alchemysa
Veteran Member
Over the years I've busted so many belts on my ride-on mower that I think I've paid for the machine twice. (Replacement belts are around $30 to $40 a pop, and 300ks away). I've tried expensive fabric coated belts and cheap rubber belts. All seem to have a similar failure rate .
It's normally a piece of wood stuck under the deck that causes the snap, but I'm theorizing that under normal circumstance the belts are under not much strain. So the question is "Are they sufficiently repairable to cope with a normal load?". I'm wondering if thin strips of canvas (or some other mesh) glued to the belt with contact cement then wrapped with a bit of fabric electrical tape would do the trick. They might not last as long as a new belt, but 2 or 3 of these repaired belts ready to go at a moments notice sounds like good value. Anyone tried it or got any ideas?
(edit.) I just had another thought. Maybe I could slice the ends and glue a strengthening tongue into the slice.
It's normally a piece of wood stuck under the deck that causes the snap, but I'm theorizing that under normal circumstance the belts are under not much strain. So the question is "Are they sufficiently repairable to cope with a normal load?". I'm wondering if thin strips of canvas (or some other mesh) glued to the belt with contact cement then wrapped with a bit of fabric electrical tape would do the trick. They might not last as long as a new belt, but 2 or 3 of these repaired belts ready to go at a moments notice sounds like good value. Anyone tried it or got any ideas?
(edit.) I just had another thought. Maybe I could slice the ends and glue a strengthening tongue into the slice.
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