CONVEYOR BELT INSTALLATION GUIDE

Fit It Right,
It Runs for Years.

Most belts that fail early do not fail because of the rubber. They fail because the belt went on crooked, the joint was rushed, or the conveyor itself had a problem nobody fixed before the new belt was pulled in. This guide is written the way our service team works on site – check the conveyor, then fit the belt, then run it in. Keep it with your maintenance team and go through it before the next belt change.

Part 1 – Before the Belt Arrives

Use the shutdown time well. A new belt on a bad structure will copy every fault of the old one.

Site tip: Mark the conveyor centre line with paint at the head, tail and every 10–15 m. You will use these marks during tracking.

Part 2 – Receiving and Checking the Belt

• Match the roll marking with your order – width, rating, number of plies, cover thickness and grade.
• Check the roll for damage from transport: cuts, crushed edges, or wet fabric at the ends.
• Measure the length on the roll label and compare it with what the conveyor needs, including the joint allowance.
• Keep the roll on a stand, or on its curved face on a pallet, until you use it – never roll it through mud or over sharp stones. See our storage and handling guide.

Part 3 – Pulling the Belt On

Put the roll on a shaft and stand, or on a spool frame, close to the tail end, so it can turn freely while it is pulled. Before pulling, check the top-cover marking and direction arrow on the roll, and set the roll so the belt feeds onto the carrying side with the top cover facing up.

1. If the old belt is still on the conveyor, clamp the new belt to the end of the old one and use the old belt to pull the new one through. This is the quickest and safest method.
2. If the conveyor is empty, thread a wire rope along the carrying side and around the pulleys, and pull the belt with a winch or chain pulley block. Use a proper belt clamp – never pull by punching holes in the belt near the edge.
3. Keep a brake on the roll so the belt does not over-run and fold.
4. Watch the belt at every transfer point and pulley while it is being pulled, so it does not twist or snag.
5. Pull enough length to reach the joint position with the full joint overlap, plus a little extra for trimming.

Site tip: Top cover is thicker than the bottom cover on most belts. If the belt is fitted upside down it will wear through much faster – check the marking before you start pulling.

Part 4 – Setting Up for the Joint

• Set the take-up close to its shortest position (counterweight raised, or screw take-up nearly fully in) before you mark the joint, leaving a little travel in reserve. The belt will stretch in the first weeks, and you need most of the take-up travel for that.
• Use belt clamps on both ends and pull the belt to the correct tension with chain pulley blocks.
• Choose a joint location with a flat, rigid working table – normally on the return side near the tail.
• Cut both ends square. Mark the centre line on each end and join along that line, not along the edge.

The joint itself – hot vulcanised, cold bonded or mechanical – is covered step by step in our belt jointing process. For cold joints, use the matching adhesive from our belt jointing solution range.

Part 5 – First Run and Tracking

1. Run the belt empty first, at slow speed if you have a VFD, and walk the full length.
2. Watch the belt at the tail pulley first, then work towards the head. Correct tracking at the point where the belt first starts to run off, not where it ends up.
3. Make small corrections: on the side the belt is running towards, move that end of the idler frame forward (in the direction of belt travel) by a few millimetres. This steers the belt back towards the centre.
4. Adjust only a few idlers at a time and give the belt two or three full turns to settle before the next change.
5. Use the snub and tail pulleys for fine correction only after the idlers are right. Moving the head pulley is the last option.
6. When it runs straight empty, load it slowly and check again. A belt can track well empty and run off loaded if the loading is off-centre.

Site tip: Do not use the belt edge against the structure to “guide” it. That only tears the edge. Fix the cause.

Part 6 – The First 100 Hours

Write down the take-up position at each check. If it keeps moving after the first week, tell us – it usually points to wrong belt tension or a joint that is slipping.

Related Guides

• Conveyor belt troubleshooting – problems and fixes
• Storing and handling belt rolls
• Belt jointing process – hot, cold and mechanical

Talk to Our Team

Tell us what you are conveying, the temperature, the belt width and the running length. We usually reply the same working day with a price and a delivery date. Phone: +91 98275 92612 / +91 90395 92612 · Email: info@shrirambeltings.com.