By Jeff Glucker
You know how an engine makes the wheels do the spinning, yes? It’s all part of the four-stroke combustion process. That is intake, compression, combustion, and exhaust. You probably also know how a carburetor works too. But do you really know what’s going on in there? I’m sure you have a good idea. But today you’re going to know exactly what’s happening because Smarter Every Day has a great video showing precisely how this air-fuel adventure occurs.
For some a carb seems like the stuff of mechanical wizardry. But it’s really simple stuff. And this is the best video showing that which I’ve come across. Now I need to get another car with carburetors again…
Kamil Kaluski
Cool illustration.
If you fancy an adventure with a certain Mr. Rochester, I’ll make you a heck of a deal on a Trans Am.
I know a guy with a Rochester carb on his hot rod* that was from a Buick and had a linkage for a long forgotten convenience system where the starter button for the engine was under the gas pedal; to start the car you just put the pedal to the metal and zoom! The linkage was to make sure the throttle didn’t actually open all the way. I wonder what happened if it failed and the car was in gear?
*Buick carb on an Olds engine through a LaSalle tranny to a Pontiac diff, all riding in a ’41 Ford chassis.
Funny, when I think about a carburetor, I think about a car engine, not a small engine. So it was funny to me that he immediately went to a tiller and questioned running a carb on multiple cylinders. It makes sense in today’s context.
That was pretty well done and enjoyable. I didn’t realize how simple the basic idea of a carburetor was and, frankly, I was surprised that engine ran on that thing.
I don’t know much about them, but I think the carb in some of the very early cars basically involved dripping fuel into the airflow and letting it vaporise off the metal base.
Or, as this carburetor for a model engine shows, the air would just get sucked into the bowl, splash the fuel and vaporize, then get sucked into the engine.
Wow, wouldn’t that be prone to suck in too much fuel at certain angles or when being shaken too much on a rough track?
I imagine it would. Probably why carbs went with the float and needle style instead. But this is at least suitable for a stationary engine.
Great content! Keep up the good work!
That is one of my favourite channels, this guy is beyond competent as a teacher, and always so positive. Learned something here! The next step would be to understand what and how one adjusts a carb. This has always baffled me. I once drove my ’71 Volvo 145 to Germany with carb settings meant for a 164, a totally different engine from the I4 redblock. My mechanic blundered, and I had no clue how to adjust it, so in 30C weather, I had to drive with the heater fully open to avoid boiling my engine.