multi-rib or ply V belts - do you get what you pay for ?

[jonathanA]

so my alternator drive belt shredded recently - it had been showing signs of wear and I had a spare ready, it just parted company slighlty earlier than I expected. no drama fitted my spare.

 

I then went to order a replacement the 'genuine' spare was some £18+VAT+P&P =£25 quid

 

this is for a 4 peak ribbed belt of 900mm length its only driving a 70A alt so not massively loaded.

 

a quick search on ebay and a 4Pk900 belt £3.82 delivered form Hong kong. - so gave that a punt.

 

got both here and I can't really see any difference, i'd like to think that the OEM part is maybe made of better materials but they both look and feel the same ?

 

at that rate I could replace it every year for 6 years and still be better off or am I missing something ?

 

is this just another example of the 'marine premium' - just add a nought for the word 'marine' ?

[Ex- Member]

Like most products you buy in this country or any other it will be made and produced in China. People import goods put a label on it and sell it at a premium price, that's business. If a product doesn't state it's origin you can be pretty sure it's from China.

[Guest]

so my alternator drive belt shredded recently - it had been showing signs of wear and I had a spare ready, it just parted company slighlty earlier than I expected. no drama fitted my spare.

 

I then went to order a replacement the 'genuine' spare was some £18+VAT+P&P =£25 quid

 

this is for a 4 peak ribbed belt of 900mm length its only driving a 70A alt so not massively loaded.

 

a quick search on ebay and a 4Pk900 belt £3.82 delivered form Hong kong. - so gave that a punt.

 

got both here and I can't really see any difference, i'd like to think that the OEM part is maybe made of better materials but they both look and feel the same ?

 

at that rate I could replace it every year for 6 years and still be better off or am I missing something ?

 

is this just another example of the 'marine premium' - just add a nought for the word 'marine' ?

That's the same length as the one on my Vetus, but i fitted a "Bates" belt of 1000mm long (old Cortina size it seems) and after initally stretching a fair bit, it has been fine. Much cheaper than a Vetus one, though I have to say that the Vetus supplied belts are very hard wearing.

[pearley]

That's the same length as the one on my Vetus, but i fitted a "Bates" belt of 1000mm long (old Cortina size it seems) and after initally stretching a fair bit, it has been fine. Much cheaper than a Vetus one, though I have to say that the Vetus supplied belts are very hard wearing.

On my Vetus generator (3 cyl Mitsubishi engine) it shredded the drive belt every 600 hours, almost to the hour, and always when the engine was hot. I and Vetus agents, couldn't see any reason why. Everything in line, not over tightened. I just got used to changing it every 500 hours so beat it to it.

 

Onan generator I now have gives no problems but genuine belt around £18.

 

Regards

Pete

[Guest]

On my Vetus generator (3 cyl Mitsubishi engine) it shredded the drive belt every 600 hours, almost to the hour, and always when the engine was hot. I and Vetus agents, couldn't see any reason why. Everything in line, not over tightened. I just got used to changing it every 500 hours so beat it to it.

 

Onan generator I now have gives no problems but genuine belt around £18.

 

Regards

Pete

Strange,though the belt on my Vetus does have a hard life. I tend to change it every couple of years so no belt has likely seen 600 hrs. or maybe I would have seen similar. Definitely would have been more suited to double belts though.

[pearley]

Strange,though the belt on my Vetus does have a hard life. I tend to change it every couple of years so no belt has likely seen 600 hrs. or maybe I would have seen similar. Definitely would have been more suited to double belts though.

But it's only a piddly little alternator on the genset. 45W at most and after a few minutes the battery is back to fully charged and there is very little load on the belt.

 

Regards

Pete

 

PS. When I fitted vehicle air con for a living we always used Gates or Dayco belts.

[Guest]

But it's only a piddly little alternator on the genset. 45W at most and after a few minutes the battery is back to fully charged and there is very little load on the belt.

 

Regards

Pete

 

PS. When I fitted vehicle air con for a living we always used Gates or Dayco belts.

Of course, I hadn't considered the smaller alternator which makes it even stranger. 90Amp alt on mine so it is being worked.

