V-belt heat and dusting ?

[Rick Fisher]

I have a planer with a triple V-Belt. There is a V-Belt cover running up the side of the machine, after running it for about 5 minutes, the V-Belt cover is warm.

So I unplugged ! and removed the cover. The V-Belt is giving off some Black dust, and the belts are quite warm. Not too warm to touch, but getting there.


These V-Belts and Planer are Brand new. The "Dusting" could be just new belts ??? The heat, well, I have no idea what is the norm???

[Gene Michael]

Check the alignment of the pullies at each end of the belt. If they're off, this will cause increased friction and heat.

[Joe Jensen]

I have a planer with a triple V-Belt. There is a V-Belt cover running up the side of the machine, after running it for about 5 minutes, the V-Belt cover is warm.

So I unplugged ! and removed the cover. The V-Belt is giving off some Black dust, and the belts are quite warm. Not too warm to touch, but getting there.


These V-Belts and Planer are Brand new. The "Dusting" could be just new belts ??? The heat, well, I have no idea what is the norm???

In my experience dusting and heat with belts means that the pulleys are out of alignment. The alignment needs to be in and out (where the are on the shafts) and angle alignment. Could be the motor shaft is at a different and than the planer head.

I assume the tension is correct. If the tension is too little you caould have slipping, but then I think it woudl squeal too. If too tight, I don't think you would get dust and heat, just wear the bearings too fast...joe

[Tom Veatch]

As previously mentioned, the alignment of the pulleys needs to be checked and verified or adjusted as needed.

Just like the wheels on a bandsaw, the pulleys should be coplanar. Check with a straight edge that spans both pulleys to verify their alignment. Check both sides of the shaft. Realignment "in and out" on the shaft is usually simple - loosen a set screw or two and slide the pulley(s) on the motor shaft until they are aligned/coplanar. If the rotation axes aren't parallel, the pulleys will be "cocked" relative to each other. Checking on both sides of the shaft should reveal that situation. If that's the case, you may wind up having to shim the motor mount to get them perfectly aligned. There may be words in the owner/operator manual that addresses the pulley alignment procedure.

"Perfection" isn't really necessary - a slight misalignment won't kill you, but they should be as close to coplanar as you can conveniently get them.

[Rick Fisher]

Thank you for the responses.

From this, I would understand that a bit of heat is normal but hot enough that they warm up the surrounding metal is too hot?

There are 3 V-Belts. I have been able to figure out that the outside belt is not as tight as the inside belt. This is quite obvious when pinching them together by themselves.

How much squeeze should these belts have? Should they "ping" or should they move an inch when squeezed.

I assume the motor itself is sitting on a slight angle, and the pulleys are not parrallel.

This machine came with a faulty motor. I installed the new motor myself :)

The motor is about 100 lbs so I conisdered it a victory to get it into its cave and in place.

Guess I am not done yet. :)


Are we allowed to post pictures on Sawmill ?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Rick,

First....Welcome to the Creek!

2nd....Not only can you post a picture at the Creek, you are encouraged to.

Use the Manage Attachments at the bottom of your post reply page. Pay strict attention to the size limits of the type of photo you are trying to upload. If you try to upload a file that is too large, the upload will fail. Once you have uploaded a file, do not try to preview it using the preview post button. You photo will be lost. Just click Submit Post.

Good luck and Welcome to the Creek!

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Rick, as previously stated either your shafts aren't parallel, your pulleys aren't coplanar, or your belts aren't the same length, or your belt tension is incorrect.

Since one of the belts at the end of the sheave is loose, it sounds like shafts not parallel, or a belt length issue.

It is normal for a belt and pulley to be warm to the touch. A belt works via friction, and there are power losses involved. The lost power becomes heat in the belts and pulleys.

Regards, Rod.

Regards, Rod.

[Rick Fisher]

Thanks for the help. And thank you for the welcome.

I used a 4' level to check the pulleys and was surprised just what a lousy job I did of mounting that motor :)

This machine is new. It showed up with a bum motor. Pinched hot wire inside the motor from the factory. When I powered it up, it cooked the windings.

So I got this motor and stuck it in there. :)

I spent 1/2 hour getting those pulleys parrallel, fired it up and .... its way quieter too:D

In fact its really quiet. :D

Guess it was vibrating somewhat. Never having run it ..

Anyhow, the belts still get warm, but not hot.