Wednesday 13 April 2016

How does a carburetor work?

How does a carburetor work?
Image Gallery: Classic Cars
If you have read the page entitled How Car Engines Work, you know that the idea behind an engine is to burn gasoline to create pressure, and then to turn the ­pressure into motion. A remarkably tiny amount of gasoline is needed during each combustion cycle. Something on the order of 10 milligrams of gasoline per combustion stroke is all it takes!
T­he goal of a carburetor is to mix just the right amount of gasoline with air so that the engine runs properly. If there is not enough fuel mixed with the air, the engine "runs lean" and either will not run or potentially damages the engine. If there is too much fuel mixed with the air, the engine "runs rich" and either will not run (it floods), runs very smoky, runs poorly (bogs down, stalls easily), or at the very least wastes fuel. The carb is in charge of getting the mixture just right 
Chainsaw carburetor
The carburetor on a chain saw is a good example because it is so straightforward. The carb on a chain saw is simpler than most carbs because it really has only three situations that it has to cover:
  • It has to work when you are trying to start the engine cold.
  • It has to work when the engine is idling.
  • It has to work when the engine is wide open.
No one operating a chain saw is really interested in any gradations between idle and full throttle, so incremental performance between these two extremes is not very important. In a car the many gradations are important, and this is why a car's carb is a lot more complex.
This is the side that receives the outside air through the air filter.
 for a better look at these parts.
T­he carb is operating "normally" at full throttle. In this case the throttle plate is parallel to the length of the tube, allowing maximum air to flow through the carb. The air flow creates a nice vacuum in the venturi and this vacuum draws in a metered amount of fuel through the jet. You can see a pair of screws on the right top of the carb in photo 1. One of these screws (labeled "Hi" on the case of the chain saw) controls how much fuel flows into the venturi at full throttle.

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