October 20th, 2009 by dontai
Three Five brand v-belt should fit my snowblower, and surprise, Canadian made!
My Canadian Tire snowblower was getting tired, so late last winter I decided to see if I could spruce her up. The v-belt that connects the 2T engine to the auger was worn, but still connected and therefore workable. Today I tried to find a replacement v-belt. It turns out that my belt is 1/2″ x 35″ and found a machine v-belt replacement for $6.
My snowblower is a Canadian Tire model # 318-180-515, 3-21″ model. It’s good enough for my driveway and compact. The 2T is a bit of a hassle, but I’ve gotten used to adding oil to the gas and storing it in a 2T marked gas tank.
I first went to Princess Auto, but they did not have the correct size. Then at Canadian Tire I was directed to the seasonal and snowblower section, where I found the correct MTD v-belt for snowblowers, but cost $21. It was a nice belt, light brown and mesh covered. Hmmm, there’s got to be a way to genericize this purchase. V-belts are, unsurprisingly, shaped like a “V”, with the point ground down. Maybe a flat bottomed boat would be a better description.
Over to automotive I went, but they were out of 1/2″ x 35″ v-belts. He told me to try a machine v-belt, which are deeper than an automotive belt, and this is where I found my “Three-Five” branded model # “A-33/4L-350″ v-belt, made in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada by S.W.R. Industries Ltd.. Now it’s pretty rare to find Canadian made products in Canadian stores, but I was happy I found it and glad to support a Canadian company. At $6CAD I can buy 3.5 of these instead of the 1 MTD v-belt.
Here’s to a great Canadian winter where I can use my newly spruced up snowblower.
Tags: Canada, Canadian Tire, machine, machine belt, S.W.R. Industries, snowblower, Toronto, v-belt
Posted in Environment, Nonsense | 7 Comments »
Leave a Reply
December 10th, 2009 at 19:19
The best kept secret in Canadian tire, some stores even have the special tool to measure the old belt next to the display in the hardware section. I save hundreds of dollars buying the three-five belts for al of my small engine needs,two snowblowers, 2 garden tractors and a rideone lawnmower, that is a lot of belts!
December 10th, 2009 at 21:54
Yesterday we got a 10 cm dumping of snow here in Toronto, Canada, so I fired up the snow blower for the first time for the season. The new Three-Five belt made such a huge difference. It was the first time I’ve seen the snow blower throw water! I sent SWR Industries an email to tell them I blogged about their v-belt, but they didn’t reply. They must have thought I was some nutcase.
December 19th, 2010 at 00:51
I too have the exact same snow blower as yours 318 180 515 & I am having a problem when I changed the belt it is misaligned & wearing out for some reason in the middle.
1)I would like to know if the washer for the tension wheel pulley is fitted from the outside.
2) Do you have a copy of the manual
3) I also do not know the ratio of oil to be mixed with gas & which is the best one to use
I would appreciate your help
December 20th, 2010 at 12:17
Hi Trevor,
I have not taken my snow blower belt off this year so do not remember anything about aligning the belt. I do not have a copy of the user manual. I have tried to find one on the internet but could not.
The ratio of gas to oil mix is 32:1. I bought some Castrol 2 stroke snowmobile oil from Walfart, on sale. It is blue and works well. The blue dye helps to differentiate 2 stroke gas from regular gas.
December 23rd, 2010 at 15:02
Hi Dontai,
Thank you very much for your reply At least now I know the correct ratio of gas to oil mix. I have also bought the new belt from S.W.R Industries. The place is 5 min from my house. Hope the snow blower works OK. I do think the internet is fantastic. It has bought 2 people together with the same snow blower & the same problem.
Thanks once again
TREVOR
February 11th, 2011 at 12:11
These belts are for furnace fans and will fail under heavy wet snow. There’s a reason they’re cheaper.
February 11th, 2011 at 12:47
My snow blower will not throw much heavy, wet snow anyway. The motor is too small for anything thicker than 3″. So far the belt has been great. Unfortunately I need to solve an electrical gremlin, but it’s too cold to break the machine apart, and I don’t want to do this in my house. The machine, as usual, started without issue this winter. I drain the gas and run it dry each spring.