Why V-Belt Tension Gauges Matter

An often-overlooked precision maintenance tool is the V-belt tension gauge. Many maintenance technicians believe they can just go by “feeling” for what proper belt tension should be. In our Reliable Precision Maintenance (RPM) course, we often let mechanics tension the belts to what they “feel” is correct. Then we check the tension with a V-belt tension gauge. More times than not, we find that the belts are over-tensioned when going by “feel”.

• Stan Riddle
• Acoem USA