Snapper simplicity Murray belt

Iam going to have to find a new belt entirely and even though I have a rough idea that I need a 100 inch belt that does not account for the double pulley clutch and any slack needed to disengage the clutch.
I have just calculated centre to centre and based on pulley sizes

How much length should I add for the clutch and slack?
If it's a little on the longer side I can play around with the pulleys a bit but I'd rather not have anything too short.
On top of that I can't find a belt longer than 100 inch in my country so I'll need to order from abroad.

Any guesses are welcome, I just want to order ASAP.

What I do is use thick rope to simulate the belt size thickness, route it through with the clutch disengaged, when I get the end of the rope to the other end I pull it taught but not tight, make a mark on the rope then measure it with a measuring tape. This will give you a close outside diameter of the belt you're looking for, belts will stretch a little and usually settle in good. I generally get 3 belts to be sure, one at the length of my measurment, 1 shorter and a third longer then return the 2 I don't need and pick up a spare. This method has worked for me for years.

Brianator wrote:

What I do is use thick rope to simulate the belt size thickness, route it through with the clutch disengaged, when I get the end of the rope to the other end I pull it taught but not tight, make a mark on the rope then measure it with a measuring tape. This will give you a close outside diameter of the belt you're looking for, belts will stretch a little and usually settle in good. I generally get 3 belts to be sure, one at the length of my measurment, 1 shorter and a third longer then return the 2 I don't need and pick up a spare. This method has worked for me for years.

I would do that but I can't return 2 belts given the shipping cost.
Idler pulleys and engine pulleys I have plenty for free however so I am more or less interested in what the general consensus would be.

I can easily make anything fit, even thought about moving the engine further back and use the 100 belt.

Can't buy belts locally? Most auto parts stores sell frictional belts or can get them. You could use the rope method to confirm/debunk your calculations also

Nah it's pretty bad here, even my Oregon G3 blades for my lawnmower I order from evilbay.

There's just not that much floating around especially not Kevlar or aramid belts.

That's too bad. Well, with a combination of taking measurements from pulley center to pulley center then doubling it and adding half of the circumference of each and using my rope method you should be able to get a fairly accurate measurment. Why I've found my rope method works well is because the clutch is disengaged you get a really accurate measurment for the belt being disengaged then the clutch will engage it, the belt will stretch to be basically perfect, in my experiences but I've had to go with a 1" shorter belt at times if the belt is pretty long.

But can't take just my word on it, let's see what others have to say as well.

I'll give it a go today, anyway thinking about just making the 100 belt fit.
Just a lot less of a pain in the ass if I need a replacement

Brianator wrote:

That's too bad. Well, with a combination of taking measurements from pulley center to pulley center then doubling it and adding half of the circumference of each and using my rope method you should be able to get a fairly accurate measurment. Why I've found my rope method works well is because the clutch is disengaged you get a really accurate measurment for the belt being disengaged then the clutch will engage it, the belt will stretch to be basically perfect, in my experiences but I've had to go with a 1" shorter belt at times if the belt is pretty long.

But can't take just my word on it, let's see what others have to say as well.

I'll be honest when it comes to belts and sizing.  I suck at it.  Throw in that you can buy five 100-inch belts and they will all measure differently.  Aye, that has been my experience.

Yeah that's my experience as well and I do this for a living.

My general motto whenever we have nothing in stock is that I'll just make the machine fit the belt

Ok so I ran a 1/4 fuel hose over and got only 98 inch so I'll guess I'll try the 100 anyway since I need to add another idler by the looks of it.

Thanks guys

So 100 wouldn't fit, even with brakes engaged I would have needed to force it on the idler.
It would've been snug basically but without room to disengage.

So bank on a 102 instead? I'll take any input into consideration

I still need a little room to put an idler aswell to guide the belt through the steering apparatus so I have some room to play with if it's too long.

102 is what I would do if you’re gonna add an idler. If it turns out it’s too big then you’ve narrowed it down to 101 or belts that go by half inch intervals.

Yeah I can add a whopper of an idler if I need to even.
Maybe make it adjustable so I can tension it to wherever I need it

fbisurveilancevan wrote:

Yeah I can add a whopper of an idler if I need to even.
Maybe make it adjustable so I can tension it to wherever I need it

That sounds like an excellent idea.

Well it's ordered so no way back now I guess.
Thanks for the input everyone