Gas Powered Lawn Mower History

platefire

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Here is another 20's reel mower called the JP Super Power Mower with a little info as follows:

Of the motor mowers produced by JP in the 1920s and 1930s by far the rarest and, perhaps, most interesting is the 24" JP Super Power Mower. This was unusual because it featured a water cooled four stroke engine with an open topped water hopper that resembles a small cauldron or cooking pot! In fact, cooling was achieved by a combination of the water jacket and air forced around the outside of the combustion chamber by an impellor built into the main engine unit.


JP prided itself on the quality of its design and manufacture and this included making the mower easy to maintain. The mower was designed so that the entire engine unit could be removed easily for maintenance and repair. JP brochures of the period also claimed that this would allow the mower to be used by hand but it is doubtful if this was really practical because, even without its engine, the mower would have been large and heavy.
jpmotor1.jpgjpmotor5.jpg
 

platefire

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JP Mower continued:

Another of the design features that made the 24" JP Super Power Mower unusual in its time was the starting mechanism. This was an early type of rope or pull start, whereas during the same period most motor mowers featured conventional crank handle starting. JP claimed this made the mower easier to start and, to illustrate the point, showed the mower being started by a young woman in some of its advertisements.

JP Mower Rope Crank.jpg
 

platefire

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Here is a 1930's Qualcast 16" Cut, Notice the size and simplicity are getting smaller and more easy to operate.
Engines are still mostly two cycle and reel blades are still king
Qualcast 16 Inch Cut.jpg
 
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platefire

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This is an original 1930 black and white print ad for the Coldwell Lawn Mower Company of Newburgh, New York. This particular ad features an image of the Coldwell "Twin-Thirty" lawn mower and roller. Follow Link to video
of a restored twin thirty Four Cycle


1930 Coldwell Twin 30a.jpeg
 
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7394

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Come a long way......................... heh ..
 

platefire

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Amen!!! Considering we started with something like this---1 stroke motor here:>)
1st Lawn Mower1.jpeg
 

7394

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Yea, good old days. Eh, maybe not that good, LOL (good exercise tho)..
 

7394

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Cool, I like # 5.
 
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