Pulley alignment on wood chipper

37chief · Jan 2, 2015

My chipper uses a drive belt with 6 belts ganged together. pulley shafts are 4 ft. on center. The motor pulley is 8 inch,chipper pulley is 11 inch. I installed a new belt, and used a straight edge on the pulley surfaces. The motor pulley is 3/8 out of alignment with the chipper pulley. Is 3/8 of a inch really going to make a difference? I can move one of the pulleys, but sometimes it's best to let a sleeping dog lay. Stan

vscummins · Jan 2, 2015

Yes 3/8 is a lot on belt alignment especially with the cost of married belts. Get er ligned up and you'll be a lot happier

Jiles · Jan 2, 2015

Why are you replacing belt? Is it possible that the misalignment caused premature wear? I WOULD go to the trouble of aligning as true as possible because just a small amount will wear belts and As you know, they are expensive!

Larry-Tx · Jan 2, 2015

Your new belt will be shorter than the remaining 5 belts which have stretched, 5 belts should pull the chipper just fine. The new belt will be pulling the rest out of alignment, or buy 5 more matched belts.

Paul from MI · Jan 2, 2015

I'd align the pulleys as good as you can, then just run it. No use adding a new unmatched belt, it will just carry an unproportional load and break. If five properly aligned belts will carry the load you will be fine, for a while at least. Most drives have a significant safety factor so it may be OK for a long time. If you finally have to replace the belts consider going to a "grip-band" style, which has worked very well for me in multiple belt applications.

Russ from MN · Jan 2, 2015

You better fix it, alignment is more critical on ganged belts, it can cause them to separate.

rustred · Jan 2, 2015

i am reading this as you replacing the whole gang of 6 belts, not one individual belt as that definitly wont be the answer as it will be shorter. 3/8" in 4 ft is not all that bad but if possible closer to zero is better. belts are made to run in all kinds of position. how long did the original last? i would be more concerned about pulley wear than that 3/8" . if the belt is riding to low in the pulley grooves then you will damage the new belt. running belts too loose cause slippage and pulley wear.

JOB · Jan 3, 2015

Shafts four feet on center is pretty close and 3/8 of an inch is a lot. I would take the time to move the one pulley over.

We would change belts on a 350 horse electric motor driving a blower that had shafts maybe ten feet apart and would use a string to get the pulleys in line. It takes a little time but is worth it.

Pulley alignment on wood chipper

37chief

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vscummins

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Jiles

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Larry-Tx

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Paul from MI

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Russ from MN

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rustred

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JOB

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