i've had several different vacuum cleaners and the belt keeps breaking, I have no pets, but I have long hair but still, should the belt be so fragile?
Vacuum Cleaner Drive Belts
My daughter has long hair and has to take the roller out and cut the hair off of it to keep it working. Pretty easy, just turn upside down and look at the little screws on the sides and remove the plate and bar and clean. Of course it is not plugged in -- if it is a Hoover I believe they conspire to break belts. Had more trouble with them and belts than any others. funny but they are always for sale at the groc. store.
I buy 4 belts at a time from my vacuum store so I have them on hand and change them out myself without any trouble at all. I get out the screwdriver, take the plate off the bottom and change it. No biggie. Some models just eat more belts than others. I have long hair, too but I don't think that matters. It takes the belt to drive the beater bar, so everytime you use the vacuum cleaner you are essentially wearing out the belt. Learn to change them.
Unless it is uses a cogged belt, it is dependent on tension to keep it tight. If the roller encounters any resistance it slows down. The belt is then rolling on a fast motor on one end and a slower, binding roller on the other. The resulting friction causes the rubber compound to overheat, burn, then snap. Keep the brush roller clean, do not vacuum anything more solid than a big toe nail clipping, no metal, no plastic that could bind the roller brush.
Generally, they're not fragile. Without seeing it I can only guess. Is the beater bar easy to turn or clogged with hair? [without the belt] Do you keep the beater bar fairly clean? Is anything blocking or rubbing? Is the belt being cut or melted? Take it apart, clean it well, and put it back together. Make it look like new, and it should act like new.
