The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-12-09
SELFSTARTER'S
PROGRESS TO Be
EXHIBIT OF SHOW
Hard to Improve Upon Eff
cheney Now Says Mechan-
ical Engineer.
(By Charles E. Duryea, M. Ed

| While the hundred different makes
of automobiles, numbering close to
| 500 cars to be exhibited at the Ma
j tional Automobile Show in Grand
| Central Palace, January 6-13, will re-
veal many important changes I'M
usual interest will center in the self
starting systems now to be found in
every make of car to be exhibited.
Each year self-starters have shown
remarkable advancement until now
| it is hard to improve upon their eff
| cheney.
The perfection and rapid rise Of the
engine starter makes a story as won
derful as any in Alice in Wonderland
and part of the present popularity Of
| the automobile is due to this device
which has practically wiped out the
| need to crank the engine and the ever
present fear that once stopped, it
would be beyond the drivers ability
| to start. 1t has made the gas car
perfectly adapted, to the use Of the
| ladies and so has almost doubled the
possible market. While as yet this
| latter fact has not been fully taken
| advantage of it is certain that bring
| ing the motor vehicle within the
reach of the women has gone far to
! increase the number Of users.
|
period the strange part of the story
! is that starters found no favor in the
early years Mostly the men drivers
of cars felt able to do the required
cranking and as the new vehicles
| were largely bought by the wealthy
| they expected the chauffeur to do the
starting, and were not concerned
about added but out Of sight me-
chanism for that purpose. Further
those were the days Of large cylinders
and the large cylinder requires start
| ing power that the many cylinders
of small diameter do not need.
| The spring starter was, proposed as
early as 1898 but no cars worth men
tioning existed and no buyers were
| in sight. A three cylinder compress
ed air motor was advertised in the
early part of the century but again
| lack Of buyers allowed it to die. Many
| devices began to be tried as the num-
Der of automobiles increased and
some Of these were very curious Re-
volvers for ring blank charges into
the cylinders starting plugs with
powder charges in them; hand pumps
for forcing in the proper amount Of
explosive mixture; igniting cocks
through which big headed match
could be introduced and which con-
tanned means for igniting the match
were among the things tried
One genius even used carbonic acid
gas capsules which can be bought in
many places for carbonating bever-l
ages. From the medley of methods
order began to come when one MAX
.er fitted an air starter as a regular
part Of the car. This was followed
by wa-.e in favor of gas starters in
which the usual mixture of acetylene
gas was used to form a working mix
ture in the cylinders and was intro
duced in the proper cylinder at the
proper time. These, however, were
short lived.
Finally the electric device began to
come ito the front. Partly this was
due to the steady growth of the cleo
trio equipment of the car and partly
to the public faith in elo 7tricity as
the universal servant. This latter
feeling was stimulated by the grow
ing use Of electric horns and lights
and many other devices where cleo
trcity does the work. Just as the
first successful air starter was fitted
to the car which used already an air
governor for controlling the engine,
SO the electric starter won out first
on those cars where the i ignition
source demanded a storage battery
anyhow.
At first the battery was charged at
the garage, but it was found to be
lighter and more reliable Of a cTarg-
ing dynamo was carried on the car
in addition to the small electric motor
| used for turning the engine. This
completed the development Of the
two-unit starting system; but prog
ress did not stop there. Attempts at
lsimplification soon showed that one
electric machine could be made to
serve as both motor and dynamo and
a wave of, single unit starters swept
over the trade. But doing two Jobs
was rather difficult and sometimes
unsatisfactory, so the pendulum
again swung the other way and the
two unit outfit again seemed to be
favored.
Inventors did not quit, however.
and many improvements have been
made in the various parts until it is
a question as to which will be the
| final form or whether both will be
| used. The great show may afford the
answer at Grand Central Palace next
month.