Knowing When Belt Tension Requires Your Attention

Easing tension is a goal we all strive for in life, unless you’re talking about belted conveyors. For optimum performance and reduction in breakdowns there’s a fine line when it comes to adjusting tension.

In a previous blog, we cite that proper belt tension is the “lowest tension that will not cause the belt to slip and is required for the conveyor to run smoothly.” We even show you how to adjust a belt to the proper tension in one of our many Ask Hytrol tutorials. Some of our products even feature a spring-tensioning assembly to help with this process.

But even after you think a belt is tensioned properly how do you really know for sure? There are signs to take note of whether a belt is way too tight or not nearly tight enough.

Symptoms of a loose belt can include belt slipping and belt discoloration. Meanwhile, a strained belt can start to pull apart or cause excessive wear on parts – and that’s just a couple of problems that can begin to happen.

We’ve put together a quick guide describing the most common indicators that a belt is too tight or too loose. It can be downloaded for FREE. All we ask for in exchange is your valuable feedback. Just fill out the form below and tell us what topics you’d like us to cover in future blog posts.