Power Station Belt Tension

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:01 am

What should the drive belt tension be on the two belts in the Power Station.

I have not worked on the Power Station during the entire time that I have had it. It has not been lubricated and I have not retensioned the belts.

It seems that the bearings are all sealed and don't need lubrication but I am not sure.

One of the two belts cannot be adjusted therefore if improperly tensioned the only corrective action would be to replace it. But how does one know what the correct tension is?

The other belt is so loose that I can compress one side against the other. This one is adjustable by repositioning the motor. I have done that but I am not sure that it is correct. The manual doesn't address this, at least I haven't found it.

Your inputs will be appreciated.

The speed control works sort of like the sheaves in the SS. Changing speed is accomplished by changing pulley size thus changing the ratio between the drive and load pulleys.

Load speed changes from 850 to 3850 rpms (per the manual) while the motor is 3450 rpm.

From this I conclude that at low speed the pulleys reduce the speed by a factor of 4 (3450/4=850).

At high speed the effective pulley ratio is something just a bit greater that 1:1 as the motor speed of 3450 is slightly increased to a load speed of 3850.

All of this may be true but only if the belts don't slip and as loose as my belts are - they probably slip.

PS This is a repost of a previously unansered question.

alancooke · Post by **alancooke** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 1:45 pm

Dusty,

I have the same questions!

According to the power station manual, lubrication is not neccessary.

The only thing I can find on belt tension is:
1)If you have a loss of power at high speed, Belt is too loose.
2)If you have a loss of power at low speed, Belt is too tight.

So, from this I assume as long as you have sufficient power through the speed range, the belt tension is OK.

Does your PS seem louder and vibrate more than it should?

The manual has a trouble shooting section with cures for 'excessive vibration/noise'. My problem is, with only 1 power station, I'm not sure what excessive is! It's louder and vibrates more than the MKV, but that could be b/c it's lighter, has a small bulge in the belt, etc. It doesn't bounce around the floor or anything, it just doesn't seem 'right'.

I've thought of trying a link belt per suggestions in other threads. Have you thought of this and/or tried it?

audir10 · Post by **audir10** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 7:30 pm

Gents

My power station requires lube of the motor. There are two plastic
plugs in the motor front and rear that are removed and a few drops
of light lube oil put in. I'm sure these are for the bearings. I understand
that some power stations require this and some don't. I do it once a
year. As far as belt tension, I just can't recall. I'll dig out the book and
look at mine Wed. Might be a good idea to call customer service for
much better advice than mine. Good luck.

audir10 · Post by **audir10** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 11:48 am

My power station has an "information update" sheet concerning lube of the
motor. It says to lube the motor according to the directions on the "motor
label". If label is missing or unreadable oil motor every 50 hours of use
with 150 drops (1 tsp) of SAE 20. I haven't done a search for straight
20wt oil, I just use light machine oil/sewing machine oil from the hardware
store. There are two plastic plugs one on each side of the motor-remove
plugs and put in oil-replace plugs. Plugs on mine are yellow. The "informa-
tion update" is document 877055 6/93. I have no more info than you
have on belt tension, mine works I shall not fix it.....

james.miller · Post by **james.miller** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 12:11 pm

Just my two cents worth.

If you don't have a shopsmith oiler then use Singer sewing machine oil, not something like 3-in-1 which is also a penetrating oil. Also here in the South West they sell a Zoom-Spout Oiler at the hardware stores for oiling coolers and motors.

You could also call a local electric motor re-builder and ask where to buy an oiler for electric motors in your area.

charlese · Post by **charlese** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 2:09 pm

Has anyone tried Slick 50 oil? My wife runs 3 embroidery machines, one serger, and one regular sewing machine. She uses Slick 50 oil for all "oiling points" in those machines, including the bobbin races. She found Singer oil to be too sticky.

They all run like champs!

audir10 · Post by **audir10** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 7:15 pm

I'm using the zoom spout thing filled with Norvey Inc "turbine oil". I was
worried I might have to chase my SS equipment down the block using
that turbine oil. Didn't think of Slick 50. How about Mobil 1 or Redline.
A quart of that should last quite a while. Guess Dusty hasn't gotten any
good info belt tension.

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:49 pm

alancooke wrote:Dusty,

The manual has a trouble shooting section with cures for 'excessive vibration/noise'. My problem is, with only 1 power station, I'm not sure what excessive is! It's louder and vibrates more than the MKV, but that could be b/c it's lighter, has a small bulge in the belt, etc. It doesn't bounce around the floor or anything, it just doesn't seem 'right'.

I've thought of trying a link belt per suggestions in other threads. Have you thought of this and/or tried it?

I have used flex (link) belts as Shopsmith motor drive belts (35 links) for several years and on my other belt driven equipment. So far, the vibrations are greatly reduced and I am not seeing any excessive wear on the sliding sheaves. The belts are adjustable by adding or removing a link. They are 2-3 times more expensive than the normal V belt but well worth it to me.

Bill Mayo

billmayo · Post by **billmayo** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 9:56 pm

charlese wrote:Has anyone tried Slick 50 oil? My wife runs 3 embroidery machines, one serger, and one regular sewing machine. She uses Slick 50 oil for all "oiling points" in those machines, including the bobbin races. She found Singer oil to be too sticky.

They all run like champs!

I only use Slick 50 oil to lubicate my personal Shopsmiths for the past year. No problems have been seen yet. I will disassemble my most used headstock in another 6 months or so to see how everything wears. I use 30W air compressor oil for customer machines.

Bill Mayo

a1gutterman · Post by **a1gutterman** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 12:19 am

Hi Dusty,

As you have stated in the first post of this thread that this question went unanswered in an earlier thread, I must offer my apologies. You must not have liked my post to that earlier thread:

Belt Tension
Hi Dusty,

As you have had no response to this, I will give you my opinion: You do not want too much tension on any drive belt. Just enough to keep it from slipping. If it slips, you are not getting the full power available and you are prematurally wearing the belt. If it is too tight, you are wearing the bearings and prematurally wearing the belt. There is no exact tension to set it at, but rather a fairly narrow "set" of acceptable tensions. I would keep it as loose as possible without any slippage happening.

Tim

I can only suggest that you put in a call to customer service to get an answer. If you don't get a satisfactory answer from them, perhaps you will want to go by automobile standards, most service manuals for older autos will tell you how to tension "V" belts. I would think that the tensions on auto "V" belts are pretty std. and you could use them for guidance. Likewise, some motorcycles use drive-belts instead of drive-chains and you could see those manuals for tensioning guidance.

OR:

Dusty,

I have the same questions!

According to the power station manual, lubrication is not neccessary.

The only thing I can find on belt tension is:
1)If you have a loss of power at high speed, Belt is too loose.
2)If you have a loss of power at low speed, Belt is too tight.

So, from this I assume as long as you have sufficient power through the speed range, the belt tension is OK.

Does your PS seem louder and vibrate more than it should?

The manual has a trouble shooting section with cures for 'excessive vibration/noise'. My problem is, with only 1 power station, I'm not sure what excessive is! It's louder and vibrates more than the MKV, but that could be b/c it's lighter, has a small bulge in the belt, etc. It doesn't bounce around the floor or anything, it just doesn't seem 'right'.

I've thought of trying a link belt per suggestions in other threads. Have you thought of this and/or tried it?
__________________
Alan

If alancooke's observations are correct, my original post to your original thread just might be correct:

There is no exact tension to set it at, but rather a fairly narrow "set" of acceptable tensions.

If you are just not sure if your belts are slipping or not, put your nose close to the belts. If you are not getting a burning scent from your belts, I do not believe that they are slipping.

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