PowerPro Belt Tension

cdmclain · Post by **cdmclain** » Wed Jul 18, 2012 11:05 pm

After a completed PowerPro DIY installation and belt adjustment per the video and manual, what should the belt tension be like? How far should you be able to push in the belts?

Carry

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 11:42 am

cdmclain wrote:After a completed PowerPro DIY installation and belt adjustment per the video and manual, what should the belt tension be like? How far should you be able to push in the belts?

Carry

IMHO the tighter the better(based upon others experience described here).

Do the instructions not tell how to 'set' it?

cdmclain · Post by **cdmclain** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:16 pm

JPG40504,
There are pretty clear instructions on how to set and adjust both the belts tension. It consists of running the motor at different speeds and listening for smoothness of operation and bearing noise and adjusting accordingly for smooth operation. After completing the set up and minor adjustment, I was pushing in on the belts to feel the tension. Although it is stated in the manual that the lower belt will "feel" looser than the upper belt due to the greater length. I can push in on the lower belt about 1/2" which seems too much or maybe not.

Carry

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:33 pm

cdmclain wrote:JPG40504,
There are pretty clear instructions on how to set and adjust both the belts tension. It consists of running the motor at different speeds and listening for smoothness of operation and bearing noise and adjusting accordingly for smooth operation. After completing the set up and minor adjustment, I was pushing in on the belts to feel the tension. Although it is stated in the manual that the lower belt will "feel" looser than the upper belt due to the greater length. I can push in on the lower belt about 1/2" which seems too much or maybe not.

Carry

If you are comfortable with accepting the 'audible' method, do not give deflection a second(or first) thought.

Since there have been 'issues' with backlash, I assumed very tight is good.(the pp both powers and brakes)

Bearing wear/stress is a detail I was ignoring.

fixit · Post by **fixit** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 2:59 pm

When at a Lowe's demo in San Antonio I asked Dave Folkerth this question. He said ...approximately 1/8".

My PP adjusted per the instructions from the DIY kit has about 1/2" belt deflection. I plan to "correct" this in the near future although I have had no issues with it the way it is now. I'm in the middle of a complete shop reorganization so it may be a while before this comes to the top of the list.

I have wondered since being at the demo if this is the same "Dave" from Customer Service we have discussed here on the forum. I did not ask that question.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:06 pm

fixit wrote:When at a Lowe's demo in San Antonio I asked Dave Folkerth this question. He said ...approximately 1/8".

My PP adjusted per the instructions from the DIY kit has about 1/2" belt deflection. I plan to "correct" this in the near future although I have had no issues with it the way it is now. I'm in the middle of a complete shop reorganization so it may be a while before this comes to the top of the list.

I have wondered since being at the demo if this is the same "Dave" from Customer Service we have discussed here on the forum. I did not ask that question.

I never thought about that. It couldn't be!....could it?

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:28 pm

dusty wrote:I never thought about that. It couldn't be!....could it?

I SAH hope not and also hope CS Dave is NOT in the line of succession.

That would explain their tolerance of him!:rolleyes:

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 4:36 pm

Over time, I have found that tighter tension works best for me. Yes, the tensions between the upper and lower belt should (must) be equalized by rotating the eccentric.

Although not an expert at the amount of belt deflection, mine runs best at around 1/8" or so on the lower belt and somewhat less on the upper. It depends on how hard you push on the belt. 1/2" sounds excessive to me.

Also, with the higher tension, the over-revving issue I had at low speeds has gone away. The higher tension n the lower belt slowed down any over-revving.

I eventually had to adjust the screws to the motor mounts to achieve what I am guessing to the best for my machine. Without lowering the motor, the eccentric would not equalize the belt tightness. The eccentric had to rotate more than a quarter turn. Perhaps the belts have stretched a little over the year and a half (almost a thousand hours of run time). Also, it could have been the banging I witnessed while bandsawing loosened the motor adjustment screws to allow the lower belt to pull the motor upward.

I assume equalized pulling (upward and down) on the lower axillary spindle's bearings is best for longer wear.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:11 pm

fixit wrote:When at a Lowe's demo in San Antonio I asked Dave Folkerth this question. He said ...approximately 1/8".

My PP adjusted per the instructions from the DIY kit has about 1/2" belt deflection. I plan to "correct" this in the near future although I have had no issues with it the way it is now. I'm in the middle of a complete shop reorganization so it may be a while before this comes to the top of the list.

I have wondered since being at the demo if this is the same "Dave" from Customer Service we have discussed here on the forum. I did not ask that question.

The Dave in CS is a recent hire and my experience with him has greatly improved in the past year. He is learning and seems to be more available and able to any my questions recently.

Dave Folkerth Is Robert's brother(CEO) and was not working with Shopsmith for a few years until he started during the traveling demos. Dave Folkerth worked with me getting Shopsmith parts years ago. A great person to deal with and still remembered me when we met in Jan. locally for his demo.

cdmclain · Post by **cdmclain** » Thu Jul 19, 2012 10:16 pm

Thanks for all the advise. I am going to increase the tension on the lower belt and run through the adjustment again. I will let everyone know the outcome.