Imperial timing belts
Imperial timing belts have trapezoidal teeth and inch pitches, and they’re still found on a huge range of older and American-built machinery. Choose a pitch, or search by the code on your old belt, such as 450H100.
Choosing the right imperial timing belt
Three things decide which imperial timing belt you need: the pitch, the length and the width.
- Reading the codeA code like 450H100 is a 45.0″ pitch length (in tenths of an inch), H pitch, 1″ wide (in hundredths of an inch).
- Imperial or metric?XL (5.08mm) and L (9.525mm) are close to the metric 5mm and 10mm pitches but won’t mesh with them. Measure over ten teeth and divide by ten.
- Single or double sided?Most drives use single-sided belts. Double-sided DXL, DL and DH belts have teeth on both faces for serpentine drives.
MXL · 2.032mm pitch
The smallest imperial pitch, for printers, office machines and instruments.
XL · 5.08mm pitch
Light drives in appliances, small machine tools and light conveyors.
L · 9.525mm pitch
Medium-duty drives on machine tools, packaging machines and pumps.
H · 12.7mm pitch
The most common imperial section, for industrial machinery and conveyors.
XH · 22.225mm pitch
Heavy industrial drives, large pumps and mills.
XXH · 31.75mm pitch
The largest imperial pitch, for the heaviest timing drives.
Double sided
Teeth on both faces, for serpentine drives where pulleys turn in opposite directions.
Pulleys & bushes
Matching imperial timing pulleys, and taper lock bushes to fit them.
Need help with an imperial timing belt?
Send us the code from the old belt, its measurements or a photo, and we’ll find the right belt. If the code has worn off, count the teeth and measure the width and we’ll work out the rest.