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The carburetor

• The principles of carburetion are presented so


you may better understand the inner workings
of a carburetor and how the other components
of the fuel system function to provide a
combustible mixture or air and fuel to the
engine cylinders.
• EVAPORATION
is the changing of a liquid to a vapor.

*The rate of evaporation is dependent on the following

1- TEMPERATURE.
2- ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
3- VOLATILITY.
4- ATOMIZATION
1-TEMPERATURE.

The rate of movement of the molecules increase


with temperature. Because of this, the amount of
molecules leaving the liquid for a given time will
increase, as the temperature increases.
2-ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

As atmospheric pressure increases, the


amount of air molecules present over the
liquid also increases. The increased presence
of air molecules will slow the rate of
evaporation. This is because the molecules of
liquid will have more air molecules to collide
with. In many cases, they will fall back into
the liquid after the collision
3-VOLATILITY.
• The term volatility refers to how fast a
liquid vaporizes. Some liquid vaporizes
easily at room temperature. Alcohol, for
instance, vaporizes more easily than water.
A highly volatile liquid is one that is
considered to evaporate easily.
4-ATOMIZATION

• Atomization is the process of


breaking up a liquid into tiny
particles or droplets.
• When a liquid is atomized, the
droplets are all exposed
individually to the air.
• For this reason, atomization
greatly increases evaporation by
increasing the exposed surface area
of the liquid.
• A carburetor is basically a device for mixing air
and fuel in the correct amounts for efficient
combustion. The carburetor bolts to the engine
intake manifold. The air cleaner fits over the
top of the carburetor to trap dust and dirt.
Basic carburetor consists of the following parts

1-Carburetor body
2-Air horn
3-Throttle valve
4-Ventur
5-Main discharge tube
6-Fuel bowl
1-Carburetor body
2-Air horn
• The air horn is also called the throat or barrel.
The parts which often fasten to the air horn body
are as follows: the choke, the hot idle
compensator, the fast idle linkage rod, the choke
vacuum break, and sometimes the float and
pump mechanisms.
3-Throttle valve

• This disc-shaped valve


controls air flow through
the air horn.

• When closed, it restricts


the flow of air and fuel into
the engine, and when
opened, air flow, fuel flow,
and engine power increase.
4-Ventur
• The venturi produces
sufficient suction to
pull fuel out of the
main discharge tube
5-Main discharge tube

• The main discharge tube


is also called the main fuel
nozzle

 It is a passage that
connects the fuel bowl to
the center of the venturi.
6-Fuel bowl

• The fuel bowl holds


a supply of fuel that
is NOT under fuel
pump pressure
The seven basic carburetor systems are the
following:

1. Float system
2. Idle system
3. Off idle system
4. Acceleration system
5. High-speed system
6. Full-power system
7. Chock system
8. computer controlled carburators
Float system
• The float system maintains a steady working
supply of gasoline at a constant level in the
carburetor. This action is critical to the proper
operation of the carburetor. Since the
carburetor uses differences in pressure to force
fuel into the air horn,
• The float system keeps the fuel pump from
forcing too much gasoline into the carburetor
bowl
An excessively high float level will cause fuel
to flow too freely from the discharge tube,
causing an overly rich mixture

whereas an excessively low float level will


cause an overly lean mixture
The basic parts of the float system are
the fuel bowl, the float, the needle
valve, the needle seat, the bowl vent
 The carburetor float rides on top of the fuel in
the fuel bowl to open and close the needle valve.
 It is normally made of thin brass or plastic. One
end of the float is hinged to the side of the
carburetor body and the other end is free to swing
up and down.
* The needle valve is usually made of brass
Idle system
Off idle system
• The off idle, also known as the part throttle, feeds
more fuel into the air horn when the throttle plate is
partially open. It is an extension of the idle system. It
functions above approximately 800 rpm or 20 mph.
• Without the off idle system, the fuel mixture would
become too lean slightly above idle. The idle system
alone is not capable of supplying enough fuel to the
air stream passing through the carburetor. The off idle
system helps supply fuel during the change from idle
to high speed.
Acceleration system
The carburetor acceleration system, like the off idle system,
provides extra fuel when changing from the idle system to
the high-speed system. The acceleration system squirts a
stream of fuel into the air horn when the fuel pedal is
pressed and the throttle plates swing open.
Without the acceleration system, too much fuel would rush
into the engine, as the throttle quickly opened. The mixture
would become too lean for combustion and the engine
would stall or hesitate. The acceleration system prevents a
lean air-fuel mixture from upsetting a smooth increase in
engine speed.
High-Speed System
The, high-speed system, also called the main
metering system, supplies the engine air-fuel
mixture at normal cruising speeds.
This system begins to function when the throttle
plate is opened wide enough for the venturi action.
Air flow through the carburetor must be relatively
high for venturi vacuum to draw fuel out of the
main discharge tube.
The high-speed system provides the leanest, most
fuel efficient air-fuel ratio. It functions from about
20 to 55 mph or 2,000 to 3,000 rpm.
Full-Power System
The full-power system provides a means of enriching
the fuel mixture for high-speed, high-power
conditions.
This system operates, for example, when the driver
presses the fuel pedal to pass another vehicle or to
climb a steep hill.
The full-power system is an addition to the high-speed
system. Either a metering rod or a power valve (jet)
can be used to provide variable, high-speed air-fuel
ratio.
Choke System

