Replacement belt for Rebel 17

Belt broke on Rebel 17 and Ive seen several posts about replacements that will last should be an O ring not the fragile belt from Rebel. But none of them list a number or size to base a replacement on. The belt has a thickness of .177 or the same thing in foreign is 4.5 MM, and a diameter of 4.5 inches or 114.5 MM. I do not speak O ring and do not know what to look for or the best material for it to be made of so it will last a long time. The orange belts they come with are way too fragile and the company knows so they them in a 3 pack. This is getting serious as my vibratory is getting a new motor at Dillon, soon I will be bribing the kids in the neighborhood to spin them on 0000 steel wool.

Call Mcmaster Carr they have a large selection of o-rings but more important they have people that can tell you which one you will need. When you call have the old belt handy a ruler and your calipers. They will want to know how wide the belt is. The length of it and possible some other information.

If you want to know more about O-rings than you thought possible here is the Parker O-ring Manual:

https://www.parker.com/content/dam/P...e/ORD-5700.pdf

A useful size chart starts on page 4-9. O-rings in that size are 200 series at .139" and 300 series at .210".

Page 3-24 has information on optimum O-ring materials to use for drive belts.

It is running as we speak with an O ring from Grainger. If I had my wishes it would be a tiny bit shorter, the motor is at the limit of its adjustment and still I would like it to be a little tighter. But it is as tight as it came new from the factory, and seems to continue to turn even if I slow the drum. The Orings I got came in a 5 pack or not at all so I may have to alter the base to adjust it more.

Probably wouldnt take much work with a round file or die grinder to move the slots a little farther. Or if you have the room re drill the bolt holes The other way would be to play with pulley sizes.

The other thing is to much belt tension can be hard on bearings/bushings.

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Originally Posted by ebb

It is running as we speak with an O ring from Grainger. If I had my wishes it would be a tiny bit shorter, the motor is at the limit of its adjustment and still I would like it to be a little tighter. But it is as tight as it came new from the factory, and seems to continue to turn even if I slow the drum. The Orings I got came in a 5 pack or not at all so I may have to alter the base to adjust it more.

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care to share the details: part number, who from?

I am sending back some sewing machine belts that didn't work

I will type what is on the Grainger receipt. O-ring,EPDM, Dash 349,4-7/8 O.D.,PK5 41UT40 I told the salesman the OD needed to be 4 5/8 with a 3/16 thick ring. He measured and came back with this size. Maybe they don't make a 4 5/8s size and this was the closest thing they had, I don't know. What country gent states would work and would already be done if in fact there was more metal to file out, but the 4 studs on the motor go into u shaped slots and the motor is adjusted to the very top. Since I now have 5 of these I will pop rivet on some extensions if it proves it needs more tension.

I have used this company before with good results.
https://www.theoringstore.com/store/...ain_page=index

For a 4 5/8 x 3/16 o-ring you need a dash 347

Lots of Different types of O-rings and they explain what types are good for what uses.

When your figuring the belt tension on a continuous duty motor, you vary the speed of the motor by adding or subtracting the amount of windings you wire in series or in your case, you adjust the tension of the belt. More tension isn't necessarily better. You'll notice a plate on the motor that states the amps the motor draws. Your belt tension should be adjusted so it's at that number when it's up to temp.

Urethane o-rings are probably your best bet. The length of you belt should be 5-10% less than the amount necessary to wrap around both pulleys when there is no sag in the wrap. When you get that length just divide it by 3.14159 and you'll have the diameter of you o-ring.

When I ran a Thumlers Model B I got my "O" rings at a hydraulic shop that works on pumps, cylinders, ect. They were a fraction of the cost of belts from Thumlers.

When the "belt" broke for umpteenth time on my Thumler's Tumbler Model B ... the big red steel rotating ... rock polishing / brass polisher ... I took it (the broken belt) down to the Vaccuum Cleaner store and got a matching Vaccuum Cleaner Drive Belt ... they had a huge rack of belts , black rubber $1.50 and two in a package .
The original replacement belt has never broke ... 5-6 years old now ... these things L-A-S-T !
I couldn't find any O-Rings ... Grainger's was No Help ... nor was local hardware stores ... but I did find vaccuum cleaner belts and they work like a charm !
Gary

Got my belt for my Model B Thumbler Tumbler at a sewing machine repair shop.