Cheap V belts

[37 chief]

My flail mower has 3 V belts to run the flail drum. When in heavy weeds, the slip clutch turns into a smoke screen before I realize it., the disks are shot. It's a major job to change the clutch disks. The last few years I just tightened up the clutch springs so it doesn't slip any more. I can tell by the sound of the tractor when it's time to stop and let the frail drum clean out. Then sometimes I'm not quick enough again, and the belts slip on the pulleys. Then I just tighten up a little on the belts. After a few times doing that It's time for a belt change. I was always buying top of the line belts Gates comes to mind. I started buying cheap belts. They seam to last as good as the high priced ones. I always keep a couple sets on hand. That's my story' and I'm sticking to it. Stan

 

[wore out]

My flail mower has 3 V belts to run the flail drum. When in heavy weeds, the slip clutch turns into a smoke screen before I realize it., the disks are shot. It's a major job to change the clutch disks. The last few years I just tightened up the clutch springs so it doesn't slip any more. I can tell by the sound of the tractor when it's time to stop and let the frail drum clean out. Then sometimes I'm not quick enough again, and the belts slip on the pulleys. Then I just tighten up a little on the belts. After a few times doing that It's time for a belt change. I was always buying top of the line belts Gates comes to mind. I started buying cheap belts. They seam to last as good as the high priced ones. I always keep a couple sets on hand. That's my story' and I'm sticking to it. Stan

Try Kevlar belts, D and D Drives, on the 'net, is a GREAT source.

 

[Eric in IL]

My flail mower has 3 V belts to run the flail drum. When in heavy weeds, the slip clutch turns into a smoke screen before I realize it., the disks are shot. It's a major job to change the clutch disks. The last few years I just tightened up the clutch springs so it doesn't slip any more. I can tell by the sound of the tractor when it's time to stop and let the frail drum clean out. Then sometimes I'm not quick enough again, and the belts slip on the pulleys. Then I just tighten up a little on the belts. After a few times doing that It's time for a belt change. I was always buying top of the line belts Gates comes to mind. I started buying cheap belts. They seam to last as good as the high priced ones. I always keep a couple sets on hand. That's my story' and I'm sticking to it. Stan

My experience has been aftermarket belts do not last as long as OEM. This experience is based on my combine.

I still use some aftermarket belts, but not in a location that requires three hours to change.

 

[Blackhole49]

I've had very good luck with these guys' Kevlar belts. They also probably have a single 3v belt for your application.

https://www.vbeltsupply.com/

 

[Russ from MN]

I use a cheap belt on our Woods mower on the Farmall C, it doesn't have enough horsepower to smoke a belt. It's a B225, I think we paid <$50.

 

[Geo-TH,In]

I use a cheap belt on our Woods mower on the Farmall C, it doesn't have enough horsepower to smoke a belt. It's a B225, I think we paid <$50.

I use a kevlar belt for my Woods RM660. Lasts a long time. I buy them off Amazon. I used a sharpie and wrote the size of belt I need on the mower along with a diagram of how the belt goes.
I'm not 100% sure if the gates belt is kevlar.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

You guys do realize if he uses better belts, the next-weakest thing in the system is going to break. That next thing is likely to be expensive.

 

[Jim.ME]

You guys do realize if he uses better belts, the next-weakest thing in the system is going to break. That next thing is likely to be expensive.

Agreed. In his first post of the thread, he knows the slip clutch is an issue and is just posting to tell us that he has decided on buying belts rather than fix it right. He tightened the slip clutch until it is solid because he burnt the discs out and "It's a major job to change the clutch disks." The belts have replaced the slip clutch for overload protection. Cheap belts are likely better in this case than good high strength ones. The belts are not the root cause of any problem here.

Who knows, I might choose to do similar at some point, but I don't plan to broadcast it if I do.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

The grooves are probably U shaped... no belt will have any real lifespan no matter how much you spend on them. Look at the bottom of the vee groove... if it's shiny, the belts you are using are too narrow or the pulleys are shot and need to be re-cut.

Unless you have a 100 hp, a flail mower should stall the tractor, not slip the belts.

 

[moresmoke]

I use quite a few Jason branded belts. I have no complaints. Have had better service out of them than some of the name brand ones. Usually source from an online vendor.