper, but it's the weakest of the 3. Whereas my weaker equipment like the VP2 in the past, and the Avalanche now, I can get in as deep as I need and always get recovery (assuming the lanes are in a condition to be played that deep).

Comments from a ball review board:

Special Agent: In heavy oil either crank it hard, slow it down, or put it away.

Secret Agent: dont hook like it is supost to in heavy oil for me
works better as a mediam heavy ball

I find this common with Storm balls as i found this to be true of my ball: Hard to use on a variety of conditions. Very picky with oil patterns.

I don't crank or have a lot of hand for these balls to work for me.

People each of the balls you have mentioned in the special agent secret agent andagent have a layout sheet in the box with a new ball these layout sheets show different layouts to bring the ball farther down the lane, hard on the back side, make the ball break early. Crank the ball use few revs, use high reves use slow speed, use fast speed. Your Pro Shop operaters have a tendacy to set the ball up the way he likes a ball now this ball should be drilled like this that ball should be drilled like that. People it depends on how you want the ball to go down the lane as to what pattern you drill the ball. Each ball is capable of all different sorts of reaction and it is according to the drill pattern used as to when the ball beaks and how far you reach out when you release a ball.

I wonder if anyone, other than the Pro Shop guy, sees these layout sheets that you refer to.

On the Storm website, for example, they show a picture with the
Track to the pocket that each ball travels. Are these tracks
accurate in any way? Or is it just to show you how one balls
tracks/curves in relation to other balls ?
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They show the picture with the line to the pocket but that is all relative. Are they accurate? I am sure that depending on the drilling/lane conditions that they could be accurate. I don't put too much into them though. It may help when you are trying to determine which ball has the highest hooking potential. I will look at them when trying to the reaction between 2 different balls but I don't take it as "This ball will hook X amount and this ball will hook Y amount." Use it as a guideline, not gospel.

Ray, everyone has access to the layout sheets all you have to do is ask the Pro Shop when before they drill the ball up, or if you bought it online the sheet should be in the box the ball came in. Many times you can find them on the manufacturers website as well.

As for the diagrams showing a balls reaction, like GP said, it's more to compare how the different balls react in comparison to each other. For example, arc versus skid/flip. They don't represent the ideal line for that ball.

In my opinion the Secret is a little longer and stronger compared to the Special Agent. The Agent should go longer than both and be a little weaker, but have a hard arc off the breakpoint. Just my take on it.

The only way I read those charts is that they don't apply to everyone. But, ANYONE who rolls one of these balls, whether it is the yellow line, green, red or black, should expect other balls to react more or less then the one they rolled.

It's all relative to how you roll.

i had one of the sheets come with my MoRich. i pick a lay out that would seem to fit my style. low revs medium speed and aggressive hook. and still got it drilled the way he wanted it. but it wasn't mike either this was before mike and want use that guy again. the ball plays long and no snap but has arc. about it.