When the engine is cold, the fuel tends to condense


into large drops in the manifold, rather than
vaporizing. By supplying a richer mixture (8:1 to
9:1), there will be enough vapor to assure complete
combustion.
The carburetor is fitted with a choke system to provide
this richer mixture.
The choke system provides a very rich mixture to start
the engine and to make the mixture less rich
gradually, as the engine reaches operating
temperature. The two types of choke systems are the
manual and automatic
COMPUTER-CONTROLLED
CARBURETORS
A computer-controlled carburetor uses a solenoid-
operated valve to respond to commands from the
microcomputer (electronic control unit). The
system uses various sensors to send information
to the computer that calculates how rich or lean to
set the carburetor air-fuel mixture.
The system is also known as a computer controlled
emission system which consists of the following:
oxygen sensor, temperature sensor, pressure
sensor, electromechanical carburetor, mixture
control solenoid, computer, and idle speed actuator
1-The oxygen sensor, or exhaust gas sensor, monitors
the oxygen content in the engine exhaust

2-The temperature sensor detects the operating


temperature of the engine

3-The manifold pressure sensor (MAP) measures intake


manifold vacuum and engine load.

4-The computer, also called the electronic control unit


(ECU), uses sensor information to operate the
mixture control solenoid of the carburetor
CARBURETOR TROUBLES
1-EXCESSIVE FUEL CONSUMPTION
2-A SLUGGISH ENGINE
3-POOR IDLING
4-FAILURE OF THE ENGINE TO START
5-HARD STARTING OF A WARM ENGINE
6-SLOW ENGINE WARM-UP
7-A BACKFIRING ENGINE
CARBURETOR ACCESSORIES
There are several devices used on carburetors
to improve drivability and economy.
These devices are as follows:
The fast idle solenoid, the throttle return
dashpot, the hot idle compensator, and the
altitude compensator. Their applications vary
from vehicle to vehicle
Overview

• Purpose of Carburetor

• Types of Carburetors

• Gas, Oil, & Air


The “BIG” Picture
• One of the “Big 3” systems
– Ignition

– Compression

– Carburetion
Purpose of the Carburetor
• One main purpose...

• Secondary Purposes & Requirements


Carburetor Theory
• Atmospheric Pressure
– a constant downward force of air on the Earth

– usually varies between 13 and 15 lbs per sq. in.

– areas of low pressure must be created in the


carburetor to create air flow
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
• Airfoil

low pressure

airfoil

high pressure
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
• All carburetors work basically the same:
– As piston moves from TDC to BDC on the intake
stroke, the intake valve opens, air is “sucked”
through the air cleaner into the airhorn and . . .
– Venturi creates an area of low pressure that draws
fuel from the fuel supply through the main
discharge nozzle.
• Venturi also causes the air flow to rapidly accelerate--
thus vaporizing and mixing air and fuel together very
efficiently.
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
• Because the main discharge nozzle is extended into the
airstream, an airfoil is also created, further lowering the
pressure “above” the nozzle.

– If an engine ran at only one speed under ideal


conditions, the story of carburetion would end
here.
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
– The carburetor must be able to adjust the air/fuel
mixture to the conditions presented.
– It must run smoothly and economically at widely
varying speeds.

– Richer mixture--more gas added to mixture.


– Leaner mixture--less gas added to mixture.
• To make these adjustments, a threaded needle valve is
added at the bottom of the main discharge nozzle.
– This regulates the amount of fuel that gets to the venturi
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
• To further regulate the mixture, two “air regulators” or
butterfly valves are also added:
– These restrict the amount of air flow through the carburetor--
either manually or automatically.
» This action decreases the power and speed and the
richness of the mixture within the engine.

– Throttle valves restrict air movement at all speeds and are


generally manually controlled.
– Choke valves restrict air movement at start-up to allow for a
richer mixture and can be manually or automatically engaged.
Carburetor Theory (con’t)
– To further regulate the air/fuel mixture at lower
speeds, another threaded needle valve is added.
• This allows the engine to run smoothly and
economically at very low speeds by allowing a slight bit
of fuel to slip past the throttle valve.
Types of Carburetors
• Gravity Feed
– called a “Flo-Jet” by Briggs & Stratton
• Vacuum Feed
– called “Vacu-Jet”
• Pulse Feed
– called “Pulsa-Jet”
Flo-Jet Carburetors
• Gravity feed system

• fuel flows by gravity to the carburetor


• gas tank must have a vent hole to provide atmospheric
pressure to “push” fuel to carburetor

• The float is found in the bowl.


