Kirby Belts Question

[tomaz600]

When i bought my D-50, it had a spare belt. A few weeks later, i took it apart to find that the original belt was completely thrashed. I put on the new one, which is about 3 inches in radius, and i wasnt strong enough to lift it back onto the belt lifter or ffan, and it was very hard to twist the belt lifter. So heres my question: Are you supposed to stretch the new belts before you put them on? If so, how would you do it?

 

[human]

Are you sure it's the correct belt? That would be the first thing to check. I've never had a D50, but on the Kirbys I've had, the oldest being a Classic III, I've never had a problem putting a new belt on one. That said, the new ones are often tighter than the old ones that have stretched out. I did have an issue once with a Royal Prince 501 hand vac where a replacement belt was apparently quite old. Although it did not appear dry rotted, it had lost elasticity and snapped when I was trying to get it on the shaft. I'm wondering if this is what you may be experiencing. Some rubber/plastic materials do shrink and harden over time. But hey, belts are cheap. It might be worthwhile to get another one and see if it goes on easier. I usually buy them in multiples to reduce the unit cost and then have several on hand.

 

[centralsweeper63]

That is all sound advice.