Craftsman 8hp snow blower, belt size

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I have a snowblower that is so old, it was made by Noma. We found it set out for garbage & when we got it, the auger belt was broken. I called the local small engine parts shop & when I asked for the belt, the guy said I had to bring in the old one & they'd measure it up because they don't have the size of the belts. 3 years later, I've seen the problem with this & why my blower can't throw snow. This idiot measured up the broken, stretched belt with a new one. Now that it's stretched, it's not tight enough on the auger pulley (& yes, I've made it as tight as possible).
Anyway, my question is, since I have to/should get a new belt, how much smaller should I go to make it the correct size? Any ideas? It's only 1 belt as I've seen some machines use 2 for the auger.
Thanks
 
typically an OPE belt wont "stretch", that said its not a good idea to measure one either. You knowing its made by noma, im guessing the unit has a model# tag on it somewhere, first thing would be to try sears dot com and see if you can come up with anything on there via the model#, if not, try a dealer with some old microfishe and find a part num that way, then if the dealer is modern theyre going to have a cross reference software and come up the correct belt that way, the dealer you called sounds a bit redneck to me
 
It's also possible that your pulleys are worn down, especially if you had a lot of belt slippage. The belt will sit too deep into the pulley and not get good grip. The belt should not bottom out on the bottom of the pulley "V".

Regarding size, kcfx4 offers good advice. Or, I would try one size down (1") and see if it gives you ample adjustment space. I would think most places would let you exchange it for another size if you don't run it.

There are differences in belt construction also. My OPE belts are sort of "cloth covered". Different than the bare rubber belts I use on ag. exhaust fans. Make sure your pulleys don't turn on the shaft (broken key) and that your auger turns easily.
 
also plus one for exchanging belt for one an inch smaller, thing is most always a "fits all" belt wont last half the time of an oem specd belt, as doitmyself is pointing out, a "fits all" or automotive belt is made of different material and dimensions as well
 
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also doitmyself is pointing out other good advice, as normally an OPE belt doesnt just up and "break", you may want to search for the root of the problem, unless the belt was showing bad wear sings such as freying
 
Wasn't Noma a division of Murray? I do know that for decades, Sears/Craftsman snowblowers were a Murray design.

On a side note, have you seen the belts on some of the new low end stuff? They look like shoe laces! Keep your older stuff running.

Joel
 
joel is right, noma was a division of murray, should make finding belt a bit easier via briggs
 
Originally Posted By: flatlandtacoma
Noma was bought by Murray which was then bought by Briggs &Stratton. You can try Sears, Noma, or Murray for your part numbers.

thanks flatlandtacoma for pointing out what we already did, maybe if youd start pointing out obvious oil choices we could get along? huh?
 
Thanks guys! I don't know what's wrong with me, why didn't I even try searching via the model #?
Anyway, found out some info on the belt & an exploded view of a similar model, the 5hp one. I got 2 belt sizes & part #'s, so that should help. Yeah, the place I went to, the guy is an older guy, but acts weird, sorta arogant. Doesn't want to help you unless you have a part number.
doitmyself, with your help, you may have found another problem. The pulley does turn a little easy. I noticed that when the blower was running & I went to look at it from the front, the impeller was moving from the vibration. I hope it's not something broken. When the belt was new, it was throwing good, so...? I took the belt off today & it doesn't show any signs of wear, just that it wasn't the correct size to being with.
 
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