Beta BD 722 alternator belt

[Guest]

Has anybody had problems with the alternator belt on a Beta 20 HP engine? My belts wear and stretch so badly that they are only good for about twenty hours and leave a mess of black in the engine box. As the belt stretches it also tends to wear the fresh water hose that runs behind it. The pulleys are aligned (maybe out the thickness of a sheet of photocopy paper) and I have tried upgrading to a better quality belt than Beta recommend without success. Beta are not at all helpful about this problem. I wonder if others have had a similar experience or if my (new) engine is somehow faulty.

 

[Guest]

Have the same problem with my Beta 32 worn belts black dust everywhere,
and allso very close to my intake pipe dont know what the answer is as allso the people at beta are not at all helpfull, i think its becouse they dont know themselves
or couldent care less.

Tony

 

[johnmuir]

I had similar problems with belt wear on a Beta 13.5. I ve now sold the boat but was wondering how to solve this. I think I remember reading about some type a fluid that can be applied which prevents slippage. Perhaps this may jog someones memory as I can 't think of the exact name. Maybe this would prevent this?

 

[johna]

I had the same problem and put it down to having the larger 55amp alternator fitted. Constant adjustment needed to minimise slip also I sleeved the water pipe with milk bottle plastic and a cable tie to prevent wear and loss of cooling water (a real PBO solution).

 

[roger]

I've a newish Beta 722 - 400 hrs. running from new this year. We've had some black dust but the belt is still ok. Perhaps your belt is not tight enough. I notice that the belt whips a bit and if yours is damaging the water pipe it's whipping far too much.
Theres another problem to look at - rust on the pulleys - that wears the belts out. You might check out your electrical power consumption. We have the large 55 Amp alternator but not much power hungry plant - no frig and very little night sailing.

 

[Col]

Had same problems with Volvo AQ211, eventually resolved it by changing to twin belts. You might have to do a bit of research on obtaining the nessasary pulleys etc: But worth it in the end.

 

[colin_jones]

The black deposit is not a new problem nor, as some of the replies corroborate, is it peculiar to Beta. I have had a serious dose of 'blacks' with a BMC for many years and have frequently discussed it with marine engineers.

I found that as long as I was very conscientious about ensuring that the pulleys were totally in line and that the belt is sitting nicely down in the grooves, I considerably reduced the problem. It was also lessened when I took to renewing the belt after about 150 hours hard running.

My own problem is not aided because I have big battries.

I also recharge via an Adverc battery manager, which ensures that I have fully charged batteries, but that, of course, makes the alternator work hard for longer, but there is no proof that it worsens belt wear.

I know that a number of companies are aware that this is a small problem and that they are actively researching a different sort of belt.

There is no proof that sticky compounds reduce the black deposits.

Finally, I am very surprised that you found Beta ( or was it a dealer?) unhelpful. I have always found the reverse and that Ted and Adrian at Beta HQ (01453 835282) go out of their way to be of assistance.

PS I have also sent you a private message about this

 

[Guest]

Have a similar problem with our Beta 28hp. The engine has approximately 46 hours on the clock since new, and mid season saw about 3 hours of cleaning the black dust off the surrounding area in the engine compartment. There seemed to be quite a bit of whip in the belt while the engine was running, so tightened everything up to increase the tension on the belt. Winterising the engine when the boat came out the water, and there was hardly any dust on the block(the engine being painted white!) and no obvious signs of wear on the new belt fitted mid season.

I find your comments about Beta being unhelpful a bit hard to fathom...I suppose you can only speak as you find...but I have always found them most helpful!

 

[vyv_cox]

My Bukh used to generate lots of black and was visibly whipping in use. Despite tightening the belt frequently it appeared slack when running. My wife then noticed that the belt had worn to different amounts across its width. It was possible to get the belt very tight, then rotate the engine a quarter of a turn, when the belt would sink deeper into the groove and go slack. We replaced the belt, thoroughly cleaned the internal surfaces of the pulleys and the problem seemed to go away.