Replacement belt

Tomster

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Oct 27, 2014
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Ok, my bracket became loose for a second time and this time it got my hydro belt. I ordered an aftermarket one online and then on the way home from work I picked one up from Tractor Supply. The Tractor Supply belt was a 1/4 inch too long but seems to be working fine. I guess I'll use it until it breaks. My question is what kind of luck have any of y'all had with aftermarket belts instead of Hustler brand, which is easily twice as much.
TIA, Tom
 

bertsmobile1

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because of bad engineering design in order to keep the prices down you end up with odd belt sizes.
Because of scale economies, standard size belts are always a lot cheaper than a belt which is XYZ+ 15/16"
Some times the extra fraction of an inch makes little difference & other times it does, all depends upon belt loads .

Aftermarket mower belts come in two varieties, Nearest standard size & exact replacement size.
The former may or may not work properly or for a substantially shorter time while the latter should last the same as an original belt.
It is a balancing act for most as to weather the lowest price is justified by the shorter life.

I have a lot of commercial customers who change belts every 2 years because the cost of loosing a year or so from a belt is way less than the cost of a belt breaking during a job.
 

ukrkoz

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I replaced belt not so long ago myself.
Replace hydro suspension bolts with grade 8 ones plus washers plus locking washers. That will hold nuts in place.
I am convinced they use odd belt sizes on purpose, so that you have to fork for OEM one down the road.
As of aftermarket belt. I buy mine at auto supply store. Ones with Kevlar. Last one I did, before Raptor, been running for 4 years by now without a glitch.
Oh, and I rigged my tensioner on Raptor so that it has better tension on belt.
 

bertsmobile1

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no conspirancy, just sloppy engineering.
All of the bel makers ave decktop app that work out what belts to use for specific Hp & pulley speeds.
When a model first comes out the belts usually are std size ( cub excluded ) then they change the engine so they change the pulley and everything gets out of whack.

Because we are ignorant colonials down here & do not know any better most of the local mower engines are mounted on sliding plates so you can use standard size belts by moving the engine.
 
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