Walk a belt conveyor at a transfer point and look at the skirting and you will see the failure modes: worn rubber no longer touching the belt, hardened skirting gouging the belt cover, spillage piling under the load zone, dust escaping where the seal lost contact. Skirting material selection often gets made once at the original equipment build and carried forward for years after the application changed.
This is a practical field reference for conveyor maintenance managers and OEMs picking skirting materials for specific applications -- what skirting does, how to read the wear pattern, durometer selection by application, pile height and mounting, EPDM vs. other compounds, when brush strip beats solid skirting, and what to send a supplier for an accurate first quote. Numbers below are ranges from real sourcing across mining, aggregates, food processing, recycling, and general material handling.
What Conveyor Skirting Actually Does
Skirting has three jobs: contain material at the load zone, suppress dust by sealing the belt-to-skirtboard gap, and do both without damaging the belt cover (the most expensive component on the conveyor). The three jobs are in tension. Skirting hard enough to contain heavy material is hard enough to abrade the belt cover. Skirting soft enough to ride gently is too soft to contain abrasive material at speed. The right material is the balance for your specific belt speed, material type, and tolerable wear rate.
Reading the Wear Pattern on Your Current Skirting
The fastest diagnosis is to read the wear pattern. Smooth, uniform wear across the contact face means the durometer and pile are correct and the skirting just reached service life -- replace with the same spec. Polished, glassy wear with no material removal means the skirting is too hard; the belt slides under it without removing rubber and the surface loses contact -- drop one durometer increment. Rapid material loss means the skirting is too soft or the material is more abrasive than the original spec assumed -- increase durometer or switch to an abrasion-resistant compound. Belt cover damage (gouges, scoring) means the skirting is too hard or mounting pressure too high -- drop the durometer, reduce pre-load, or switch to brush strip on the contact zone. Spillage despite contact means the bottom edge is not sealing -- lengthen the pile, lower the mounting, or drop the durometer.
Photograph the wear before you replace it
Take 4 to 6 photos of the worn skirting before you remove it. The wear pattern is a record of what the application is doing to the material, and it is the most useful information you can send a custom supplier on a replacement quote.
Durometer Selection by Application
Durometer is the single most important spec, and the one most maintenance teams default on without revisiting. The right number depends on belt speed, material abrasiveness, and tolerable belt cover wear. Below are starting points -- adjust from the wear pattern.
| Application | Belt Speed | Material Type | Recommended Durometer (Shore A) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Light duty material handling | Low to medium (below 300 FPM) | Light, non-abrasive (packages, light bulk, food) | 55A to 65A |
| General purpose bulk material | Medium (300 to 500 FPM) | Moderately abrasive (sand, gravel, grain) | 60A to 70A |
| Heavy duty bulk material | Medium to high (400 to 700 FPM) | Abrasive (crushed stone, ore, coal) | 65A to 75A |
| High abrasion or impact load | High (above 600 FPM) | Highly abrasive or sharp-edged material | 70A to 80A, or specialized abrasion-resistant compound |
| Food grade or sanitary | Low to medium | Food product, white compound required | 55A to 65A in food-grade compound |
When in doubt, drop the durometer
If you are uncertain whether to spec 65A or 70A, start with the lower number. Slightly too soft means the skirting compression-sets and needs replacement sooner -- it does not damage your belt cover. Slightly too hard gouges the belt and forces an expensive cover replacement.
Pile Height and Mounting Options
Pile height is the dimension from mounting line to belt-contact edge. Too short and the skirting loses contact with belt waver or wear; too tall and you waste material and add bending stress. 50 to 200 mm covers the working range. Lighter duty runs shorter (50 to 100 mm); heavy duty runs taller (150 to 200 mm).
Mounting splits into three families. Clamp bar bolts a metal bar over the backing -- most common because replacement is fast. Slide-in uses a channel or T-slot in the skirtboard for the backing to insert into -- fast but requires the skirtboard to have been built with the channel. Bolt-through passes bolts through holes -- most secure but slowest to replace. Pick based on replacement frequency and tolerable swap downtime.
EPDM vs. Other Compounds: When Each Wins
EPDM is the default base material for general-purpose conveyor skirting. Good abrasion resistance, excellent ozone and weathering resistance, continuous service roughly -40°F to +250°F. For most bulk material conveyors in normal industrial environments, EPDM in the 60A to 70A range is the right starting point. EPDM loses in three cases: highly abrasive material (hard rock, ore, sharp aggregate) where wear life is too short -- specialized abrasion-resistant compounds (high-grade natural rubber, polyurethane blends) outperform EPDM significantly; contact with petroleum oils, fuels, or hydrocarbons -- nitrile (NBR) or other oil-resistant compounds required; continuous temperature above 250°F -- specialty heat-resistant compounds are usually a better skirting choice than silicone, which abrades faster than EPDM. EPDM is right for roughly 80 percent of applications; the other 20 percent show obvious symptoms.
