You haven't tested it yet!  Report back in 10,000 miles or when it squeals
for mercy or fails completely.

Thanks for being a guinea pig.

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Rocket J Squirrel
Sent: Friday, October 12, 2012 3:00 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Bando 9.5mm belt on 1.9L test report

A few weeks ago I burned up some bandwidth here talking about putting a
heavy load on the alternator, to charge a pair of GC2 golf cart batteries.

Dennis pointed out that the arrangement of the belt -- less than 1/2 wrap
around the crank pulley -- isn't quite optimal for driving a tough load.

The discussion forked into one about how the pulleys are set up for 9.5mm
belts but 10mm belts seem to be in use most commonly these days.

It seems that a belt that fits properly might do a better job keeping the
alternator turning.

Someone pmailed a suggestion to try Bando, and their website turned up the
2435 9.5mm x 1100mm belt. I didn't know the reputation of the company and
inquired here whether anyone had any feedback. No one had any feedback any
which way.

At which point I was urged to just try the Bando belt already, and let the
group know how it worked out. So I ordered a pair, and today installed one.

Well, I can't really say how well it works. There are probably some SAE and
ISO tests for such things, but all I can say is that the alternator and
water pump bones go round and round when the engine bone goes round and
round. So I guess it's satisfactory.

Beyond that, I can't comment. So I guess this isn't much of a test report.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
1984 Westfalia, auto trans,
Bend, Ore.