Belt sander problem

[4yanks]

I have a PC 352vs that I have owned for several years. I haven't used it in about 3 months. I pulled it out today to flush-up some face frames. Almost immediately I broke the belt. In quick succession I broke 2 more. Each time it took only about a minute before the belt broke. I made sure the belt was tracking properly each time before I started. I will admit that the belts are about 5 years old. Is there something beside the age of the belts I should be concerned with? Has anyone else had this problem?

[McRabbet]

Although you didn't say where they broke, I assume that it was at the glue seam in each case. It is true that the glue at the seam in belts will deteriorate with age, especially if they have been stored where higher humidity can get to them. I store all of my belts in a sealed "Rubbermaid"-style storage container to keep them dry. I've never had my 6 x 48 belts fail and some are three years old.

I have also added a few strips of fiber strapping tape to some older 3 x 21 belts for my hand-held belt sander to add a little strength to them (make sure there is no loose edge of the tape and align it in the direction of travel at the seam on the inside).

[sapwood]

Willie, I had the same problem when firing up belt sander my pop gave me. The 2-5 year old belts failed on the glue line every time. Perhaps better quality belts might last longer, but overall I don't think most have a long shelf life.

Roger

[newtonc]

I seem to remember this very discussion not even 3-4 months back.And I think it was determined that storage conditions were a factor.And also,about a year could be the shelf life of the seam.
I am I recalling this wrong?

[McRabbet]

Yep, your memory is good -- we discussed this same problem in this thread back in August.

[4yanks]

Thanks for the advice. I'll try new belts. I did search before I posted, but I looked under my sander type rather than what the problem might be. My initial assumption was that it was the sander.