# This is why belts don't have the size printed on them



## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Just thought I'd share something I stumbled into. I found some belts in my garage and wanted an easy way to tell what they were.

Have you ever looked at the lettering on your belts (auger belt or drive belt) and wondered why they don't simply print the size as 3/8" x 32"
The lettering usually seems unrelated to anything sensible.

It's basically because the manufacturer wants you to buy their OEM replacements instead of some other brand (the other brands can sometimes be better or sometimes worse).
By hiding the sizes, that's one way to inhibit people from "shopping around".

I've been looking at various belts and have noticed that many of them really DO have the size on there... it's just encoded and slightly hidden.
Some belts simply don't have ANY sizes on them... I can't help with those. Some don't have any lettering at all. 

Let's look at a belt that is 3/8" x 32"

The pattern I've noticed is as follows.... 

Take the width of the belt in eighths of an inch.... in the above case, that would be "3"
Next you may (or may not) have to put the letter "L" in front of it. So that becomes "L3" or simply "3"
EDIT: we'll find out what the "L" means in post #6 on this thread

Now take the length of the belt in inches... in this case "32"

Next.... stick those two together to get something like L332 or L3-32 or 332 or 3-32 or L-332

Now.. just to confuse you..... they put seemingly random letters and/or numbers on either side. I will represent these "random" numbers as XXXX
These numbers may not actually be random.. but I have not yet found the magic decoder ring for those. 

The final lettering on your belt probably will look like any of the following....

XXXX-L332-XXXX
XXX-332-XXXX
XXXX 332 XXXX
XXX L332
L332 XXXX

Get the idea?

Of course... you could just measure it... but that's not always as easy as it sounds with a circular-shaped object. 
There's always a nagging doubt that you didn't take account of the curve at each end. Also.. maybe it's stretched.
You could also take it to your local repair shop where they have a wall mounted device to measure your belt for you... 
but that feels cheeky if you then say "Thanks" and walk out.

However, I was interested in looking at an unknown belt and trying to deduce what it (probably) is.

If you've got the idea, you'll realize that XXXX-L436XXXX is probably a 4/8" belt (ie 1/2") and is probably 36" long

Just sharing what I noticed


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

Metric belts seem to be a bit different on the first part...










I'm used to Honda and Yamaha snowblower belts which are identified as "A" or "B" followed by its length. 

"SA-37" 
"SB-41.5"


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## orangputeh (Nov 24, 2016)

and you can't just try to compare an old belt with a new because the old one is slightly stretched out.

the honda shop manuals have the belt sizes in them so i haven't run into a problem figuring out which ones to get. usually from boats.net

any other cheaper suppliers?


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## YSHSfan (Jun 25, 2014)

orangputeh said:


> and you can't just try to compare an old belt with a new because the old one is slightly stretched out.
> 
> the honda shop manuals have the belt sizes in them so i haven't run into a problem figuring out which ones to get. usually from boats.net
> 
> any other cheaper suppliers?


I use Boats.net, Hondapartsnation.com, partspak.com and eBay.

For Honda or Yamaha snowblowers I'd stick with OE belts.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

Many times the original belts are an odd size and the best you can hope for is an approximation with a generic belt. Sometimes that works fine but I can tell you that this is not always the case. 

Belts are engineered for the application. Twists, back side idlers and figure 8 patterns are not agreeable with all generic belts.

Knowing a belt is 1/2 or L4 is one thing but I know from experience that within those definitions the profile does vary. A stocky profile will ride high in the pulleys. When you wrap around a large pulley like most bottom snowblower pulley's the working fit is that of a shorter belt. All of this is tightly controlled in the OEM belt.

You can often make a generic belt work with time and patieince but you may need to play V-Belt roulette to get there.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Spectrum said:


> Many times the original belts are an odd size and the best you can hope for is an approximation with a generic belt. Sometimes that works fine but I can tell you that this is not always the case.
> 
> Belts are engineered for the application. Twists, back side idlers and figure 8 patterns are not agreeable with all generic belts.
> 
> ...


Yes I think your point is made very clearly in the image posted earlier by yshsfan. Compare the 8V and 8VX. They are both 1" wide but very different profiles.

Those belts (on the top row) also seem to follow the pattern I was noticing (first digit is the number of eighths) but then they appear to add additional "coded" letters to represent the profile.
Notice how all the "V" belts have one profile (cross section) and all the "VX" belts have the other profile.
The ones at the bottom A,B,C,D etc... I guess you just need to "know" by checking his diagram again.

I wonder if those belts also have the length tagged on after so that 8-VX-32 becomes... width-profile-length
If that's true.... any belt marked 8VX32 should at least fit... however the durability and strength is a totally different question (number of Kevlar strands etc)
That would stop it from feeling like "Roulette".... it's just a matter of decoding those numbers and letters to see what they mean.
That's why I threw this thread together in the first place.

Come to think of it.. maybe that's what the "L" was all about.....maybe that represents "L profile" versus some other profile letter.

I just looked at vbeltsforless. I think that *IS* what's going on
There is a similar picture on that webpage.
http://www.vbelts4less.com/

On that webpage compare 3L 3V and 3VX ... the 3 is the width, the L or V is the profile and the X seems to mean "cogged" (with teeth) in those diagrams.


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## Spectrum (Jan 6, 2013)

There are some totally different profiles like the *3V* belts used in BobcaT snowblowers. They have a narrower profile, actually taller with a smaller included angle from the 3/8 top width.


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## unknown1 (Dec 13, 2015)

Spectrum said:


> There are some totally different profiles like the *3V* belts used in BobcaT snowblowers. They have a narrower profile, actually taller with a smaller included angle from the 3/8 top width.


Good to know.. thanks!
I have three BobCat machines waiting for some TLC. 
In fact I'll probably be working on them next (or very soon). 
I've been staring at them and procrastinating for over a year now.
That was partly due to health and partly due to burnout from too many unfinished projects.

I may be asking for help on those threads soon 

Here are my Bobcats if you are interested..
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...2-24-40955-b-s-170452-1251-01-73062811-a.html
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...-2-28-6797-b-s-190452-0752-01-73061111-a.html
http://www.snowblowerforum.com/foru...owblowers/94826-bobcat-t5-2-20-17935-b-s.html


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## Tom J (Oct 10, 2017)

Another place for good inexpensive belts:

https://www.vbeltguys.com/


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## deezlfan (Nov 8, 2017)

Fractional horsepower belts [lawn mower] follow the formula put forth in the original post. A 3L330W belt is indeed 3/8"X 33" long with the W meaning a wrapped outer cover. 

When you get to the industrial profile A,B & C belts, it does not follow that formula. An A38 belt would be 1/2" X 40" long. Belt length -2 = part number. For a B belt you subtract 3 and a C belt you subtract 4 to get the part number. Terminology also plays tricks on you. A 5/8" belt is actually 21/32". Sort of like how 1/2" plywood isn't actually 1/2" .


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