Planer Belt Question

[Jasun Brown]

I purchased a used Jet 20" planer with a Byrd head a while ago. I changed belts this weekend and ran into a small problem. I purchased Power Twist link belts as my replacement belts. The problem is the new belts are 1/2" and the originals are 3/8".
The planer has a 3 belt drive shaft. I am only able to use 2 belts due to their size.
Am I going to have problems or am I going to damage my planer by only using 2 belts in place of the original 3?
On a side note the new belts run much quieter and the planer seems to preform better than before.
Thanks

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Jasun, I never met a Taiwanese machine that didn't benefit from a belt replacement, however a good quality V belt would have been my first choice.

Regards, Rod.

[Jasun Brown]

So do you think the link belts are inferior?? I am really in left field on this one. I like to turn it on and have it work. You are not going to offend me either way I just want my planer to run in top shape.

[Myk Rian]

If you really want to stay with the twist link, look for new pulleys, if there is room for them.
I can see the 2 belts slipping on you when under a good load.

[Bob Wingard]

My 18.5" Woodmaster 718 needed a belt replacement a few years ago as it developed a vibration. I only had enough link belt to make up one belt, so I went ahead and installed it, just to see if it would help. It's been that way ever since, and I have never experienced any slippage that I am aware of.

[Dick Strauss]

It seems that people forget...cars used to use a single v-belt to drive a 10+ hp AC compressor on big cars with no issue. Why are we so obsessed with having 3 belts on a 7.5-10 hp tool?

[Rod Sheridan]

So do you think the link belts are inferior?? I am really in left field on this one. I like to turn it on and have it work. You are not going to offend me either way I just want my planer to run in top shape.

Jasun, if I look at my General table saw General shaper, Hammer planer, Hammer table saw I don't see any link belts.

I also don't see them on any of the industrial machinery I work with on a daily basis.

What I do see is a premium quality set of belts and pulleys, whether they are V or poly ribbed flat belts.

Go buy a good set of matched belts from and industrial supplier for your planer, bring the old belts with you, they may be metric, or a non fractional size.

I have replaced a few belts on the Chinese wood working machines with good belts, and in one case I had to replace the pulley because it was poorly machined. It's amazing how much better things run afterwards.

Regards, Rod.

[Rod Sheridan]

It seems that people forget...cars used to use a single v-belt to drive a 10+ hp AC compressor on big cars with no issue. Why are we so obsessed with having 3 belts on a 7.5-10 hp tool?

Because it takes 3 crappy belts and poorly machined pulleys to work as well as one or two good belts and pulleys.

My 4 HP planer runs one poly rib flat belt, same as the 7.5 HP machines from the same manufacturer.

Regards, Rod.