100 years of Economy

Still running

May 2009
By Glenn Karch 
economy1
Image Gallery
A 4 HP Model A Economy, serial number 1000, owned by Glenn Karch. These were the first Economy engines built at the Holm Machine Mfg. Co. in Sparta, Mich., starting in the spring of 1909.
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In the spring of 1909 the Holm Machine Mfg. Co. of Sparta, Mich., offered a new line of gas engines.

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It was owned and operated by Sears, Roebuck & Co., the nation’s largest mail order merchant. During a time when many engine designs were somewhat complicated, Sears sought to build simple to maintain engines suitable for the common folk. Through mail order the engines were shipped directly to customers.

The first Economy engine built at the factory was the Model A engine. About 1,500 of these were produced and 26 of them are known to exist among collectors today.

These were followed by the Model B, which had a simplified fuel system rather than the earlier Waterloo fuel system. Probably the biggest change from the Model A to B was in regard to the water hopper. The raised lip was removed and replaced with a flat top with removable “hopper ring.” About 4,800 Model B engines were produced falling in serial numbers around 1200 to 6000.

About 2,000 Model C engines were produced in 1910 with changes to the head, igniter trip bracket and fuel tank filler.

The Model CA was introduced in the spring of 1910 and more of this model was produced than any other Sparta-built engine, with close to 20,000 being manufactured. Similar to the Model C it did not have a speed control, the trip finger and holder was redesigned, and the Lunkenheimer fuel mixer became the standard. By that time Sears had also eliminated the Holm patent, a complicated speed control, replacing it with a simple governor.

The Model CX started showing up in mid-1912 at about serial number 25000. The CX had a newly designed water-cooled head, a spring-loaded intake valve latch, a newly designed side rod and a new blade-type igniter trip. The Elkhart low-tension magneto was also offered on the larger CX engines. Many of the features of the CX would be found on the soon-to-be-built Hercules engines. With few exceptions, it should be noted that through all of the production of engines from 1909 through 1933 the changes from one model to the next were gradual and, for the most part, minor.

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