finish mower belt questions

The counter guy at the local bearing and belt supplier says grooming mowers go through belts faster than most machines. He says he has a lot of customers buying belts for them.

I still think it should last longer than these ( about 100 hours of use per year). I'm just cutting lawns with it, no rough stuff. I use the bush hog for the field work

How many hours do you get on a mower belt? Is there something wrong with this mower? Any suggestion?

I have a Caroni finish mower I just parked last year, after 20+ seasons of mowing 2+ acres a week. I replaced the deck once, one spindle and 2 bearings. I also bought ONE set of replacement belts. That's right, 1 set and the replacements are still on it and in great shape. Gates makes...or did...excellent belts. You've got something mechanical killing those belts. Either pulley alignment or you are tightening them too much....or both. Not enough tension will kill them too. Heat from friction breaks them down. make sure your pulleys are aligned....all the proper highth to one another and that there is the proper amount of tension applied. Are your spindle bearings good? Can you freely turn each spindle by hand...and the spindle spins with a flick of the wrist? If you have bad bearings and the spindles are dragging and/or the spindle shafts are wobbling, this will destroy the belts.

I would start by cleaning all the debris from the deck, remove the belt guards and measure the highth of the pulleys....if all are level within 1/16", I'd say that is fine. They should actually be the same...but 1/16" isn't much. Take the belts off. Rotate each spindle by hand, feeling for roughness. They should spin smooth as glass. See if you get any side play in the spindle shafts, there should be NONE. See if you can get any horizontal movement of the spindles..they shouldn't move up and down either. Next,check and see if the spindle assemblies are straight and not canted on the deck. This could happen if you struck something a hard blow.

If the spindles all check out OK, if you have an idler pulley or pulleys, make sure they run freely and apply proper tension if they use a spring like Woods brand mowers do. If you adjust tension by sliding the gear box, then make sure the belts show about 1/2" deflection at a point half way between the drive pulley and the outboard spindle pulley. Don't tighten them like banjo strings!

If you do this and still destroy belts....sell the damn thing and buy another unit.

Looks like the tensioner pulley might be the cause of the problem. Checking with a gauge block it is out of alignment with the others. It rides on a plate that appears to be bent. All other suggestions check out okay. Thanks

I think you're on to something. There is really no magic in a belt. Kevlar makes them stronger, but even an old fashioned belt will run a long time, providing it runs true.

I had to replace an idler pulley on my Woods finish mower last summer because it had chipped a flange and cut a new belt in half within 30 minutes of run time. The idler pulley is a cheapass plastic POS. But, a new one from the dealer cost less than $20 and I was back in business. I garnered all the info I passed on to you from the Woods dealer....I checked everything out on my mower and all was well....that's how I found the broken flange on the idler. I think when you get yours all lined up...the problem will disappear.