ADDISON, Ill. — “Two things affect belt life: heat and lack of maintenance,” said Eric Steele, technical manager for Optibelt Corp. “Heat causes typical rubber belts to loosen up and slip on the sheave. When it heats up, it also starts to rebake and vulcanize. Heated and under pressure, rubber gets hard.”
Hockey pucks are made this way. For HVACR motor belts, it’s not such a good idea.