Fan Drives 271

Chapter 17

Fan Drives

M otor Sheave
3MVP60B74P
• 3 grooves
• Companion sheave
• Variable pitch
• 6.0" to 7.4" pitch range with a “B” belt
• P bushing (P2 - 3/4" to 1-3/4" bore range)

Fan Sheave
3MVB154R
• 3 grooves
• Companion sheave
• Fixed pitch
• 15.4" pitch with a “B” belt
• R bushing (R1 - 1-1/8" to 3-3/4" bore range)

Fan rpm varies directly as motor sheave pitch diameter

Fan rpm varies indirectly as fan sheave pitch diameter

FAN DRIVE COMPONENTS

To take drive component information, first stop the fan and

put your own personal padlock on the motor disconnect switch so
that, only you have control over starting the fan. Next, remove the
belt guard (plug fans do not have belt guards or a housing around
the fan wheel) and read and record the information from the
motor and fan sheaves and the belts. Also, measure the shaft sizes

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and the distance between the center of the fan and motor shafts.
This is a good time to also measure and record the slide adjust-
ment on the motor frame. The motor slide is for adjusting belt
tension. For instance, if a sheave needs changing and there is
space available on the motor frame, you may be able to move the
motor forwards or backwards, so that the old belt will fit. If the
adjustment space is not adequate, a change in sheave size will
mean that you’ll have to install a different size belt.
The fan sheave is the driven pulley on the fan shaft (Figure
17-1). The motor sheave is the driver pulley on the motor shaft.
The motor sheave may be either a fixed or adjustable groove
sheave. Adjustable groove sheaves, or simply, adjustable sheaves
are also known as variable speed or variable pitch sheaves. An
adjustable sheave means that the belt grooves on the sheave are
movable. A fixed sheave means that the belt grooves are non-
movable. Fixed sheaves are typically used for fans. And, gener-
ally, after fans have been air balanced for the proper airflow,
adjustable motor sheaves are replaced with fixed sheaves. The
reason is, size for size, fixed sheaves are less expensive than ad-
justable sheaves, and there’s less wear on the belts. Some other
terms that we need to define refer to belts. Let’s start with V-belts.
There are two types of V-belts generally used on HVAC equip-
ment. Light duty, fractional horsepower (FHP) belts, sizes 2L
through 5L, and heavier duty industrial belts, sizes “A” through
“E.” Fractional horsepower belts are generally used on smaller
diameter sheaves because they’re more flexible than industrial
belts for the same equivalent cross-sectional size. For example, a
5L belt and a “B” belt have the same cross-sectional dimension,
but because of its greater flexibility, the 5L belt would generally be
used on light duty fans that have smaller sheaves. (Note: A 4L belt
and an “A” belt have the same cross-sectional dimension.) The
general practice in HVAC design is to use belts of smaller cross-
sectional size with smaller sheaves instead of large belts and large
sheaves for the drive components. Multiple belts are used to
avoid excessive belt stress. The term pitch diameter is a measure-
ment that refers to where the middle of the V-belt rides in the