History of Lawn Mower Engine Starters

The starters of all lawn mowers started simply with a system of cast iron gears and pulleys. From there progress took over and the lawn mowers engine and starter have not been the same since. Starting a lawn mower has gotten easier as the years have gone by.

A simple starter was applied to a lawn mower because the idea of working with a scythe all day became tiring even before picking up the hand-held instrument to work. Rotary blades were attached to long handles a pulley was applied for the blade to turn and cut the grass on a lawn. It is said necessity is the mother of invention, in this case it was not necessarily necessity, which bore the new inventions heralding easy and faster mowing. A pull starter was applied to a lawn mower for quicker mowing. Again, pulleys were used to start the lawn mower.

Pulling a cord with a simple handle did not always start the lawn mower. This process had to be done again and again until the starter caught and the engine turned over. This resulted in tons of pulled muscles. To prevent these muscles from being pulled, a spring was installed in the starter. The cord-pull stayed, but it was infinitely easier to start the engine. A man or woman did not have to pull the starter as hard or as often to get the engine to turn over.

More complex and easier starters came along with invention and progress. Before there was a lawn mower known as zero-turn, there were riding lawn mowers. These starters have been similar to the starters in cars and trucks. Stick in a key and turn. The starter engages and turns the engine for a great and easy start. Today, some lawn mowers have a push button start on them. Some vibration is par for the course where lawn mowers are concerned. Other than that the simplicity of starting a lawn mower has come a long way since its inception.