Wheelhouse Batting Cage Details
Below are some brief paragraphs describing some of the batting cage details of a Wheelhouse batting cage. Such things as shape, overall design, and type of netting to name a few. If you can't find answers to your questions on this page or others please contact us.
Dimensions
The cage is trapezoidal in shape: 10' tall, 10' wide at the top, and about 14' wide at the bottom. See image at left. These batting cage details are important. A trapezoidal cage is much more stable than a rectangular cage. The poles are 3/4" EMT - Electrical Metallic Tubing or simply electrical conduit. The trade name is "thin wall." The poles are standard 10' long. No cutting or bending. They are available at hardware and electrical supply stores such as Home Depot or Lowe's. You buy the frame poles locally. The L-screen is 6.5' tall by 7' wide with a 3'x3.5' cutout. The L-screen poles are included.
Design
The netting drapes over the frame and is not attached anywhere. Anywhere the ball hits the net can give. As a result, there is less wear and tear and abrasion on the net. Our can nets last a very long time. Recently, a client ordered a replacement net. He had his net 18 years! Even I was shocked. While I can't guarantee yours will last that long, taking good care of it will extend its life. Taking it down in the winter time or when there are extended periods of time you can't use the net, will add life to it.
Why we use 3/4" EMT
We use 3/4" EMT on purpose. The poles are strong enough to hold everything up, but absorb the momentum of the batted baseball so the ball just dies and falls to the ground. Watch our YouTube assembly video. The 3/4" EMT poles are flexible and give upon impact from a hard hit ball. Hence, there is very little ricochet. And don't confuse flexible with flimsy. Our design is based on the principle or "The Law of Conservation of Momentum" which states: The total momentum of a group of objects is the same after they interact as it was before. Momentum of an object is its mass times its velocity (p=mv). Before collision, a batted ball has positive momentum and the pole has zero momentum. After the collision the total momentum is the same. If the pole cannot give at the time of impact the final momentum of the ball will be about the same as the initial momentum. Thus there can be very dangerous ricochet.
Netting
We only use knotted nylon on our premium batting cages. Mesh size is 1 7/8" on a side. Knotted nylon is between 72% to 125% stronger than poly net. While poly net is cheaper you would have to get about a #42 poly to be almost as strong as our #21 and by then you have spent more money. Knotted nylon is strong, water resistant, UV protected, and will last for years. The #21 gauge has a burst strength of about 209 pounds per strand or about 836 pounds per mesh. The #36 gauge has a burst strength of about 380 pounds per strand or 1520 pounds per mesh. Our netting hangs on the diamond, not on the square. This allows for more give when hit by a ball so there is less chance for tear and less abrasion. It also allows water to run-off more quickly. For our HDPE or poly nets see our economy batting ages.
What we send you
The boxes will contain the cage netting, cage connectors, L-screen netting, L-screen connectors, L-screen poles, extra twine, packing slip, copy of your invoice, and assembly instructions. The heaviest box will weigh between 80 and 130 pounds, depending on length of cage (40', 50', 60', 70') and gauge of twine (#21 or #36).
What you have to buy
You have to buy the 10' frame poles. UPS only ships up to 9' and the frame poles are 10' long. Shipping the poles would add hundreds of dollars to the shipping cost. The poles are 3/4" EMT (electrical metallic tubing), standard electrical conduit. The trade name is "thin wall" and they are readily available at Lowe's or Home Depot.