[Chris Gorling]

Princess auto belts on sale right now. B81 21/32 X 81" fits your snow caster and works like a bull for 4.99 right now. Just picked one up and what a difference to the 1/2" the blower came with. Having lots of fun with this little machine now. Running like a top. 4x4 articulating in bi-directional would be even more of a bull.
YeeeHaaa!

 

[Hydriv]

Let us know if you get more than two hours out of it.

 

[Chris Gorling]

I got 3 already!

 

[CASE 220/4]

Chris, Im sure you passed that info along becasue it was a good "deal" but a lot of those cheaper belts dont last long AND they are the wrong width. I had one of those belts a few years ago and it didnt get too far. You may get lucky and make it through the rest of the winter and if so then I suggest getting the proper belt. What model tractor do you have this on?

 

[mjodrey]

Chris, Im sure you passed that info along becasue it was a good "deal" but a lot of those cheaper belts dont last long AND they are the wrong width.

DITTO !

Maynard :canada:

 

[Chris Gorling]

444 case. We'll see if it gets through the winter. I have a few belts for it, that came with both 444's I bought, but they're under 2' of snow at my acreage that there's no need to go to till spring. If this belt makes it through the rest of the winter that will be fine. My point is that now there is a belt size posted on this site that does work. When someone buys one of these used tractors, they can appreciate a concise answer to their question, jump in their vehicle and go get one so they can get back to work with their machine. Living in the south centre of Canada, when something needs to be replaced on a working machine, I really don't have time to order the perfect quality and pay $30 shipping to wait 3 weeks for it to arrive.
I recognize that most of the people who hang on this and other sites are die hard restoration fans, but the majority of the people who stop in want a fast answer to get their working machine in it'd original patina paintjob to get back up and running asap to get the job done. Then they'll move on to their other interests.
Life's short, have fun!
Chris

 

[Nutcase446]

Chris, I believe that you do what you have to to get the job done. There was a time when going to the Case dealer was not a lot different than going to the auto parts dealer. I had one in my back yard but there was also 2 others within 20 miles. Not so anymore. My throttle cable clutch is slipping and I know the right thing to do is fix it but I'm going to continue to use a bungee till a warm enough day to fix it.
I worked for a construction company for a while. The boss would send me out in the field to fix a down machine. I'd tell him what needed to be done to fix it and he would almost always say "Can we just patch it up till we finish this job then I'll bring it to the shop to fix it right" Of course this would never happen and when it broke again in a couple of months I'd hear "Didn't you just fix that?"
My opinion is that you do what you have to to finish the job but don't forget to fix it right when you can. Gregg

 

[Hydriv]

Chris,
I'm not trying to be argumentative when I say the following but it does need to be said. As someone who has been a regular on Colt/Case/Ingersoll discussion forums since 2004 and a Case GT owner since 1978, I do have some experience with belts.

The OEM belts used to power decks, snow blowers and front-mounted PTO's contain Kevlar fiber to give them the necessary strength needed to survive those 90 degree turns that the mule pulleys subject the too. Many, many owners have come on those forums and told us about cheap belts lasting only a few hours max before they rolled over, flipped off or just shredded.

As a fellow Canadian :canada: , I'm a huge fan of Princess Auto but I sincerely doubt that they can source a Kevlar belt and sell if for less than $5.00. Many years ago, I thought that a belt was just a belt and went to Canadian Tire for a replacement deck belt. That one lasted 45 minutes. I thought that I had installed and tensioned it wrong so I went back and bought a second belt. That one did not last 30 minutes.

I bit the bullet, went to my Case dealer and paid the price for the OEM belt. That one lasted for three years and I was cutting a two acre property. Many of these belts are still stocked at most Case/IH dealers or can be ordered in. There are also Power Transmission wholesalers that specialize in bearings, seals, sprockets, chain, belts and other products that carry Kevlar construction belts. Another possible source can be agricultural equipment dealers. Just because they sell Deere, Massey or Kubota does not mean they won't have a belt for your application.

As for belt size, there is more than one size of belt used for every attachment. It depends on the model and year of the tractor as well as the attachment. This is not a "one size fits all " situation. And lastly; belts are a "wear item". They will always fail on you at the worst possible time. That's an unwritten law. Those that understand that law, have a spare belt hanging on a hook in their garage.

I'm not trying to be harsh but those are the realities of owning these tractors. I'm willing to bet that many others will agree with my words as a result of their own similar experiences.

 

[mjodrey]

In 100% agreement with you there Tom.





Maynard :canada:

 

[Stewart]

It seems I don't agree with any of you. :thumbsup: :sidelaugh:

Chris
The belt size is 3 sizes to wide , the original is 9/16" ,some make do with 1/2" and others swear by 5/8" and everybody demands a Kevlar Belt be used. Is your belt a Kevlar?

