DODGE023553Tapered Roller Bearing Cartridge, 2″ Bore x 4.130″ Cylindrical OD, Set Screw Locking, Greasable — 43,000 lbf Static (No Housing)

Product Description

What this part is — and what is not in the box:
This is a Dodge B1U-DI-200R, part number 023553: a self-contained tapered roller bearing cartridge with a 2 in bore and a 4.130 in cylindrical outside diameter, locked to the shaft by set screws and fitted for grease.

The important thing first. This is the bearing cartridge only. There is no pillow block and no flange housing. The 4.130 in outside diameter is cylindrical, which is what tells you how it mounts: it slides into a bore — either a machined bore in your own equipment, or a Dodge cartridge-style housing bought separately. If you are expecting a bolt-down pillow block with two mounting feet, this is not that part and you will need the housing as well.

We are leading with this because the words “cartridge unit” get used loosely in the market. Some sources list this number in a bearing-insert category and some describe it as a complete unit, and the distinction changes what arrives on the pallet. What we can state confidently from the published data is that the 4.130 in dimension is a cylindrical outside diameter, not a housing footprint, and that mounting therefore requires a bore.

Why tapered rollers instead of a ball insert

Most 2 in bore mounted bearings are ball inserts. This one is not, and the difference is the reason it costs what it costs.

A tapered roller contacts its raceway along a line; a ball contacts at a point. Line contact spreads load over a far greater area, so a tapered roller cartridge of the same bore carries several times the load of a ball insert — here, 43,000 lbf static. The tapered geometry also means it takes substantial thrust as well as radial load, whereas a ball insert manages only light thrust.

Where that matters: conveyor head and tail pulleys carrying belt tension, screw conveyors, bucket elevators, drag chains, aggregate and grain handling, and anything shock-loaded. If a ball insert keeps failing in a position, it is usually because the position wanted a tapered roller cartridge and nobody checked. The price differential looks steep on the shelf and stops looking steep after the second unplanned shutdown.

The trade is speed: 3,050 rpm maximum. That is ample for conveyor and process shafts and well short of a motor-speed application, which is exactly the split these are designed around.

Decoding the designation

023553 — Dodge’s stock number, and the number most distributors list against.B1U — the Dodge cartridge unit family designation.DI — internal design code within the B1U family.200 — bore size in sixteenths or as a direct decimal code — here 2.000 in.R — trailing design/variant code.
DI and R are Dodge’s own internal codes. Dodge does not publish a public decoder for them, so rather than guess we have reproduced the full designation exactly and left the two letters undecoded. Match B1U-DI-200R against your parts list rather than against a shortened form.

Published data

Bore: 2.000 inOutside diameter: 4.130 in, cylindricalBore length (through the inner race): 3.500 inStatic load capacity: 43,000 lbfMaximum speed: 3,050 rpmRolling elements: tapered rollersLocking method: set screwsLubrication: greasable (grease fitting provided)
The 3.500 in bore length is worth noting alongside the 2 in bore. That is a long inner race for the bore size, and it is deliberate: a long engagement on the shaft resists the tilting moment that a heavily loaded pulley or sprocket applies, and it gives the set screws a wide base to grip. It also means you need 3.5 in of clean, straight, correctly sized shaft at the bearing station — more than a ball insert would require. Check the available shaft length before ordering.

Set-screw locking and the greasable design

Set screws are the simplest shaft-locking method and the right one for most conveyor duty: no adapter sleeve, no tapered seat, no drive-up measurement. Two screws bear on the shaft at an angle to one another. What they will not tolerate is a reversing or heavily shock-loaded drive where the inner race can creep — in that case a concentric or eccentric locking collar is the more secure choice. For unidirectional conveyor and process shafts, set screws are proven and serviceable.

Being greasable rather than sealed-for-life is a genuine advantage in dirty duty. A tapered roller cartridge in a grain elevator or an aggregate plant lives on its relubrication schedule: fresh grease purges contaminants out past the seals rather than trapping them against the rollers. A sealed-for-life bearing in the same position has no way to eject what gets past. If you install this, put it on a grease round.

Quantity and configuration

Seven cartridges in stock, sold individually. On a discontinued-or-scarce heavy-duty mounted bearing at this price, seven is the commercial argument: it is enough to re-bearing a complete conveyor line in one purchase, or to stock real depth against a plant that runs several identical positions. Buying depth once beats buying singles at whatever the market offers in three years.

Interchange guidance

Search forms include 023553, Dodge 023553, B1U-DI-200R, B1UDI200R, B1U DI 200R, B1UDI200R/023553, B-1 200. Related Dodge numbers: 023561 / B1U-DI-300R (3 in bore, same family) and 023343 (pillow block roller bearing unit, 2-11/16 in bore). The Dodge brand has moved through Rockwell, Reliance, Baldor and ABB ownership and now trades as Dodge Industrial — a machine originally specified with Rockwell or Baldor Dodge mounted bearings is still supported under Dodge numbers. If you need the matching cartridge housing, tell us the number on your existing housing and we will check stock.