Basketball Goals - Winterizing Portable Units

Well it is that time of year again, the time when leaves start to fall and the winds begin to blow cols. But what does that mean if you have a basketball goal? If the basketball goal that you have is a portable unit, it can mean a lot.

You see there is an innate flaw in the design of today's portable basketball goals, they are usually filled with water. Though the instructions also stat that sand can be used to fill the ballast base, most people opt for the water choice due to the easy of actually getting it into the base of the basketball goal. But there is a problem with water being used as a filler for the base, it freezes.

That's right, when the winter sets in and the temperatures drop, water freezes, even if it is in the base of a basketball goal. Even more of a problem is that when water freezes it expands, when it expands the base of the basketball goal is cracked. Then come spring time, all of the water will leak out and the basketball goal will fall over, maybe even killing little Johnny. That would be bad! So what do you do?? You need to winterize your portable basketball goal to prevent this from happening.

So you go to the auto store and you buy some anti-freeze and you pour it in the basketball goal base. When the winter comes and the temperatures fall, your water in the base of your systems will remain un-frozen with no problems at all, that is until mom backs over the base of the system and the liquid inside starts to leak out. Now Rover, back from chasing a cat, tired and thirsty grabs a drink from the puddle that has formed around the base of the basketball goal. Happy he goes and takes a nap. Johnny comes home from school that day to find that Rover is taking a dirt nap! He is dead as a door nail. What caused this horrible event, the toxic anti-freeze of course.

The way to avoid this unfortunate set of circumstances is to use Sierra, or any other non-toxic anti-freeze. So this year be sure to winterize your basketball goal and keep Rover in mind when you do it!

Basketball Goals - The Myth of Yellow Glass

One of the most asked questions that I hear is, will the backboard turn yellow?

What kind of question is that? Well a good one. You see back in the old days a small company called Zue corporation based in Indiana started making basketball goals. Goalrilla basketball goals. They wanted to make really good systems that would hold up to very tough play. One of the most important things to them at the time was backboard strength. That is they wanted to build a basketball goal that had a very strong backboard, one that would not crack or break when hit with, let's say a rock or something like that.

In their quest to find a material that would meet all of their needs they came across Lexon, a material used as a type of bullet proof glass. However, it was not glass it was a type of polymer. It was strong! But, Lexon had one flaw, it was susceptible to UV break-down. That's right, when the sun was bright and shinning, it would cause the material to turn from crystal clear to yellow!

Unfortunately for Zue corporation, they did not do any testing before they used the Lexon in thousands of backboards used in their Goalrilla basketball goals! So when people are driving around and they see basketball goals with a very ugly yellow color they say to themselves, "that is one terrible looking backboard, I do NOT want something like that in my driveway!" And with good reason, to this day any of those basketball goals that are still out there look like crap!

But not to worry. The fact is that most if not all basketball goal backboards today are made from cast Acrylic. A clear material that is 10 times stronger than tempered glass. The best thing is, it will never turn yellow!

One thing to remember is that thickness does matter. Do not get a basketball goal with a backboard that is any less than 1/2" think, you will regret it!

Basketball Goals for Halloween

Back in the old days, the 60's, Halloween was a time of great fun and excitement. The night would bring swarms of kids to the streets running from house to house in an effort to collect as much candy treasure as they could carry. In those days, the days of giving out full size candy bars, it seemed that times were better.

What does this have to do with basketball goals? Nothing, except that kids of all ages also enjoy a game of basketball almost as much as they do candy, at least I did when I was a kid :-). I was often envious of other kids who had a basketball goal in their driveway. I wished that one day I too would be able to shoot hoops in the comfort of my own driveway.

That day did come in the fall of 1972 when I came home from school one day. Several neighbors had gotten together to buy and set up a brand new basketball goal in my families driveway. Why neighbors? My dad was an alcoholic and he was incapable of running his own life let alone securing a basketball goal for his kids. Anyway, that day was Halloween, and despite the usual excitement of the candy hunt, I was busy, busy with my new basketball goal! I was so happy that I played into the night just watching as kids rang the door bell on our house and screaming "trick or treat".It was the best Halloween ever, the Halloween that I got my first basketball goal!

Steel Basketball Goals

When it comes to steel in the production of basketball goals, the business saying "location, location, location" rings louder than ever. For those that are not that familiar with basketball goals and the steel that is used to create them, this information should prove to be both enlightening and informative.

The finish that is usually placed on steel parts in the manufacturing process in paint or powder coating. Paint has a nice look and is easy to apply , however it has a flaw in the fact that it does not hold up well to direct sunlight and is prone to wear down and allow rust to form. Powder coating is a process by which a fine plastic powder is applied to steel. It sticks via and electric charge. The steel is then baked to melt and cure the plastic in a tight finish that is very durable. I should say durable if the steel is processed correctly before it is finished.

You see steel as it goes through the manufacturing process becomes very dirty and covered with little deposits of oil. Both of these factors effect the ability of paint and powder coating to stick to the metal on a basketball goal. For example if you powder coat a dirty piece of steel and then it gets scratched, rust will form where the scratch has been made, but it does not stop there. Being that the steel in the basketball goal was dirty, the rust now travels under the powder coating in all directions lifting the powder coating right off of the steel. Soon large sections of the finish will fall to the ground leaving a rusting mass in your yard. If this same piece of steel had been acid washed and then sandblasted before the finish was applied, when scratched, the rust would move no farther that the scratch itself leaving the rest of the finish intact.

Remember this, basketball goals that are produced in China are not acid washed or sand blasted so their finishes tend to fall off and are riddled with rust. Basketball goals that are produced in the United States are sand blasted and acid washed so their finishes last much longer.

Something to consider when you choose your next basketball goal!

New Basketball goal Website

Barbarian Basketball Systems Inc. has announced their soon to launch totally new Website. The company produces the highest quality basketball goals made. Over the years as the Internet has grown in popularity, this basketball goal company has recognized the importance of having a solid Web presence. They have promised that their new endeavor will be something special, including great information on basketball goals, pictures and instructional videos.