What are the types of V-Belts?

There are three common type of V-belts classical V Belt, narrow wedge belt and fractional horsepower, and they are classified by their dimensions:

Classical V-Belt – Classified by its dimensions ranging from A to E

The classical V-Belt is the most common of all V-Belt types, and it has been in existence even before other V-Belt types. This type of V-Belt has a broad scope of usage in different areas such as Agriculture, Industrial Machinery, ventilation etc. and this is due to the fact that it covers a load range from 1 horsepower to 500 horsepower.

There is no doubt that the Narrow Wedge is more efficient than the classical V-Belt; however, they work seamlessly with higher bearing loads and have a high tolerance for adverse operating conditions.

Narrow Wedge – Classified by its dimensions ranging from 3V, 5V, and 8V

This type of V-Belt is more efficient than the Classical type as they have the most significant degree possible for the distribution of force and load transfer, which is the main advantage over the Classical type. Narrow Wedge is able to transmit three times the Horsepower a classical V-Belt would in the same drive space; they are very suitable for drives at high speed and its well-known for its sturdy, compact size.

Unlike the classical V-Belt, Narrow Wedge V-Belt can handle drives from 1 horsepower to 1,000 horsepower.

Fractional Horsepower – Classified by its dimensions ranging from 2L, 3L, 4L, 5L.

Unlike the two mentioned types of V-Belts, the Fractional Horsepower is different in operation as it is only designed for light loads and is often used as a single belt on drives that run at one Horsepower or even less. This type of belt is what you see in domestic machines popular in household equipment such as washing machines, fans, and refrigerators.

Fractional Horsepower can never be used on any heavy-duty industrial machinery even if it fits perfectly well.