I have taken to using Gates belts (I put "Bates" in an earlier post ) and these seem fine to me. I always used Gates timing belts on a Shogun that I once owned.

[peterboat]

Hi I suspect the problems on boats is caused by the lack of automatic tensioners that all cars have nowdays. All the cars we service seem to have a belt life of 100k change intervals. My Barrus shire 40/45/50 (its supposed to be a 65 but thats another forum story)has shredded 2 belts and that is I suspect due to being over tensioned then under after a few hours, it is time that boat engines came out of the dark ages and did the job properly like car builders have to.

 

Peter

[Guest]

Hi I suspect the problems on boats is caused by the lack of automatic tensioners that all cars have nowdays. All the cars we service seem to have a belt life of 100k change intervals. My Barrus shire 40/45/50 (its supposed to be a 65 but thats another forum story)has shredded 2 belts and that is I suspect due to being over tensioned then under after a few hours, it is time that boat engines came out of the dark ages and did the job properly like car builders have to.

 

Peter

I agree that the belt systems on many marine engines are dire.

[DHutch]

I've got a 1995 vintage 3 series with 156k on the clock and I'm 90% sure the aux belt is the original. Its a large poly-vee driving the alternator and fan (no ac, just a tilt a slide sunroof!) and although its that crack/perished that about a quarter of the vee's have fallen of its showing no signs of bottoming out, slipping, etc and the auto tensioner is doing just that still.

 

I terms of belts, gates appear to have a very good name in automotive/equipment circles for aux/fan belts and timing belts and the like.

 

Speaking as someone who sees some of the other side of it, certainly from what I've seen, OEM belts will come from an approved supplier, will met a range of minimum specs and such criteria, will most likely been tested by the supplier to the companies requirements, and in many cases tested by the company in question, on a rig or as part of machine/vehicle endurance testing to prove of reliability/durability before they are fitted in production, and hence made available to the service market as a OEM spare part.

 

That said, most of the suppliers also supply direct, and there is or can be a substantial mark up to cover the above testing.

 

 

 

Daniel

[nebulae]

Until recently,I have been buying standard A,B, and C section belts at 70% discount on list.These are all premium makes.Dont be conned into paying over the odds.(My Isuzu uses standard A section).Standard engineering belts are marked in inches or metric.Engine and vehicle manufacturers belts are usualy marked with a part number.If you can find the pulley section and measure the length,you may be able to get replacement belts from an engineering supplier like Haleys.

[jonathanA]

Until recently,I have been buying standard A,B, and C section belts at 70% discount on list.These are all premium makes.Dont be conned into paying over the odds.(My Isuzu uses standard A section).Standard engineering belts are marked in inches or metric.Engine and vehicle manufacturers belts are usualy marked with a part number.If you can find the pulley section and measure the length,you may be able to get replacement belts from an engineering supplier like Haleys.

 

I think that was partly what I was suggesting in my OP..

 

from experience of having a belt go in the middle of no where and not having a spare I know that an automotive 4pk900 or 4pk920 will fit my engine (LPSW4). where 4pk - refers to the belt having 4 ribs and 900 means it is (about) 900mm long. In fact it turns out the OEM part is labelled 4pk913.

 

The original belt as fitted to the engine when we bought the boat was a 'gates' and as others have stated they have a good reputation. The automotive one I used was from 'dayco' who also seem well thought off. It seems to me I can pay over the odds for an 'genuine' part, (£25) buy exactly the same thing from reputable suppliers/manufactuers for about £10 (gates/dayco off fleabay) or buy a seemlingly similiar product direct from the far east (probably the same factory) for less than £4....

 

Perversely I always buy genuine oil/air/fuel filters accepting that I pay slightly over the odds but safe in the knowledge they are exactly right and the 'premium' is not enough to warrant the effort of finding the eqivalents from the likes of crossland/coopers/fram etc... might have to reconsider that now...

[Timleech]

Just to add that the 'k' or 'pk' in the belt spec refers to the size of the ribs, K is the usual automotive size but J and L are the other ones which could be found on a canal boat engine.

 

Tim