Ball Machines

[Roger Ravenscroft]

Has anyone got any recommendations / experiences with ball machines?
They all seem £600+ which is too much for my budget.

Roger R

[cjsanlon]

You can get cheaper machines, though I cant remember just at the moment where I have seen them. I have seen them as low as about £350 - £400. Obviously they have fewer features, but I guess that you get what you pay for, and they still do the basic function of sending you hundreds of tennis balls over the net at varying speeds etc. If I see them again at those prices, I will let you know.

~Chris~

[Anonymous]

Prince ball machine modle 2 is great but costs about $800. us
They have a machine called the little prince It's great really good power
and battery opp. two full hrs on stock batterys can get the extra battery
for about $50. u s then it will go for 4 hrs at full power.
the quality of the little prince is 2nd to none!!! lots of bang for your buck.
you can see there add in all of the tennis mag's

[jeffkupers]

I have no idea how much your budget is in US dollars but I have had a lot of experience with ball machines.

My absolute favorites are the Sam Millenium machines by Master Sports, yet they start at around $2000 US.

I have had the Prince portable machines and they have not lasted well at all. In one year at a past facility I purchased four Prince portable machines and sent 3 back. The Millineums I never had trouble with (had 3).

Also, the Tennis Tutor machines are very reliable and incredibly easy and inexpensive to repair. There are numerous motors in the machine as well as a control panel. The motors cost around $50US and the control panel around $60US and are VERY easy to replace. I mention this because I once inherited one that the previous owner said was DEAD. I took it apart (and I'm no electrician) and the manufacturer walked me through a testing process and then helped me decipher the parts I needed. I spent around $50US to repair a once thought DEAD machine. For the money, I think these machines are hard to beat.

Also, no matter what model you choose, make sure to maintain it well. The most important thing to do is take the machine cover off once a month and using a vacuum attachment, vacuum all the tennis ball fuzz from inside the machine. It will greatly increase the life of the machine.