V-belts for lawn and garden equipment

TomIn

Member
The summer mowing and gardening season is about over here in Indiana. It's time to start getting my equipment ready for next year. I would like to change the belts on three of my (older Garden Way) Troy-Bilt tillers and on three of my older Gravely mowing decks.

Both Troy-Bilt and Gravely brands have been sold since my equipment was manufactured. It seems that belts labeled as OEM for Troy-Bilt and Gravely are getting rather expensive. Amazon and Flea-Bay are full of ads for "equivalent" belts, but the ads seldom list the manufacturer of the belts. Rock Auto seems to sell Gates brand belts for lawn and garden equipment at very attractive prices.

Does anyone have any experience with any particular non-OEM brand and/or suggestions of who sells quality belts at reasonable prices? Are there any particular brands to avoid?
 
Gates has worked well for me. But, if your belt is for a mule drive, or any application that twists the belt in two directions, use an OEM, or at least be sure all are Kevlar, or equivalent.
 
If you have belt measurements and have an shop that works on electric motors they can get you belts that will hold up better than belts from dealer. They will get you industrial grade belt.
 
I have good luck with Vbelt Global supply and Vbelts 4 less if used on the deck or engine to deck. For mule belt OEM works best it seems , especially if you have a manual transmission. I don't have any of the 2 mower brands you have. I recommend having the OEM part #s when visiting the site. I nearly always buy the kevlar belts if available.
 
We have had good luck with belts from those suppliers too, but if it's for a mower deck it needs to be kevlar. Anything with an idler on the backside needs to be a good belt.
 
I was told that JD requires their own belt, in that their V belts are a different bevel and that generic belts thus won?t fit the pulleys correctly, that is, it won?t ride in the ?v? correctly. Likewise JD belts won?t work on non JD pulleys. They?ve got us!
Any truth to this?
Also, some belts are not designed to have a pulley to run on the back side, as in an idler or tensioning pulley....
 
No tractor manufacturer builds its own pulleys... they're out sourced, and many automotice applications have an idler pulley that runs against the back side of the belt..... its all nothing more than sales pitch propaganda to lure cash out of your pocket, and apparantly its quite a successful tactic... but you can buy belts cheap from most any auto parts store and they will work just fine.
 
Measure the length and widest width (v belt) and go online. Look for Kevlar belts of the dimensions you need. If you don't know how to measure it, they will tell you. If you have number stamped on the belt you just google that number for the exact replacement. I have attempted replacements at local auto parts stores and they said they didn't carry that quality of belt. I just bought a Kevlar ? x 90" drive (not deck) belt for my 46" Husqvarna for around $13 with about $15 S&H. Got it in and perfect fit. Don't remember the name of the seller but I can get it if you have a problem.
 
(quoted from post at 02:11:53 10/11/18) No tractor manufacturer builds its own pulleys... they're out sourced, and many automotice applications have an idler pulley that runs against the back side of the belt..... its all nothing more than sales pitch propaganda to lure cash out of your pocket, and apparantly its quite a successful tactic... but you can buy belts cheap from most any auto parts store and they will work just fine.

All the automotive apps with the backside of belt running over an idler I have seen....are flat belts.
Flat serpentine belts, not v-belts.

I will say that generally, a cheaper v-belt for the deck spindles can be had that is not O.E.M. Notched kevlar v-belts particularly.
But unless someone can tell you the part number they used on a machine similar to what you have, it might be a crap shoot finding one that will last.

If your wanting a non OEM mule drive to deck belt, it is even more difficult to find a cheaper substitute that last.
 
(quoted from post at 09:07:09 10/11/18)
All the automotive apps with the backside of belt running over an idler I have seen....are flat belts.
Flat serpentine belts, not v-belts..

Well then its safe to say you've never worked as an automotive mechanic.
 
On my John Deere mowers I've had good luck with belts from UPE Group, found them on Ebay Very reasonable about 1/3 the cost of JD belts and they last. I've tried the kevlar belts from various places and they did not last long at all. The UPE belts are the best belts and are priced fairly.
Chuck
 
(quoted from post at 12:59:25 10/11/18)
(quoted from post at 09:07:09 10/11/18)
All the automotive apps with the backside of belt running over an idler I have seen....are flat belts.
Flat serpentine belts, not v-belts..

Well then its safe to say you've never worked as an automotive mechanic.

You are correct, but the dozen v-belt automotive vehicles I have owned, none had v-belts being bent over backwards.
 
I've never heard this, & don't believe it either - I use a belt from NAPA to drive the 46" deck on my 285 - Half the cost of the JD belt, and lasts longer too. 2160 hours on this machine, so the theory is well tested.
 

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