Don't start the deck turning when it is in grass. Turn the deck on when you
are over asphalt or concrete so that the blades can spin up freely before
any cutting is started. Walk over the ground before beginning to mow to
pick up all debris. Don't over work the mower in extremely tall grass. A
poorly trained operator can ruin a belt in minutes. The cheap belts are for
fractional horsepower applications and burn up quickly in a mower. I
would buy a very good belt (expensive) and then take care of it. Train
every operator.