Principles of Carburetion

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
Carburetors
Purpose of the carburetor is to produce a
mixture of fuel and air on which the engine can
operate

Must produce economical fuel consumption and

smooth engine operation over a wide range of
speeds

Requires complicated device rather than a

simple mixing valve; price is very important!
Carburetion
The fuel system on a small engine consists of several
components;

Carburetor
Fuel Lines
Fuel Filter
Fuel tank
Carburetion
The function of the carburetor is threefold;
It breaks up or atomizes the fuel into a fine spray and it
mixes with air to make a mixture that will burn readily
It regulates the ratio of fuel to air
It regulates the amount of the fuel-air-mixture going
into the combustion chamber
Carburetion
The ratio of fuel air is controlled by adjusting needle
valves and this allows you to select the proper mixture for
the conditions under which you operate your engine
Too lean a fuel-air mixture may result in hard starting,
overheating, pre-ignition & valve burning
Too rich a fuel-air mixture may result in excessive fuel
consumption, carbon build up in the cylinder and cause
pre-ignition
Carburettor
A simple carburettor consist basically of two
components
1. Float chamber (Containing the fuel)
2. Mixing chamber (Where mixing of air-fuel takes place)
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 ensures necessary air-
fuel mixture for
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
Principle of Carburetion
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 ratio 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 (Definition)
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 (Definition)
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-type Carburetor Air/Fuel Mixture To Engine

Throttle Plate

Atomized Fuel

Fuel Inlet Valve Stem

Float Venturi Choke Plate

Bowl

Constant level is
maintained in bowl -as Fuel Inlet Air
float moves down, Nozzle
valve stem moves down,
allowing more fuel into
bowl, float moves up Metering Orifice
and closes valve
Ref. Obert
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
Consists of a tube that thins out in the middle section

Gas flowing along this tube is put under pressure, and will
increase in speed as it passes through the thinner section

Situated in the induction pipe that supplies the engine with

air

The combination of the depression created by the air

passing through the venturi and the petrol supply from the
float chamber allows the petrol to mix with the air
Venturi (nozzle)
Use force of atmospheric
pressure and artificially
created low pressure area to
mix fuel and air

Use a venturi nozzle to lower

air pressure in carburetor to
create suction to “pull” fuel
into air Venturi (nozzle)

Bernoulli Principle: P+1/2 V2 = Constant

Venturi
During cold start-ups, older vehicles where difficult to
start, a choke was introduced in order to create a richer
mixture making the vehicle easier to start up.

This is a device that restricts the flow of air at the

entrance to the carburettor, before the venturi. This
causes extra vacuum to occur, thus extracting extra fuel
through the main metering system.

The choke can be controlled by the driver (via a pull knob),

or the action of the choke can be operated automatically
via the vehicles ECU, by the vehicle, taking readings from
the vehicles thermostat, and other components and
altering the fuel/air mix accordingly.
PARTS OF CARBURETOR-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.
Carburetion: Principles of Operation
 A “Choke” valve is used to aid
in cold starts
 It helps provide a better
vaporization of the fuel–air and
it provides more fuel-air (a
richer mixture)
 The choke valve is similar to the
butterfly except it is placed on
the air-intake side of the
carburetor.
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.
 PARTS OF 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 governor
The governor will open and close the throttle to regulate
engine speed
Carburetion: Principles of Operation
A butterfly (throttle)
valve in the manifold
controls the fuel air
mixture
If you want your engine to
run fast open your
butterfly (throttle) valve,
the more fuel and air that
gets delivered the faster it
will run
 Venturi-type Carburetor Air/Fuel Mixture To Engine

Throttle Plate

Atomized Fuel

Fuel Inlet Valve Stem

Float Venturi Choke Plate

Bowl

Constant level is
maintained in bowl -as Fuel Inlet Air
float moves down, Nozzle
valve stem moves down,
allowing more fuel into
bowl, float moves up Metering Orifice
and closes valve
Ref. Obert
What it looks like all together
Carburetion: Principles of Operation

