Jugs PF50 Not Throwing Strikes

[ECU20012005]

Hi everyone. I am hoping someone can tell me what is going wrong. I have a Jugs PS50 machine and the last two times the team has tried to use it, the machine is extremely inconsistent. Granted, we are using 11 inch balls (ballistic seems leather balls), but the balls bounce back and forth in the shoot. Some come out hot and some barely come out of the machine at all. One pitch is in the 40s and the next is in the 20s and bounces halfway to the plate. We tried switching to 12 inch dimple balls and that helped a little bit, but I am wondering if I got a dud of a machine. What am I doing wrong? I feel like we paid a lot of money for a machine and balls and we have a machine that basically doesn't work.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Not throwing strikes? Clearly the umpire's fault.

I'll leave this to the experts here, but back when I was coaching and running a league, we were always told not to use seamed balls in pitching machines. They don't work correctly and won't fly true.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Many of the single-wheel pitching machines claim they throw real balls well, but they don't. Also, the chute on the PS50 is 9" for baseballs, and 12" for softballs. While they claim they can throw the 11" balls the same way, I've found them to be inconsistent, at best.

I would recommend using the 12" dimpled balls or the lite flites. Also, check to make sure the tire is properly inflated, especially if it sat in a cold garage or shed over the winter.

 

[ECU20012005]

Great thoughts! Question about inflation of the wheel. How do you tell if the wheel needs air? I checked last night before turning it on and the wheel seemed fine. But, truthfully, I have never added air. It seems firm to the touch.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

Great thoughts! Question about inflation of the wheel. How do you tell if the wheel needs air? I checked last night before turning it on and the wheel seemed fine. But, truthfully, I have never added air. It seems firm to the touch.

It's like any tire. It has a recommendation for PSI on the side. Use a tire gauge to determine the PSI and add air, if needed.

 

[Westwind]

I looked at the manual.

The manual makes no reference to 11” softballs. Says 9’’ or 12” balls. I doubt it will throw 11”.

The manual says 20# psi inflation. Back when we used a Jugs with the bigger wheel, we ran them at 11# to improve accuracy. Said buh-bye to Jugs, Hello Three Wheel many years ago.

Sanding the wheel when needed helps accuracy.

Here is what I would do: use 12” balls, consider moving it up to at least 30’ from plate so you can slow it down. I’d probably go 20’. Feed it VERY consistently. The rubber feet that slip all over are “rubber “Chair Tips” that can be purchased at any hardware store. Change them religiously if using indoors. Learn to pitch from behind a screen and start saving for a Hack Attack.

 

[Westwind]

Print a few of these out and laminate them. Use this to figure out your front toss and dont be afraid to set up your machine at 15-20’ and slow it down.

 

[LEsoftballdad]

The manual says 20# psi inflation. Back when we used a Jugs with the bigger wheel, we ran them at 11# to improve accuracy. Said buh-bye to Jugs, Hello Three Wheel many years ago.

It's a balancing act on inflation. Mine was too low once, and it blew the bead. If it's too high, the chute is too tight.

The hack attack is great for pitch reaction, but I've seen more broken bats from that thing than anything else.

 

[_MIA_]

View attachment 27900Print a few of these out and laminate them. Use this to figure out your front toss and dont be afraid to set up your machine at 15-20’ and slow it down.

Or just remember one simple formula and use the calculator on your phone..

I hated Biology, unlike physics, you had to memorize everything and I was too lazy to do that.

Pattar, saving the world once piece of unnecessary paper at a time...

 

[Westwind]

The hack attack is great for pitch reaction, but I've seen more broken bats from that thing than anything else.

Yep. Org Dd played for got a Hack, set it to 70 with regular seam balls and let ‘er rip. I have NEVER seen so many broken bats- it was from mis hits.

We used Baden dimples in my home cage with realistic settings and had good luck. DD hit game and practice with one bat always. Always a replacement on hand and a pre-stamped pre addressed bat box to send the next broken one back to Thousand Oaks California lol.

DD’s college team uses hacks with seam balls and their bats last forever…

I don’t have youth hitters anymore but I cannot emphasize how much that if I did I would be using short distance, low speed, accurate machine in place of a tee a lot.

It's a balancing act on inflation. Mine was too low once, and it blew the bead. If it's too high, the chute is too tight.

The hack attack is great for pitch reaction, but I've seen more broken bats from that thing than anything else.

It really is a balancing act. Changing pressures affects speed and accuracy, and when you break the bead on a Jugs wheel, good luck finding a tire shop that can balance it. I HIGHLY recommend using a sharpie to mark where the rim and tire are so you don’t have to go through that. Or put it on Marketplace and order the Hack, lol.

Hack makes a one wheel. It looks pretty slick tbh.