Belts for vacuum cleaners come in a variety of styles and sizes. The belt is typically used to drive the agitating mechanism, which is more commonly known as the brush roller. With only a few exceptions, all vacuums use either a flat belt, a round belt – O-Ring – or a geared belt, which is also called, toothed or notched belt.
Using the correct belt for your machine is very important for both durability and performance. The type and condition of belt your vacuum uses will have a major impact on the machines ability to clean carpeted surfaces. Proper agitation (beating, sweeping, and brushing carpet fibers) makes up nearly 70 percent of a vacuums cleaning ability. Suction is a small part of the overall equation.
However, suction is important. It takes in the dirt and debris that has been beaten or brushed to the carpets surface and getting it to the bag or dust cup. Suction is also the key factor in cleaning hard surfaces or when using the vacuums hose with attachments. While obviously both suction and agitation are important in vacuuming carpets, it is the agitation that actually cleans them. Most manufacturers use a brush roller made of wood, metal or plastic driven by a suction or brush motor through the use of one of the three kinds of belt – round, flat or geared.
Round belts were the first designed. They were easy to manufacture and worked well with the vacuum design. The problem with them is they are generally in the path on the incoming dirt. This means they can easily get nicked, scratched, and cut by incoming debris. These belts also had to stretch a longer distance, placing more stress on the brush roller and the motor bearings. This type of belt is still in use today on some vacuums. The average useful life of these belts can be sometimes measured in minuets of use in commercial applications. For home use, most vacuums can go 3 or 4 months before the noticeable reduction in cleaning ability.
As belt technology progressed belts became more durable and could be manufactured in different styles. The next was the flat belt. The flat belt is circular as all other belts but has a flat face. This is important because the point of contact could be expanded and create more contact with the agitator. More contact meant less slippage and better performance. Flat belts are also most often run in a circular manner instead of twisted like the round belt. This allows the manufacturers to run the belt off one side of the brush roller, instead of the center where the dirt is. This helps eliminates premature failure due to dirt and soil in the belt path.
Finally the gear belt was created. It is considered by those in the industry to be the best design. The geared belt is also called a positive drive system because the energy of the brush motor is transmitted directly to the brush. The brush and motor are locked together by fixed teeth through a tensionless cogged belt. This direct connection results in higher cleaning efficiency because the brush can be driven at a faster speed regardless the age of the belt.