Carburetion: Principles of Operation
 As the piston moves down a
partial vacuum is created in the
cylinder
 Atmospheric pressure pushes
air through the carburetor air
intake to equalize this pressure
 The air speed increases in the
venturi (the narrow passage in
the air intake passage)
Carburetion: Principles of Operation
As the air speed increases
the pressure is lowered.
Because the pressure is
lowered atmospheric
pressure in the fuel bowl
pushes fuel through the
pipe to the venturi and
into the air stream
Carburetion: Principles of Operation
 The speed of the air in the
venturi and the turbulence past
the venturi atomize the fuel and
mix the tiny droplets with air.
 Once the air & fuel are mixed,
the next job of the carburetor is
to provide a means whereby the
amount of mixture that enters
the cylinder can be controlled
Carburetion: Principles of Operation
 When the choke is closed air
entering is restricted.
 The pressure inside the carb. &
cylinder is further reduced and
this increases the vaporization
of the fuel.
 Some engines use a primer
setup instead of a choke valve
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
Types of carburetor
Carburetor Types
 There are basically three different types of carburetors
used in small gas engines depending on how fuel is
supplied from the tank to the fuel chamber in the
carburetor.

The Suction – Lift Type

The Diaphragm Type
The Float Type
Suction-Lift Carburetor
 This type is usually mounted on
the top of the fuel tank.
 Vacuum from the engines
intake stroke causes a low
pressure in the venturi.
 Atmospheric pressure forces
fuel up through the tube into
the low pressure area of the
venturi and then into the
engine.
 This type of carburetor will not
work with larger engines and
tanks
The Float Type
The float type carburetor has features which provide for
adjustment and regulation of the fuel air to meet different
operating conditions.
When a sudden load or acceleration is demanded , a richer
mixture (more fuel-air) is required
These carburetors have what is called an accelerating well
that surrounds the lower part of the fuel discharge nozzle
and remains full of fuel while the engine is operating
under normal load.
When there is a sudden demand for power a governor
opens the throttle valve and air moves past the nozzle
much faster thus picking up more fuel
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 Chamber
When the chamber is empty the float lies on the bottom
of the chamber, the inlet is fully open
As the chamber fills the float rises the float brings the
fuel to the end of the inlet hole
Contact of the needle with the seat prevents over-
fuelling.
When the fuel level falls, the needle valves re-opens
allowing more fuel to enter the chamber.
The Float Type
These are so called
because the fuel level in
the fuel chamber is
maintained by a float –
controlled valve.
There are several different
styles of float-type carbs
such as Updraft and, Side-
draft types
Float Types of Carburetors
Based on the direction of airflow from the outlet to
the engine manifold
There are three different types of carburetors
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
Flo-Jet Carburetor
Fuel tank is above
carburetor

Fuel is fed directly to

carburetor by gravity

Why the vent?

Flo-Jet Carburetor
Air-fuel
mixture

Fuel from tank

Air flow
Diaphragm carburetors-No float type
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.
Diaphragm – Type Carburetor
This type uses a spring-
loaded diaphragm for
regulating the fuel flow
into the carburetor fuel
chamber
The diaphragm serves the
same purpose as a float in
the float type carb.
Diaphragm – Type Carburetor
Diaphragm – Type Carburetor
The main difference
between this and the float
type is that the use of the
diaphragm carburetor will
allow the engine to work
on any angle. For this
reason the diaphragm type
is used a lot in multi-
positional engines.
Pulsa-Jet Carburetor
Incorporates a diaphragm type fuel pump and a
constant level fuel chamber
 Pulsa-Jet Carburetor Operation
Intake stroke of piston creates
a vacuum in carburetor elbow

Pulls cap A and pump

diaphragm B inward and
compresses spring

Vacuum thus created on

“cover side” of diaphragm
pulls fuel up suction pipe S
into intake valve D
Pulsa-Jet Carburetor Operation
When engine intake stroke
is complete, spring C
pushes plunger A outward

Gasoline in pocket above

diaphragm to close inlet
valve D and open discharge
valve E

Fuel is then pumped into

fuel cup F
Pulsa-Jet Carburetor Operation
Venturi in carburetor is
connected to intake pipe I
which draws gasoline
from fuel cup F

Process is repeated on the

next stroke, keeping the
fuel cup full

Since fuel cup level is

constant, engine gets
constant air-fuel ratio
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 with soapy water
Dry
Re-oil
Dry Type Air Cleaner
Air passes through
Treated paper
Felt
Fiber
Flocked screen
These 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
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?
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?