New-York tribune., 1912-01-07
CRANK SLAVES LIBERATED
seIf-Starting Motors Have Be-
come Practical.
PRESS BUTTON AND SPEED
New Mechanical Devices Will Be
Part of General Equipment
This Year.
by A. I. DuttOn (EverIttl 4.

since the earliest days Of the motor car
su,omobilists have been slaves Of the
a1rt!ng crank. II has long been felt that
u only the tedious and dangerous prelimi-
,sry cranking could be done away with au-
,somobile development would have made a
krong step toward the ideal, but though
,horsands of experiments have been made
4 was not until quite recently that the de-
vices employed could really be considered
certain or practical Now that a few
pioneers have successfully solved the prob
l,m a tremendous demand for self-startinE
cars has arisen, and II is probable that 1912
will see the majority Of automobiles
cupped with some sort Of automatic
starting device.
Cranking a motor as almost everybody
noE understands, is merely the method Of
revolving the mechanism so as to set an
explosion and cause il TO begin the chain
Of operations which result in power. Gas
must be compressed before it will explode
and turn the train Of pistons TO the point
where each in turn will receive an cxplo-
slyt force and thereafter continue automat-
oaEy. This compression averages about
, serenty-hve pounds 10 the square inch. and
naturally requires quite display Of muscle
20 overcome especially in a six or in the
biz motors of high powered cars. II is a
common sight nowadays at races 10 see
expert drivers. with big, high compression
motors, wrestling for many minutes at the
END Of a starting crank before succeeding
IN getting the first explosion
II A motor would always start on the first
turn over compression as il theoretically
should sef-starters would hardly he neces-
sary, as this first up-pul is not usually
6ificut. Unfortunately, this seldom occurs
for the reason that the commercial gaso-
lene % to-day is Of so exceedingly low
cssde that II does not readily form an ex-
rlosive gas. 1t is simply due to poor gaso-
lone that cars are now so much harder TO
start than they were few years ago. As
- alt. drivers are often obliged TO spin
.ir motors-that is. turn them over rap
V many times by hand-especially in cold
Gather. and 1t is this spinning" that is
,cth difficult end dangerous
The new self-starting devices mechani-
ally accomplish this preliminary turning.
doing Il faster and therefore more effectu-
sHy than could possibly be done by hand.
Various devices are employed, such as ex-
plosive gas under pressure. compressed air.
electric generators, steel springs, NlC.s bul
10 each the object is identical, namely. the
quick revolving Of the motor so as to get an
explosion, and the consequent automatic
ep1ration Of the mechanism. All are un-
g. 'stedly practical and their comparative
,iency is mainly matter of good de-
s. q, materials and workmanship in their
CO 'struction.
In such cars as the Dveritt. for example
whose equipment tvpi1es one Of the most
desirable systems a small amount OF illu-
ninating gas is taken from the standard
pTestolite tank, small handle on the
dash. operating a distributor connected nv
pipes 10 each Of the cylinders, Is revolved
ea4 turn. the switch turned 10 the battery
SIDE and button pressed. The resulting
impulse is ordinarily sufficient to start the
r1etoy. although occasionally in cold weath-
s-gtscond charge Of gas IS necessary. Inc
ovner Of a car so equipped, therefore mas
.,rAtv--,ne times IN hundred practically
roihIrg 20 DO but press a button.