New type of drive belt

pmagowan

pmagowan

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I have a nice old beta marine 20HP engine which goes like the clappers. Great bit of kit. I have the old fashioned V shaped drive belt which gives off a fair bit of dust as expected. I have one spare on board but wanted some more and so went to ASAP supplies online. They now do weird belts that can be adjusted to any length. Look here
Has anyone used these and are they any good? Which one is right for my requirements? Any help appreciated, thanks.
 
Not at all new, they have been around for years and work very well. I have used them as lathe drive belts to avoid having to dismantle the headstock. In that use they carry only a small load, but they are perfectly capable of replacing standard vee belts in heavy duty applications.

Polyvee belts are quite different, having multiple small vees on a broad flat belt and special pulleys to match. On cars they usually drive the alternator and water pump, the power steering pump, and often the aircon compressor as well, and tend to be called serpentine belts as they will follow a convoluted path.
 
Invented for use in the Textile industry by a Company based in Shipley Yorkshire that produced most of the pulley systems and belts-taken over by Fenner-Traction engine pulleys and belts back in the 1970s
 
Take the old one along to a local motor factor and ask for a heavy duty belt - you'll know it by the serrations on the inside. That should cure your "dust" problems as well as transmit about 60% more torque. Fenner belts were being used in industrial applications in the late 50's and by the 70's nearly all motor manufacturers were using them. Almost universally they've been replaced by the continuous, wide, ribbed belt in motors except the most crude.
The OHC belts used to drive camshafts are a different kettle of fish, they operate on toothed pulleys. When they break there are a lot of very expensive noises and, usually, need for a replacement engine. Change cam-balts @ a maximum of 50K miles on petrol engines and 70K on diesel. Fortunately most marine engines, being about half a century behind auto-developments still use chains (or gears) and pushrods.
 
Because it is an old engine the belts may be out of stock or not supplied by the manufacturer any more. This does not mean to say that you cannot get suitable V belts. I would not advise using a linked belt. Alternators require more RPM than the old dynamo used to, so they have larger drive pulleys and smaller driven pulleys and require greater tension. The linked (Fenner) belts are OK as an emergency but in my experience they continually stretch, have to be adjusted frequently and therefore soon break. Even if they work they are far less efficient.

You have a spare belt, if it is unused then you can measure the outside circumference, see here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kYLYrw0gUE

Or if you don’t have a new belt, see here
http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_7651114_measure-belts.html

Then run an Internet search for “fan belt” suppliers in UK, these are a few of the examples I have found -
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...motive&hvadid=67537557&ref=pd_sl_7ixbru0eeq_b

http://www.bearingboys.co.uk/V_Belts___Wedge_Belts-1025-c

http://www.247spares.co.uk/browse/engines/fan-belts

http://www.suttonautofactors.co.uk/fan-belts.php

Have fun, George
 
I know the metal linked belts as Brammer Belts? I have sailed on 1960's tugs where they were used to drive pumps, compressors and generators from the main engine shafts. There pretty robust but they are much easier to use with the special little pliers designed for them as turning the metal links can be a pain.
 
Also look for a Gates Belt supplier, they make a selection of what they call Green line or Green stripe. Designed for long life, pre stretched as well.

Been using them for years, no connection, just a very happy client.

Good luck and fair winds. :)
 
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