I may be in need of another deck belt for my B8200 this season. I've read mixed reviews that one should only purchase OEM belts from the dealership where others state brand does not matter. In the case of the Kubota, what are your thoughts? I've had good luck with D&D belts for my riding mower where I've only bought OEM belts for my Hustler.
Deck Belt Brands
- Thread starter cmyoch
- Start date
Belts are like a marriage: you never know what you are going to get until you buy them, and even then, some start off great and decline with use.
I have owned an “off-brand” drill press for a number of years. It’s a “CLarke” model BT1029 according to the china data-plate.
It was purchased at TSC as a gift from my wife about 20 years ago. (I had heavily suggested the gift idea when I saw it on sale for $165.)
Anyway…..The V-belts are degraded to soft rubber and now slip so badly it took me several hours to drill a few 1/2” holes in pipe for gate-hinges.
Typing the make/model into a search on Bezo’s chinese-distribution-site …. some replacement suggestions popped-up….and when they arrived next day…. I was surprised at the quality, especially for such inexpensive belts.
I have had similar results when shopping for drive-belts for my BESTSCO 72” china-made finish mower. Much less expensive than from the distributor… faster arrival…free shipping…. Good quality:
Same result when I replaced the V-belts on my Craftsman riding mower.
It was purchased at TSC as a gift from my wife about 20 years ago. (I had heavily suggested the gift idea when I saw it on sale for $165.)
Anyway…..The V-belts are degraded to soft rubber and now slip so badly it took me several hours to drill a few 1/2” holes in pipe for gate-hinges.
Typing the make/model into a search on Bezo’s chinese-distribution-site …. some replacement suggestions popped-up….and when they arrived next day…. I was surprised at the quality, especially for such inexpensive belts.
I have had similar results when shopping for drive-belts for my BESTSCO 72” china-made finish mower. Much less expensive than from the distributor… faster arrival…free shipping…. Good quality:
D&D DURA-Ultimate 5LK720 or B69K Aramid V-Belt Vbelt: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
D&D DURA-Ultimate 5LK720 or B69K Aramid V-Belt Vbelt: Amazon.com: Industrial & Scientific
www.amazon.com
Same result when I replaced the V-belts on my Craftsman riding mower.
I bite the bullet and buy OEM belts from Kubota.
Verify that your Kubota dealer sells you a genuine Kubota belt with OEM Kubota part label.
Over the years I have used many aftermarket belts with no problems. When the 20 year old belt on my Woods RD7200 finish mower finally died I purchased multiple different belts - all Kevlar and the same cross section as the OEM.belt. they looked identical to ths OEM belt but none lasted more than an hour or two. I bit the bullet and ordered a 4x more expenive OEM belt from Messicks and no more problems.
My conclusion - in most cases a qualty aftermarket belt is fine but there are instances where only the OEM belt works. So unless someone has actually tried alternatives on your specific mower I dont think there's a reliable answer to your question.
Dan
Last edited:
I don't know how many years your belt has made it. My Poulan belts last a long time, so I just buy the Poulan. My guess is you might as well buy the OEM since the difference is a few dollars a year.