OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums The History Forum Component Histories POPE - Impulse Starter - c1960

Hello ODK history lovers
The Impulse or ‘wind-up’ starter was, by-far, the dominant starting
means for domestic rotary lawnmower engines in the 1960s.
And there was good reason …

BACKSTORY …
Post WWII, increased prosperity and an explosion of new inventions
[inspired by terrible war] ushered in the home appliance revolution.
Working folk, for the first time, could afford many household goods
previously unavailable to them – electric shavers, drills, vacuum
cleaners, hair dryers, and whatever …

But another thing happened – the desire to make domestic labour
automatic … less complicated … easier … lazier!

A key word in advertising was ‘automatic’: automatic defrosting,
automatic wipers, automatic kettles, automatic toasters, … You get the idea.
Things could be done for you!

ENTER THE IMPULSE STARTER
A lawnmower that starts itself? Why, that’s incredible!

Impulse starters were first used at the turn of last century –
on aircraft and automobile engines. They were a North American invention.

Their adaptation to smaller engines occurred – best guess – in the 1950s.
Clearly, impulse starters were not a new invention by that time.

James Kirby introduced the impulse starter to lawnmower engines in c1960.
These appear to have been Tecumseh designs.

It was a treat to find that there appears to have been an Australian designed
impulse starter – made by Pope products, and invented by, no other, than the
founder of Pope, Sidney Barton Pope!

Could this be true?

TO BE CONTINUED ...

PART TWO – The Patent
Sir Sydney Barton Pope [1905-1983] put his name to this patent as the ‘Actual Inventor’

Do I believe that? … Not really.
Sir Barton was an industrialist, not an inventor.

I think there was some ‘arrangement’ or commercial dealing whereby
Pope Products would use North American Clinton designs and then their
engines for a period. That starter sure looks of Clinton origin to me!

This starter was first used on Pope 2-strokes in 1960-61, but then, also,
on Pope-Clinton 4-strokes in the following season. Here is the AUS patent …