[implanecrazy]

My belts have turned up today from BB. I'll have a close look at what they've sent me as there didn't seem to be a choice of brands when I ordered online.

I phoned them up as I didn't want another Medway belt.  They have to order the Fenner belt in, but their supplier has it in stock so they will get it Monday so should be with me middle of next week.
I may have been unlucky and got a rogue belt, but I am not prepared to take a chance when my life could depend on it.
 
What I can say is the service I have had from Bearing Boys has always been first class and thats why I continue to use them.

[gavinparson]

My belts have turned up today from BB. I'll have a close look at what they've sent me as there didn't seem to be a choice of brands when I ordered online.

[implanecrazy]

I have just looked up Fenner belts and hopefully their claims are correct.
 
http://www.fennerdrives.com/high_performance_composite_vbelts/hpc_vbelts.asp?gclid=CKqqk6ezg6oCFcVO4QodKx6Oxg

[implanecrazy]

I have just had a chat to Bearing boys and they can supply several different make of the spa wedge belt that I need.  I could of had another Medway or Medway do another one called a dunlop, but I wasn't going to use a Medway belt again.  I have gone for a Fenner make of belt which is 40% dearer, but I dont mind if the quality is better than the medway.  Anyway I got 15% off Club discount so just got a 40% bigger discount .  1/3rd of my membership back this year in discounts already

[implanecrazy]

The new belt is so so soft compared to the other belts and the wear on the new belt after just a few hours is far more than the old belt had after more than 18 months of use.  No damage to pulleys that I can see, same pulleys except the two Idlers which I fitted yesterday.
I need to sort out why this is happening and I am pretty sure its down to poor belt quality.  I have emailed BB to see if the do the Dynam belts still as they are in a different league to the Medway belt I have on the craft at present.
I am also going to see if I can make up a guard for the lift belt to try and keep some of the spray off of the belt.
The problem maybe down to the new skirt, as the old one was obviously not right and maybe the new skirt is working as it should and I am getting more spray coming from further forward  and more spray is ending up on the belt.
The only other thing which is different is the lift fan has 6 blades now instead of the 9.  The blade angle is still the same 25*  I would have thought though less blades, same angle, needs less horse power so less stress on the belt, less chance of slipping.   

[John Robertson Posts: 5137 Status: Offline WWW]

Al,

SP<anything> are all wedge belts.  the basic belt types are Z, A, B, etc and the wedge versions SPZ, SPA, SPB, etc.  the wedge versions are the same width but, as you would expect, deeper profile (wedge-shaped strangely enough  ).  Check the belt type matches the pulleys - if you use an SPA belt on an A pulley then belt may bottom out in the groove and slip badly.

If you fitted new pulleys then the belt will take time to bed-in because the groove shape will be slightly different to the old worn ones.  This means that the belt may appear to stretch initially - it isn't, it's just nestling into the pulley groove.

You can over-tension a new belt to avoid having to re-tension it after the bed-in - check with the manufacturer for the over-tension factor (can be around 5-15% over the standard tension).

I've found Medway belts are fine (made in the UK) - if you've got frayed edges after such a short time then it may be worth checking for damage to the other pulleys (look for burrs or sharp bits in the grooves.

Also worth trying to avoid soaking the back end so much  - your rear-seat passengers will appreciate it     Try keeping above hump speed during turns (make them nice and wide) and avoid turning away from the wind at slow speed (if the wind speed is higher than the hover speed then you will get wet!

[Steve Holland Posts: 1583 Status: Offline]

Can you get an SPBX in there? This would last a long time. Only problem with them is limited sizes.

[implanecrazy]

 
I have just found out the original receipts from 2009 and the belts I fitted back then were wedge belts.  Now I'm confused
 
I have just checked my receipts for the belt I fitted this time and the original belt and they are the same number and both wedge belts.
 
I found out the old lift fan belt I removed just before going to Loch Fyne and definately the same size belt and definately the new belt feels much softer.  I only removed the old belt as it had stretch further than I was happy with.
 
Not sure what the solution is, other than ask Bearing Boys if they do a different make of that size belt.  The old belt was made in France and Dynam stamped on it.  The new belt has Medway stamped on it and it doesn't say where it was made.  It is a poor quality belt compared to the old one.