Belt dressing on rfm belts

[nhman]

I'm pm'ing the rfm for the season. I have loosened tension on the belts. I've heard of "belt dressing", but have never used it. Anyone use it and does it work to prolong the life of the belts?

thanks!

nhman

 

[markie61]

I was having problems with my belts slipping. I used an STP dressing on a new belt (also degreased all the pulleys) and it helped a lot. I was told the better dressings use silicone, but I don't know if the STP has it or not. It was pretty cheap, worked well, and is said to prolong the belt life. So I say "no harm" whether you have a problem or not.

Mark

 

[em14]

The only reason we used belt dressing was to prevent a slipping belt ... I don't think it will do much other than that. We never used it very much on any equipment if belts were alligned,had proper tension. and weren't worn or dirty.
Leo

 

[Henro]

<font color="blue"> The only reason we used belt dressing was to prevent a slipping belt ... I don't think it will do much other than that. </font>

In the plant where I worked belt dressing was considered the kiss of death for the belts it was used on...

Naturally, it was used on belts that were slipping...and it stopped that. But what is seemed to do was soften the belt so it gripped better...seemingly causing it to weaken and fail faster.

I would be VERY careful about applying that stuff to my mower deck belt! Now that is just the stuff that we had...but it is possible that applying belt dressing to a good condition belt might just be a bad, rather than a good. thing. Might shorten rather than prolong the life of a good belt.

Read the product lable carefully... /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Bird]

Maybe they've got some new stuff that's better, Bill, but otherwise I'm with you. I'd only use a belt dressing as a last resort and only on a belt I expected to replace in the very near future anyway.

 

[TonyC]

Put me on the "Do-not-use" list. I only use belt dressing as a last ditch effort to keep a stretched belt going until I get a new one. Once you start using it, it's downhill form there.

 

[DavidJ]

Well, I'm going against the crowd here. I use it from the very start. I put it on as soon as I replace the belt and have found it to make the belts last longer. I started using it on my lawn tractors years ago when I was going through about a belt a month. After replacing the belt and spraying it with dressing I could get an entire season out of them.

If you can prevent the belt from slipping (or at least reduce it) through the entire life of the belt it will last longer. Since I am not willing to replace the sheaves as often as they really need it (and that's a lot more often than most people think) I use the dressing. Your milage may vary /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif . I've also found that if I use it on new sheaves they don't appear to wear as quickly.

 

[pruntyc]

A belt a month, you have a equipment problem, and need more than belt dressing. I'm not in the business, but before I got my tractor, I was cutting around 5 acres of grass and mine was lasting me at least 3 or 4 years, sometimes more, according to brand. JD was the worst to wear them out. Mtd, which I didn't like at all in anyother way could easily get 6 to 7 years.

 

[DavidJ]

Not as much of an equipment problem as a operator problem. I'm one of those people that will mow anything with the lawn mower, Stumps, roots, dropped limbs, ant beds, etc. I know it tears up equipment but what the hey; It's my equipment.

I take more care of the small equipment now that I use a rotary cutter in the rough stuff.

 

[BXMMCC]

Another good reason to have the engine at idle when you engage the PTO to drive the mower - less tendency for initial slipping which causes the belt to glaze; belt dressing does a good job in circumventing the slip that the glaze causes, at the expense of belt life.