Principles of Carburetion

Automotive Technology 1
Mr. Wasacz

Objectives
You

will be able to list and explain the

principles of carburetion
Identify the types of carburetion
Explain the float carburetor system
Define manual throttle controls
List the basic functions of a governor
Describe the purpose of an air cleaner

Introduction
In

order for an engine to work, what

must happen to the fuel??
Liquid form gasoline will not allow the
engine to run!

Carburetors function
The

primary function is to produce an

air fuel mixture to operate the engine
This

process can be done by using a

simple mixing valve, however it is not as
efficient

The

carburetor is a much more

complex system that allows for the
operation of the engine during these
conditions

Carburetion Cont
Cold

or Hot Starting
Idling
Part Throttle
Acceleration
High Speed Operation

The Intake of Air

Remember,

atmospheric pressure
draws air/fuel through the carburetor
and into the cylinder
This drawing in of air takes gasoline
atoms with it creating an air fuel
mixture

Air / Fuel Mixture

The

amount of air needed for

combustion is far greater than the
amount of fuel needed
The usual weight ration is 15 parts of
air to 1 part of fuel
For example, if we had 1 cubic foot of
gasoline, it would require 9000 cubic
feet of air to meet this ratio
This ration will change depending on
engine operation

Pressure differences
A carburetor

is a device that is
operated by pressure differences
These terms refer to those pressure
differences
Vacuum
Atmospheric

pressure
Venturi Principles

Vacuum
An

absolute vacuum is an area that is

completely free of air or atmospheric
pressure
This is difficult to obtain and never
reached within an engine
Any pressure that is less than
atmospheric pressure is referred to as
a vacuum
Basically, a vacuum is an empty space

Atmospheric Pressure
This

is the weight of air molecules

above earth
This varies with altitude because they
higher up you go, the less atmosphere
is on you!
If a vacuum is created, an equilibrium
will want to be established, so the
atmospheric pressure will fill that
space (this is how engines work)

Venturi Principles
The

carburetor creates a partial

vacuum itself by using this principle
By restricting the passage that the air
is flowing through, the velocity of the
air will increase
This increase in velocity will decrease
the pressure behind the venturi
This low pressure will be filled by fuel
Basically, a venturi is a restriction in an
air flow passageway

Venturi

Types of Carburetors
There

are three different types of

carburetors
These carburetors are named after the
direction of airflow from the outlet to
the engine manifold
They are as follows
Natural

(Side) draft

Updraft
Downdraft

Natural Draft Carburetor

Used

to when
there is little space
in top of the engine
Air flows
horizontally into the
manifold
This type will be
the most common
on the small
engines that we
are working on.

Updraft Carburetor
Placed

low on an

engine
Use gravity feed
fuel supply
Air / Fuel Mixture
must be forced
upward into the
engine
Needs high air
pressure
Uses smaller
passages

Downdraft Carburetor
Operates

with lower air

velocities
Uses larger passages
Gravity assists the air
fuel mixture flow into the
engine
Can provide large
volumes of fuel for high
speed and high power
operation

Float Carburetors
A Float

is a small sealed vessel made

of brass or plastic.
It maintains a constant level of fuel in
the float bowl.
The float rises and falls with the fuel
levels
As the float rises to the top, it pushes a
needle valve closed
This needs then shuts off fuel flow to
the carburetor

Float Bowl Carburetors

Choke System
Since

cold fuel is hard to vaporize, the

choke is used during cold engine
starts to provide a rich mixture to the
carburetor in order to get the engine
started.
The choke is a round disc mounted on
a shaft located at the intake end of the
carburetor.

Throttle System
The

throttle is a round disc mounted

on a shaft beyond the main fuel nozzle
in the carburetor.
It regulates the amount of air-fuel
mixture entering the cylinder.
The throttle can be connected to a
governer
The governer will open and close the
throttle to regulate engine speed

What it looks like all together

Load Adjustment
The

amount of fuel entering the main

discharge nozzle is sometimes
regulated by a load adjusting needle.
In some carburetors, there is no
adjustment needle. These have a
fixed flow that is designed for that
specific engine

Primer
Many

small engines have hand

operated plunger called a primer.
When depressed it forces additional
fuel through the main nozzle prior to
starting a cold engine.

Diaphram carburetors
This

type does not have a float, rather

the difference between atmospheric
pressure and the vacuum created in
the engine pulsates a flexible
diaphragm
The pulsation of the diaphragm takes
place on every intake and
compression stroke.

Air Cleaners / Filters

As

an engine operates, it needs an

enormous amount of air passing
through the carburetor into the
combustion chamber
This incoming air needs to be clean
(this means that all particulate needs
to be removed!)
If this grit were to enter the combustion
chamber, it would cause rapid wearing
and scoring of the precision machined
parts

Air Cleaners / Filters

Under

severe dust conditions, engine

life can be reduced to minutes
To keep this dust from entering the
engine, we use different types of
cleaners / filters
Oil

wetted
Dry types
Dual element

Oil Wetted Air Cleaner

Uses

a filtering element (crushed

aluminum and polyurethane foam)
dampened with engine oil
Air is drawn through the oil wetted filter
The filter in return removes any debris
or particulate
This type of filter can be reused!
Clean
Dry
Re-oil

with soapy water

Dry Type Air Cleaner

Air

passes through

Treated

paper

Felt
Fiber
Flocked

These

screen

are designed for 1 time use!

You can only clean large particulate
from the filter
Most dust however will stay in
between the fibers of the filter

Dry Type Cleaner Cont

A new

style is the pleated paper

design.
This style uses a porous paper filter
material to allow air flow to the engine,
while allowing the filtration of debris
This design provides great surface
area to collect particles
This is common to most automobiles

Dual Element Air Cleaners

These

filters are used on engines that

operate in dustier than normal
conditions
Can you guess why its called a dual
element air cleaner?

Dual Element Air Cleaners

Its

because they use both an oil wetted

cleaner foam filter, and a dry type filter
This offers more protection to dust and
particulate
The oil wetted filter acts as a pre cleaner
The paper cartridge then cleans out any
missed debris
These come in many shapes and sizes, the
most common is a cylidrical filter

Summary
What

is the main point of the

carburetor?
The average weight ration of air to
gasoline is 15:1. What does this
mean?
How do carburetors operate? (think of
the venturi!)
What are the three types of
carburetors, and what is the
difference?

Summary
What

are the two ways of regulating

gasoline within the carburetor?
What is the function of the throttle?
What is the function of the choke?
What is the function of the primer?
What is the main purpose of a filtering
system?