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Searching for a belt on e-bay, I found several at this link that have "99.60 EFL" in their description.

Example: HUSQVARNA DECK V BELT 99.60 EFL 585054001 OEM​

So what is 99.60? Is it the length in inches?
And what does EFL stand for? What does it mean?

EFL is the effective length of the belt
It is the system used in the EU so they can be different to the USA ( outside length ) & old Commonwealth countries ( inside length )
And yes they are inches
So in most cases you would fit a US 100" belt if the pulleys are all in good condition or a 99" belt if this in on an old warhorse
Belts are not all that accurate and often the size is actually wrong
Belt makers all have apps for the designers to pop pulley sizes , speeds & loads into and it spits out idiot lengths & tensions like 254.165"
The mower companies publish these lengths to diswade owners from fitting standard size belts for 1/3 the price.
They also change the belt V angle which may cause standard size belts to wear rapidly
AYP at least generally use standard section belts
MTD belts are generally slightly wider so std belts really don't work particularly well .

bertsmobile1 said:

EFL is the effective length of the belt
It is the system used in the EU so they can be different to the USA ( outside length ) & old Commonwealth countries ( inside length )
And yes they are inches
So in most cases you would fit a US 100" belt if the pulleys are all in good condition or a 99" belt is this in on an old warhorse
Belts are not all that accurate and often the size is actually wrong
Belt makers all have apps for the designers to pop pulley sizes , speeds & loads into and it spits out idiot lengths & tensions like 254.165"
The mower companies publish these lengths to diswade owners from fitting standard size belts for 1/3 the price.
They also change the belt V angle which may cause standard size belts to wear rapidly
AYP at least generally use standard section belts
MTD belts are generally slightly wider so std belts really don't work particularly well .

Click to expand...

Thanks for that information. It is also discouraging that belts sold at auto parts stores in my area (Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts) have no marks on the packaging that correlates to the size, length, width or type of belt. It's a simple part or item number.

Prices for similar belts in my area from auto parts stores sell for around $40. Genuine Husqvarna belts I found on the 'net range from about $70 to $35.

I finally broke down and ordered a genuine Husqvarna belt from a Michigan supplier for $35 but it will probably be a week getting here so I guess I'll be push-cutting my lawn with a twenty-inch mower in the morning.

It is my understanding that the reason that belts or at least the standard off the walls belts measure short is they are supposed to be measured under 130 pounds of tension. So a 60 inch belt would be it's length under tension, but not what you get when you just use a belt measurer or tape measure.

Belts are auto parts store are usually fractional hp versions and not rated for lawn mower use.

And IL all of the OEM belts that I get here within the spec of +- .25" according to my belt measure of the labeled spec expect when dealing with after market which are all over the place. Now belt do stretch under load. Poly can stretch as mush as 3-5% and Kevlar as much as 1-2%. The EFL spec just help them hide their out of spec belts when someone calls them of the belt lengths being off.

I brought the $200 v-belt measure because I was having so much problems fitting the A&I (Sunbelts) on mowers. Once I started checking their belts I was finding belts up to 1+" on 1/2 (A) and 2+" on 5/8 (B) belts. When you get a 80" B belt that is 78" B it just will not fit. And even you manage to get it on it will over heat from the tension load while operating. I had one customer that was going through belt every 20 hrs (hour meter) until I found out the belt were too short. Now that I got the correct size he had over 50hrs on the belts when he sold the mower so my test ends there.

I even found several Stens OEM spec'd belts that over 1" too long. Right now in my hands I got a Stens 265-106 belt that they have the specs at 106" and it actually measures 107". No way I even going to sell it to the customer for his application that specs 106" belt. With this I basically completely given up on after market belts I don't need belts in stock that don't fit the intended applications. It is a waste of time and money trying to put on a belt just to find out that it don't fit and then having to order the OEM. I even had a run Gates A86 belts that supposedly are 88" that were 86" at every auto part stores here about 7 yrs ago.

And to the OP here the belt you getting is suspect as my my distributor is over $7 higher especially when free shipping is involved. But of course he might be buying a 1000 belts of the same PN at one time and getting a volume discount.

Just want to let everyone know the belt came in and it is in every respect either genuine OEM an excellent counterfeit. I mowed the lawn with it today.

Alex Ethridge said:

Thanks for that information. It is also discouraging that belts sold at auto parts stores in my area (Auto Zone and Advance Auto Parts) have no marks on the packaging that correlates to the size, length, width or type of belt. It's a simple part or item number.

Prices for similar belts in my area from auto parts stores sell for around $40. Genuine Husqvarna belts I found on the 'net range from about $70 to $35.

I finally broke down and ordered a genuine Husqvarna belt from a Michigan supplier for $35 but it will probably be a week getting here so I guess I'll be push-cutting my lawn with a twenty-inch mower in the morning.

Click to expand...

I always buy belts from NAPA, the biggest problem I have is sometimes having to wait a day for delivery to the store. Great belts and the people will work with whatever info you can gather up, including measuring your old belts.