New Holland Hit and Miss Engines
The next evolution was to replace the wet/dry cell batteries with a magneto which created the electrical current which the batteries had provided. There were several magnetos NHMC used over time.
NHMC sold Dry Cell Batteries with their label on them. Presumably they purchased from a large battery manufacturer, added their label and provided them with the engines or sold them as replacements. Disadvantage is when consumed, they had to be thrown out.
NHMC used Edison "Wet" batteries starting in 1901 when the 1-1/2HP engine was designed through probably 1906-1907 (just a guess). The advantage with these was you could "Renew" the batteries and not discard the battery containers.
These are examples of metal clad Thordarson labeled coils.
Ignition - Electrical Components
NHMC basically used the same electrical system for all of their engines with upgrades or options being offered over time: something provided electricity (battery/magneto), coil to enhance the electrical current and the ignitor which provided the points when opened create the spark in the combustion chamber.
The items covered in this section include the battery, ignitor, magneto and coil.
The Wico ignitor provided the functionality of the batteries, coil and ignitor. The Wico is the only ignitor that used a spark plug. One would remove the NHMC ignitor and replace it with this self contained unit. Wico made and provided the ignitor/bracket. This was introduced late in the production timeframe and seen usually on 5HP engines that have high serial numbers. This is a less seen ignitor compared to the Webster.
The following ignitor detail and explanation is from a NHMC engine manual.
Early on NHMC either purchased or made their own NHMC labeled round coils. Later on they purchased Thordarson metal clad coils. Below is an example of a NHMC labeled coil.
Below is a friction drive magneto driven by the flywheel face. The wires exiting the battery box go to the ignitor.
The below is from a NHMC engine manual showing how another type of friction magneto is connected to a coil and the ignitor.
The Sumter ignitor provided the functionality of the batteries, coil and ignitor. One would remove the NHMC ignitor and replace it with this self contained unit. Sumter made and provided the ignitor/bracket. This is a less seen ignitor compared to the Webster.
NHMC used "N/S" magnetos with their green colored label over the magnets. These worked in conjunction with the ignitor.
The Webster ignitor provided the functionality of the batteries, coil and ignitor. One would remove the NHMC ignitor and replace it with this self contained unit. Webster made and provided the ignitor/bracket. Webster is the most common ignitor.