V-Belt drive selection question

[Lovison]

Let's assume I have three identical pumps but all operating at three different speeds. 1620 RPM, 1080 RPM and a low one at 360 RPM. I'm sure I could belt drive the upper two but the lowest one the drive would be odd looking and expensive.

Should I consider going to a 1200 RPM on the lowest speed in order to reduce the size and cost of the drive.

I'm talking a small 5HP motor so the cost difference between the 1800 and 1200.

Is there a rule of thumb for drive sizing where speeds get so low that you have to go to a lower speed motor?

Rule of thumbs will work for this application anything you could provide would be helpful.

Wayne




Wayne E. Lovison
service-parts@naglepumps.com

 

[fredb]

hello,

You could select a 900 rpm motor then the step down on the sheave sizes would not be so bad.

 

[Kawartha]

Lovison,

As I recall good belt drive design does not allow ratios above 4:1. You may want check this out with one of the belt/pulley suppliers.

 

[ccfowler]

Lovison,

Since the are identical, the power required required for the slowest one would be very small. With the small power requirement, I expect that an greater than normal ratio could still function adequately. A nominal 1200 rpm motor should work for this.

The 1080 rpm pump driven by a 1200 rpm motor shoukd work very well since the ratio is very modest.

The 1620 rpm pump driven from the 1200 rpm motor could be bit of a concern due to the much greater power consumption and the speed increase involved.

What kind of application is involved? Is this for some sort of display or demonstration?