BrowningVF2S-223Two-Bolt Flange Mount Ball Bearing Unit, 1-7/16″ Bore, Normal Duty, Cast Iron, Setscrew Locking, Non-Expansion

Product Description

What this part is

A complete two-bolt flange mounted ball bearing unit: cast iron housing, ball insert, setscrews, seals and flingers all supplied as one assembly. Nothing needs to be sourced separately and nothing needs to be pressed. The 1-7/16 in (36.51 mm) bore slips over a plain straight shaft and the setscrews clamp it, which is why units like this dominate conveyor, fan and farm-equipment work — a shaft cut to commercial tolerance and deburred is all the preparation required.

Decoding the designation

Browning’s VF numbering is fully readable once you know the pattern. V is Browning’s Value & Quality mounted ball bearing line. F is Flange. The 2 immediately after the F is the bolt count — two-bolt. S is setscrew locking. Then the numerals after the dash do two jobs: the first digit is the duty series (1 is intermediate, 2 is normal, 3 is medium), and the last two digits give the bore in sixteenths of an inch. So in VF2S-223, the 2 means NORMAL duty and 23 means 23/16, which is 1-7/16 in. That also explains why VF2S-223 and, say, VF2S-123 are different products at the same bore: the duty series changes, not the shaft size. The ball insert inside this housing is VS-223, and the widely-used distributor cross number is 767474.

What these specs mean in practice

The insert is made from 52100 bearing steel with a black-oxide-coated inner ring and a ball-riding retainer. The black oxide is a corrosion and break-in aid on the surface that sits against the shaft, and the ball-riding retainer is a simple, robust cage that tolerates the modest speeds these units run at. Sealing is a single-lip contact seal working with a flinger: the flinger throws bulk contamination and liquid away from the seal region and the lip handles the fine residue. It is a good general-industrial arrangement and a poor high-pressure-washdown one.

The static self-alignment figure of ±1.5° is the spec most often misread on mounted ball bearings, so read it carefully: it is STATIC. It exists so the insert can cock slightly in the housing during installation to absorb mounting misalignment between two bearing seats that are not perfectly in line. It is an assembly-tolerance allowance, not a running allowance. A unit installed with the insert taking up that angle and then run under load will heat, and the seal and the ball path will both pay for it. If your shaft genuinely runs misaligned or deflects under load, you want a self-aligning spherical roller unit, not a ball unit relying on a static alignment window.

Non-expansion means the unit holds shaft position axially. Pair one non-expansion unit with an expansion unit on any long shaft so thermal growth has an escape path; two fixed units on the same shaft will preload each other as the line warms.

Published ratings and mounting data

Bore: 1-7/16 in (36.51 mm)
Duty series: normal
Dynamic load rating: 5,782 lb
Static load rating: 3,493 lb
Maximum speed: 4,000 rpm
Operating temperature: −20 °F to +200 °F
Static self-alignment: ±1.5°
Bolt center-to-center: 5-1/8 in
Bolt size: 1/2 in
Length through bore: 1.69 in
Housing width: 1.1563 in
Centerline to front face: 1.00 in
Foot height: 0.594 in
Inner ring outside diameter: 1.859 in
Overall: 3-5/8 in
Insert: VS-223 ball insert, 52100 bearing steel, black-oxide inner ring, ball-riding retainer
Housing: one-piece cast iron, semi-solid base, no pilot, epoxy powder coat
Locking: setscrews at 120° spacing, diamond-faceted points
Seal: single-lip contact seal with flinger
Expansion: non-expansion
Weight: approximately 2.7 lb (1.215 kg)

Two numbers decide the retrofit: the 5-1/8 in bolt center-to-center and the 1.00 in centerline-to-front-face. The first has to match the holes in the frame; the second sets where the shaft centerline lands relative to the mounting face, which is what determines whether a replacement unit puts your sheave or sprocket back in the same plane.

Quantity and configuration

There are 22 units in stock. That is real standing inventory, not a onesie, and it changes what you can do with this listing. Twenty-two units is enough to re-bearing an entire conveyor line in one pass, to fit out a complete machine build with matched units from a single production batch, or to buy the pair you need today and put a serious shelf of spares behind it so the next failure is a ten-minute job instead of a two-day wait. Units from one batch also behave consistently, which matters when you are trying to eliminate a chronic vibration problem rather than chase it bearing by bearing. If you are taking a meaningful block of them, ask about volume pricing before you order.

Fitting notes

Deburr the shaft and check it for size before assembly — a setscrew unit depends on a close bore-to-shaft fit for concentricity, and a high spot will hold the insert out of true. Seat the housing flat on the mounting surface and bring the two flange bolts up evenly; a one-piece cast housing pulled down on one bolt first can be cocked enough to preload the insert. The setscrews sit at 120° spacing with diamond-faceted points; set them progressively and alternately rather than driving one home, and set them onto the shaft body, not into the edge of a keyway. Re-check setscrew torque after the first hours of operation, since that is when a setscrew unit is most likely to creep. Align the two bearing seats properly rather than relying on the static alignment window to make up the difference.

Interchange guidance

Browning mounted bearings are now sold under Regal Rexnord; catalog data published under the Browning name applies to this part unchanged. Distributor systems vary the punctuation, so search VF2S-223, VF2S223 and VF2S 223, and cross on item 767474. The insert alone crosses as VS-223 if the housing is serviceable and only the bearing has failed. When cross-shopping to another brand’s two-bolt flange unit at 1-7/16 in bore, confirm the bolt center-to-center is 5-1/8 in and the centerline height matches before assuming it is a drop-in; bore alone is not enough.