The belts for vacuum cleaners can come in
many styles and hundreds of different sizes. Normally, vacuums use a belt
to drive an agitation device, which is also known as a brush roller. With
very few exceptions, most vacuums will use either a flat belt, round belt, or a
geared style belt.
The type of belt that your vacuum uses is
very important, not only for durability, but performance as well. The
condition and type of belt your vacuum uses will have a lot of impact on the
systems ability to clean carpet. The proper use of agitation is almost
70% of the cleaning ability of a vacuum cleaner.
Suction is also very important. The
suction is what pulls the dirt that is removed from the carpet into the
collection area of the vacuum. The suction, or airflow, is the key
when cleaning hard surfaces or when using attachments. Without suction, a
vacuum cleaner could only bring more dirt to the surface of carpet. Even
though both agitation and suction are important with vacuuming, the agitation
is what actually cleans them.
Almost all manufacturers use brush rollers
that are made of wood, metal, or even plastic that is driven by a suction or
brush motor through the use of three different kinds of belts - round, geared,
or flat.
The round belts are the earliest type as
they were easy to produce and easy to engineer. The round style,
unfortunately, is normally run in the same space as vacuumed dirt. What
this means, is that almost all of the dirt, staples, and hair you vacuum up
will pass around the belt; cutting, nicking, or even scratching it along
the way.
Vacuum cleaner belts have to stretch quite
a long way, placing even more stress on the roller and the motor
bearings. The round belt is still common, and used even today.
The flat style of belts are most often run
in a circular fashion as well, unlike the twisted route the round belt takes to
deliver the performance in the proper direction.
The style allow manufacturers to run the
belt off of one side of the brush roller, instead of the center where all of
the dirt is. This is truly a great innovation, as you can eliminate
premature failure due to the soil and dirt in the belt path.
The latest belt design is considered to be
the best in the industry. Even though there are many variations out
there, the geared belt is the most efficient means to drive a
brush. The geared belt is also known as a positive brush system because
the energy of the brush motor is transmitted directly to the brush.
Both the brush and the motor are locked by
fixed teeth to each other through a cogged belt without tension. The
resulting direct connection results in higher cleaning efficiency because
the brush can be driven at a faster speed regardless of the age of the
belt.
The flat style can stretch as they become
warm, which will cause them to lose tension. When you use your vacuum,
the belt is always going to stretch. Believe it or not, it will lose it's
tension the moment you put it up to rest in the closet.
There is however, one real drawback to
geared belts - the cost of the vacuum. Geared belts are normally used on
two motor vacuums. Not only does this require a separate suction and
brush motor, but it also requires electronic sensory systems to tell you when
something is wrong with the brush.
