Belt Dressing !

[AltaLawnCare]

I just sprayed my drive belts with automotive style belt dressing. The dealer told me a while back, that it wouldn't help any.

It made a world of difference - the Toro pulls A LOT better now,...

Just wondering if anyone else tried this before.

[JJ Lawn]

If the belts slip in the first place, there is a problem that needs to be resolved. Belt dressing is just a temporary fix. I think your dealer is right.

Just my opinion.

Jim

[rdh]

i always heard it dries them out and makes them crack.

[Runner]

It doesn't hurt, and CERtainly helps the performance. As a matter of fact, I would say that it would probably help with the life of the belt, also, as it keeps the belts from slipping. All it takes is just a squirt on about an inch of the belts, and it gets spread around. Be careful though, because when you first apply it, your mower will literally want to "JUMP" when you release the handles. Be prepared!!! Especially around cars and such. I always recommended this for efficiency, especially if your pulling a sulky. The mower is just alot more responsive.:cool:

[fivestarlawnken]

How often, and when do you know to do this?Will this increase or decrease the life of the belts? Thanks.:rolleyes:

[geogunn]

I have done the belt dressing thing and it does make a difference.

but then, after alot of belt dressing and a set of new belts that didn't pull any better than the old, I replaced the drive pulleys.

guess what...took the new belts off, put the old belts back on and it pulls like new!

if you got a new belt machine and it needs belt dressing to perform, IMHO, that aint a good sign!

GEO

[captdevo]

i use belt dressing on my 52" and 62" Walker decks and it has definately improved the "grip" of the belts.

I also use it on my older drive units and am very pleased.

a little goes a long way....

[Runner]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by fivestarlawnken
[B]How often, and when do you know to do this?Will this increase or decrease the life of the belts? Thanks.:

As often as you like. I always carried a can with me on the trailer, and would use it maybe once every week or two, but just try it every once in a while, and YOU'LL feel the result! Then, you can use you're own judgement of how often you want to use it. As far as the wear goes, well, like I said, I think it saves belts from wearing so fast as they slip less.

[AltaLawnCare]

Yes, a little does go a long way.

I've added a lot of weight to my Toro, beacuse of the sliding problem - it handles much better now. Before it pulled very good, but it steers better now.

Because of the extra weight, the steering felt heavy. Now with the dressing, it handles like it did before.

[mowingmachine]

I would say if you have slipping belts it is one of two things. The drive system is a bad design and there isn't enought wrap on the pulleys or your pulleys are worn out. When a pulley wears out or starts to spread the surface area in contact is reduced therefore reducing the amount of grip a belt has. Hope this helps.

mowingmachine

[racerdave]

Originally posted by Runner
Be careful though, because when you first apply it, your mower will literally want to "JUMP" when you release the handles. Be prepared!!! Especially around cars and such. I always recommended this for efficiency, especially if your pulling a sulky. The mower is just alot more responsive.:cool:

Belt dressing will cause other unforseen problems. In alot of cases the belt needs to slip some. I would never ever use this. I would replace the belt and inspect the pulleys for wear. Pulley do wear out, and the contact area in which the belt is designed for may be worn out.

Anyway, I rate this product right up there with the deer whistles for cars.....useless

good luck

David

[Wangel]

Belt dressing is like a sticky substance. After you spray it on, turn the motor off and check it. It's very sticky. This sticky gives the belt the added grip. The belt dressing does not destroy the rubber as most petrolium products do. Most people notice a bit quicker wear out of the belts due to the added friction. I can't see any harm in using it, except it will tend to cause your belts and pulleys to act like a dirt magnet.

[AltaLawnCare]

Thanks for all the advice.
Maybe I wasn't cler befror - The belts weren't slipping excessively. The mower has around 100 hrs on it now. When I was looking last srping, I was interested in the hydro - it was on sale for 4600 (i think). The dealer kept telling me all I needed was this belt drive (only 900 less). In our conversation I asked about the speed - he said not that noticable.. And reversing - he said you won't miss the reverse.
I mentioned mowing in wet conditions, and thats when I brought up belt dressing, he said you will not need it on this "it will pull you on sulky up any hill you want to go".
On a spur of a moment, I picked up a can of the dressing when I was in NAPA for some other stuff. The dressing made more of a difference than I thought.
BTW teh dealer also told me the TORO SFS deck did not need to run double blades...:confused:
I'm running doubles now - the only time it didn't need them was when it was like a desert out there.

I'll bet there aren't many who run a new SFS deck which don't need doubles.

[racerdave]

The belts should slip some. If they don't slip at all then they will put a considerable amount of torque on what ever they are turning. This can cause severe damage to your equipment.

Even the hydros have some "slippage" in their design.

The biggest mistakes with belts are:
over/under tensioned
pulley misalignment
New belts installed on worn out pulleys

David

[awm]

i think id just do what works and after a while report your findings on lawnsite

[AltaLawnCare]

Originally posted by awm
i think id just do what works and after a while report your findings on lawnsite

Thats an excellent idea, AWM.

I'll try treating the belts once a week, and see how it does over the next month.

If you never try anything new - you'll never make any progress.

[mowingmachine]

I disagree with the statement that belts have to slip some. They don't have to slip at all and in most designs slippage is extremely minimal. The belt is typically the weak link in the design. Considering the tensile strength of belts, if to much torque applied by the belt to other components fails those other components then those are some pretty weak parts. Slippage is not good because it can create heat which shortens the life of the bearings in whatever it is your belt is driving.

mowingmachine

[Eng Mwr Guy]

Well actually per a conversation I had with a belt manufacturer belt dressing will cause premature slippage due to a chemical reaction with the belt material. They strongly recommended not using belt dressing.

I can say that some slip is necessary in the system. On one of the first prototypes I had a set of extreme aggressive belts and on the first trial run the half-shaft went "plink".

Belts are inherently inefficient the way we use them. They are meant to be running at much higher rpm's. They do provide a means of power transmission with 2 problems of wet mowing slippage and no real reverse......and their cheap.

Good luck.

Barry Adamski
Gravely Engineer

[racerdave]

Originally posted by Eng Mwr Guy
Well actually per a conversation I had with a belt manufacturer belt dressing will cause premature slippage due to a chemical reaction with the belt material. They strongly recommended not using belt dressing.

I can say that some slip is necessary in the system. On one of the first prototypes I had a set of extreme aggressive belts and on the first trial run the half-shaft went "plink".

Belts are inherently inefficient the way we use them. They are meant to be running at much higher rpm's. They do provide a means of power transmission with 2 problems of wet mowing slippage and no real reverse......and their cheap.

Good luck.

Barry Adamski
Gravely Engineer


Ditto!!!


Slippage should occur when the belt is engaged. Once the stationary part starts turning the slippage decreases until the forces are equalized. This slippage can usually be adjusted so it is of short duration

David

[mowingmachine]

Depending on how the drive system is clutched I would definitly agree there is slippage on engament but if there is slippage during full load you will have problems. You should be able to pull the full power out of your engine before any belt slippage occurs. The only exception would be under a severe shock load such as hitting stumps, rocks, etc... Then the belt can be a lifesaver for you deck and bearing spindles. If this is not the case you are either using two small of pulleys or not enough belt wrap. I have been on fairly new machines that easily slip belts under load. Makes it kinda hard to get any work done at any speed. There are a lot of companies out there that just throw a product together and don't engineer it. Sad but true.

Mowingmachine