Brush Strip as an Alternative to Solid Skirting
Brush strip skirting -- the same brush stock used in fenestration weatherstrip and data center cable grommets, sized up for conveyor applications -- has advantages in three situations. Belts with raised cleats, chevrons, or ridges that solid skirting cannot conform to without leaving gaps: brush strip flexes around features and maintains contact across the full belt width. Applications where minimizing belt cover wear is critical: brush strip contacts the belt with thousands of filaments at much lower per-point pressure, dramatically reducing cover wear in long-cycle applications. Light dust suppression on low-spillage conveyors: bristles trap fine particles at much lower mounting pressure than solid skirting requires.
Where brush strip loses: heavy mechanical containment of large or coarse material. The bristles push aside under impact and let aggregate through. Solid rubber wins for heavy load zones with coarse material.
| Condition | Solid Skirting | Brush Strip |
|---|---|---|
| Heavy mechanical containment | Better | Limited |
| Belts with raised cleats or surface features | Limited (gaps) | Better (conforms) |
| Minimizing belt cover wear | Higher wear rate | Lower wear rate |
| Fine dust suppression on light material | Adequate | Better |
| Coarse abrasive material at the load zone | Better | Bristles fail |
| High mounting pressure tolerance | Required | Not required |
| Replacement cycle time | Standard | Comparable |
| Cost per linear foot | Standard baseline | Comparable to medium duty solid |
When to Switch
If your skirting is failing in a recognizable pattern, the switch is usually obvious. Hard wear with belt cover damage: drop the durometer or switch to brush strip on the contact zone. Soft wear with rapid material loss: increase the durometer or switch to an abrasion-resistant compound. Spillage despite contact: longer pile or lower mounting. Skirting going hard and brittle below expected service life: temperature or chemistry is exceeding the EPDM window.
If the skirting is performing but the application has changed -- new material, different belt speed, longer hours, new dust regulations -- revisit the spec. And if you are buying from a general industrial supply catalog, you may be paying more than necessary for non-standard sizes; custom-sized skirting in the right material is usually competitive on TCO.
Specifying a Replacement: What We Need from You
For a fast, accurate replacement quote, send these data points. None are unusual; most are visible from a walk past the conveyor.
- Total linear length needed and how the order ships (continuous rolls, cut lengths, or pre-cut pieces matched to specific load zones)
- Profile or strip dimensions: width and pile height for solid skirting, base width and bristle height for brush strip
- Mounting type (clamp bar, slide-in, bolt-through, or custom)
- Belt speed in feet per minute or meters per second
- Material being conveyed and rough abrasiveness (light, medium, heavy)
- Operating temperature range, continuous and peak
- Photo of the worn current skirting (this is the single most useful input we can get on a replacement quote)
- Sample of the existing skirting if available, especially for non-standard cross-sections
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the right durometer for general bulk material conveyor skirting?
60A to 70A Shore A is the working range for general purpose bulk material at medium belt speeds. Start at 65A and adjust from the wear pattern. Polished and glassy without material removal: drop to 60A. Wearing too fast: move to 70A. Light applications use 55A to 65A; heavy abrasion 70A to 75A or a specialized abrasion-resistant compound.
How long should conveyor skirting last?
Rough ranges: light duty 12 to 24 months, general purpose 6 to 12 months, heavy duty 3 to 6 months, severe abrasion 1 to 3 months. Wearing faster than these ranges means the material is wrong for the application or the mounting setup is wrong (too much pressure, wrong angle). Lasting much longer means you may have over-specified.
When should I use brush strip instead of solid rubber skirting?
Three cases: belts with raised cleats or surface features that solid skirting cannot conform to; applications where minimizing belt cover wear is critical (brush strip applies much lower per-contact-point pressure); and light dust suppression on low-spillage conveyors. Solid skirting still wins for heavy mechanical containment of coarse material at high-impact load zones.
Can I send a sample of my current skirting instead of measuring it?
Yes, and it is usually the fastest path to an accurate quote. We measure the cross-section, identify the elastomer family, and quote a direct equivalent or recommend a better material if the wear pattern suggests the current spec is wrong. A physical sample with a photo of the wear is the most useful information you can send.
Do you stock conveyor skirting or is everything custom?
For repeat customers on approved configurations, we warehouse skirting at our Plant City, FL facility and reorders ship in 1 to 3 business days. First orders or custom specs run 30 to 50 days for a custom rubber run. If you have multiple sites running similar conveyors, ask us to set up a stocking program at quote time.
Replace skirting on the conveyor that is wearing wrong
Walk to the worn conveyor, photograph the skirting, measure the strip dimensions, and send us the photos with belt speed and material being conveyed. We will quote a replacement in the right material and durometer for the actual application -- not just a like-for-like swap. First verification sample is free, manufactured to your dimensions, shipped before any production commitment.