Powering Up Tennis Machines

There are two primary methods to power a tennis ball machine.

• Battery Powered
• A/C Powered

Most smaller machines will use battery power and will be exhausted after roughly two hours of play and then need to be taken and charged overnight. The batteries are sealed, which means they are much more durable, but they cannot be replaced during play. The only way is to recharge them. There is however one kind of battery powered tennis ball machine that can be replaced, which will give you a bit more playing time.

A rechargable cable should be supplied, which you need to plug into your outlet to recharge for the required amount of time. Anything less can result in shorter charged time for your battery.

An A/C powered tennis ball machine can only be used when plugged into a household outlet. These do not run on batteries at all. Many private courts prefer to use these as they can be used without the worry of battery life. Not everyone has this option though.

There are some AC-DC machines out there that use both. They can have batteries and an option to use an outlet.

Ball Machine Works

Perhaps you out there looking for information about tennis ball machines. Or maybe looking to buy one, which is how you found this weblog.

Either way you need something, and you have come to the right place. First let me answer some of the questions you maybe asking yourself concerning how a tennis ball machine works.

How are the tennis balls thrown?

Most quality machines use a wheel to throw the balls. The ball goes inbetween two wheels going opposite directions and is shot out.
The other kind is pressure shooting, were the tennis balls are shot through a tube at a high pressure.

Basically all the machines that cost more and have a higher quality will use the rotating wheels.

How is does spin appear on the ball?

The two wheels vary in speed which results in one side of the tennis ball moving faster than the other. This is not true for every tennis ball machine, some do not have this ability. You should check if the machine you buying has this function or not.

Oscillator?

This is a device on the machine that allows the tennis balls to be shot all around the court. Some have a random setting and some a programmable setting. This is normally available on more expensive tennis ball machines, but it is a function many people like to use as it is not so predictable.