I have occasionally come across this stuff installed. Almost forgot about it but got thinking it could be useful to have on the truck for emergencies. That which I have seen installed seem to be holding up just fine. Thoughts?
Link? Picture?
http://www.fennerdrives.com/powertwist-plus/
I have mechanic friend that carries some around in his truck. Rarely uses it b/c most of what he works on has a serpentine belt. I asked if he'd heard of it after seeing it in a youtube video and that's the only reason i know he has some.
I've actually seen it in long service, looked at it, replaced it because it looked hokey, and forgot about it but I saw the video too and it jogged my memory. I'm going to get some when I get around to it, I think. Most things I fix have vee belts. Just wanted other opinions/ideas on it. There is a kind with a t-shaped key and a kind with a steel stud I think.
The only downside I've heard is the price. The amish sawmills around here love the stuff. They do say it doesn't like to ride against itself, so that shows the conditions they run it in.
Nothing new, under the sun... Browning used to make a similar product, I picked up a whole roll at an auction, last year, the stuff is great, won't develop a "set", that causes vibration, in fhp applications. I also use it for fan belts, where installing a belt requires removing a hyd pump shaft, to put on a new belt...
Like everything ( It does have its place)
One thing I do with my car and pickup when I replace the serpentine belt is the old one gets saved in the vehicle. I figure it might look mighty good on the road someday. Mike
I have used a fair bit of the Fenner stuff in long term service. It is quite handy for things that would require a lot of disassembly to replace the belt. Just weave this belt through, complete the link, tension and away you go. I,ve got it on a drill press a lathe and table saw. I've found it to be smooth and low or no vibration. The table saw vibrated badly even with a brand new top name belt. Tried link stuff as last resort and wow. Used it on a 24" Powermatic planer that just ate belts. Factory tech couldn't figure it out. Told him I was gonna use this, he claims it is junk. Been running over 10 years with near daily use. Only thing I found is it hates having an idler run on the outside of it. A bit pricey and putting it together takes getting the hang of.
the company I work for used it on the oil pumps on large ammonia compressors because you could not get regular belts on because of pulleys , it would run for 3 or 4 years 24/7 with out a problem
40 years ago, a factory used the link belts exclusively on a proprietary machine. The machine wore out before the belts. There is a plier like tool that makes assembly much easier.
Well then I am going to get some. I am tired of carrying dozens of belts and still none of them fit the machine I am working on. Half an inch will make the difference between being in range and out of range of adjustment. I also like Steve Cox's method of just using a short one to drive the water pump and rolling it on. Thus bypassing a bad alternator or other accessory in a pinch.
Because the segmented v-belts DO NOT have continuous tension members, there is no damage rolling the belts on to a pulley You will have to stock different several profiles though.