Others

Just because a belt costs $4.99 at Princess Junk( not a big fan) does not mean it's a non Kevlar Belt. They just put stuff on the rack and hang a tag on it. If it's a slow mover then next week it might be $2.99. If Chris had said that the regular price was $4.99 then I might assume that it was a non kevlar belt but when something is on sale then only those that get one know for sure. Sometimes we answers posts when there is not enough info provided. We assume that a $4.99 belt is junk. I've bought $20.00 belts that were only good for less than an hour. Like Hydriv said his belt lasted less than hour he assumed Chris would get two hours and now he's at 3 hrs so maybe Chris's belt is kevlar.

The original belt for this machine is 9/16 and the pulleys on this unit are made for this 9/16 belt, sure others will work but you may as well start with the correct size.

I've used many belts in the 30+ years of using Case Snow Blowers and now I'll use an OEM because it's the belt of choice for many members on many sites.

Stewart

 

[Nutcase446]

You can tell that I have the day off. The original belts for most of us were not Kevlar. I don't remember exactly but Kevlar didn't start showing up for industrial type use until 1990 or so. I can remember the old non Kevlar belts lasting many years. I have seen the old non Kevlar belts still sitting on dealers shelves.
The problem with aftermarket in general anymore is that these big chains source everything based solely on price. They buy belts or whatever from the cheapest source that they can find and slap their name on it. I buy as little as I can from big chain stores. It's not just the chain stores fault either. The average consumer today is also more concerned with price than quality.
I use OEM when I can and when I can't I try to stick to the brands and stores that I trust. I like Gates products for belts. If a belt that hadn't been abused were to fail, they will stand behind it. Gregg

 

[Stewart]

I have to agree with that. But they may of not been kevlar but they were designed for Power-Usage, there has always been Auto Belts that were not designed for this usage. Maybe we called them something else, don't remember but I know that the belts that I bought from Bearing and Transmission lasted a lot longer than the belts from an Auto Store.

Stewart

 

[Hydriv]

I agree that the use of Kevlar in belts is relatively recent however Kevlar is now the accepted material for high performance V-belt construction today.

By choosing a Kevlar reinforced belt, you stand a pretty good chance of ending up with a belt that will last a long time. Most applications where V-belts are used, have the drive pulley and the driven pulley in perfect alignment with one another. Alignment is a key factor for long belt life.

If the alignment is off even a little bit, the belt will be forced to scrub against the sides of the groove it rides in and that scrubbing wears the sides of the belt. This wear will hasten the death of that belt. The greater the mis-alignment, the faster the belt will die. There are few applications more taxing on a V-belt than having to power attachments on Case tractors. The engine is spinning at 3600 RPM and the belt is expected to make four twists and two 90 degree bends 3600 times per minute for hours on end.

The belts sold at Sears, Canadian Tire, Princess Auto, Lowes, Home Depot and other such stores, were not designed to make twists and turns. Most of those are known as "Fractional Horsepower V-belts" that are for use with an electric motor, not a gas engine with 10 to 28 hp. There's nothing more expensive than a low cost belt that fails to perform when you factor in your time, vehicle wear and tear fuel costs and your time to chase another belt.

The only other application that I've seen with the twists and turns our tractors hand out is on my son-in-laws hay baler that has a bale thrower on it. But I'm sure that there are others.

 

[mikebramel]

I dont know what stores you guys have up there, but at Carquest and NAPA around here they sell that Gates Powerrated Kevlar Green belts that work great

 

[99flhr]

The only other application that I've seen with the twists and turns our tractors hand out is on my son-in-laws hay baler that has a bale thrower on it. But I'm sure that there are others.

:+1: The first time (decades ago) I saw the slightly less tortured fan drive on a Corvair, I was amazed.

 

[boomers_influence]

club
i agree with mike about the Gates Power rated belts.
i,m currently using Gates # 6982 (5/8 x 82)
i have fifteen hours this year already, and it still looks great.
plus a slight auger rpm increase.
thank you. boomer

 

[Chris Gorling]

I'm gonna go buy some gas and blow some snow! :letitsnow: :lol:

 

[99flhr]

I'm gonna go buy some gas and blow some snow! :letitsnow: :lol:

"Now that`s what I`m talkin about Willis" :thumbup:

 

[Chris Gorling]

Ok, I've got about 6 hours on that belt now. All hardpack busting, taking a run and chewing another 4-6 inches, working the front at angles and taking little bites. The machine seriously bogging down, working it's butt off. I took the blower off last night and yes, the belt is starting to delaminate on the bottom a bit. Nowhere near finished yet, but showing signs of wear and tear. I was in princess auto yesterday and bought another hold me over 'till I can get a better one. Does the snowcaster belt also fit the mower, or are they different lengths?
Chris

 

[Snotrocket]

They're different. Tractor Supply Company has good belts that are kevlar reinforced for a good price.