– As fuel flows into the bowl, it raises and lowers the float.
Flo-Jet Carburetors (con’t)
• The float is attached to a needle valve.
– The needle, along with its seat, work together to turn on and
off fuel flow to the main discharge nozzle.
• Float level
– should be high enough to allow an ample supply of fuel at full
throttle, yet remain low enough to prevent flooding and/or
leaking.
– should be set at 5/16 of an inch on our engines.
Vacu-Jet Carburetors
• Fuel tank is below the carburetor

• Again, atmospheric pressure is employed to help


get the fuel to the carburetor.
– Air pushes down on the fuel in the tank, when the piston
starts downward on the intake stroke, it creates an area
of pressure that is lower than that of the atmospheric
pressure. This causes the fuel to rise through the pickup
tube and travel toward the main discharge nozzle.
Vacu-Jet Carburetors (con’t)
– Vacu-Jet carburetors require a richer mixture
setting because the fuel system “lags” behind the
fuel requirements of the engine at the high speeds
that most small engines run at.

• As the throttle closes to idle, the leading edge takes a
position between 2 different sized discharge holes that
are found on the main discharge nozzle.
• The larger of the holes now becomes an area of high air
pressure and the flow of fuel ceases.
Vacu-Jet Carburetors (con’t)
– The smaller hole now becomes an area of lower pressure and
fuel continues to flow--just enough for the engine to idle.
– Choke valve is also different:

• There are many problems with this choke system


including sticking open and closed, especially when
remotely controlled.
Pulsa-Jet Carburetors
• Only “true” fuel system
– contains a diaphragm type fuel pump and a
“constant level” fuel chamber
• Newest design of carburetors for small engines
– can obtain just as much (or more) horsepower as
older, more complicated float-type carburetors
• This is due to the fact that it provides a constant fuel
level directly below the venturi
– very little “lift” is needed to get the fuel to the carburetor
Pulsa-Jet Carburetors (con’t)
– The venturi can be made larger, allowing more air/fuel
mixture into the engine allowing an increase in horsepower
within the same sized engine.
Carburetor Adjustments
• Adjustment of the needle valve for maximum power

• Causes overheating, early or late detonation, and short valve


life
• No accelerator pump in Flo-Jet and Vacu-Jet models so engine
will “kill” if throttle is opened suddenly.

• “Floods” the engine causing “raw” fuel into the combustion


chamber (cylinder).
– dilutes the crankcase oil washing away the film on the cylinder wall
causing “scuffing”and lost compression.
Carburetor Adjustments (con’t)
• Throttle Adjustment
– To adjust for maximum power and efficiency:
This indicates a lean mixture.
This indicates a rich mixture.
-Slowly turn the main needle valve back clockwise to a
point midway between the 2 readings
-This method can also be used to set the maximum speed
the engine will run by first opening the throttle all the
way.
Carburetor Adjustments (con’t)
• Idle Speed Adjustment
– Very similar to Throttle Adjustment

• IS NOT necessarily the slowest speed at which the


engine will run.
– Can be any speed you choose
Carburetor Adjustments (con’t)
• Again, turn the screw in (clockwise) until the engine
speed decreases.
– Lean mixture

• Turn the screw out (counter-clockwise) until the speed


increases and again decreases
– Rich mixture

• Usually, the idle adjustment needs to be reset with


each new application of the engine.
Gas, Oil, & Air
• Gas--
– use fresh, clean, unleaded gasoline with a
minimum of 77 octane
• In Minnesota, the minimum octane allowed by law is
87.
• Purchase an amount that can be used up within 30
days.
• Ethanol an/or methanol is fine to use in today’s small
engines.
Gas, Oil, & Air (con’t)
• Oil--

• Detergent oils keep the engine free of gum and varnish


deposits and generally keep the engine cleaner.
• No other additives should be used in the oil.
Gas, Oil, & Air (con’t)
• Air--
– Clean air is an extremely important part of the
carburetion system.

• New technologies in foam materials make these air


cleaners somewhat obsolete.
Fuel Supply to S. I. Engines(Carburetion)
 In petrol engine, the air and fuel is mixed outside the engine
and partly evaporated mixture is supplied to the engine.

 The fuels such as petrol, benzol, and alcohol used in S.I.


engine vaporises easily if injected in the flow of air, therefore,
the engine suction is sufficient to create the air flow and fuel
injected easily evaporates.

 The oil fuels which are used in C.I. engines do not vaporises
easily. Therefore a separate injection system is used.
Fuel Supply to S. I. Engines(Carburetion)

The vaporisation process of the fuel in the


current of air depends mainly upon,
 The physical properties of fuel,
 The temperature of incoming air in the intake
manifold,
 The pressure difference causing the flow of
fuel in the air,
 Design of intake manifold,and
 Time available for evaporation
Fuel Supply to S. I. Engines(Carburetion)
 During the suction, the air is sucked as vacuum is
created inside the engine cylinder.

 The fuel is injected in the air from the carburettor


and a mixture is supplied to the engine cylinder.

 It is desirable to have a complete vaporised mixture


in the engine cylinder but some of the larger droplet
may reach the cylinder in the form of liquid and they
are mixed and vaporised during compression stroke.
Fuel Supply to S. I. Engines(Carburetion)
 The time available for atomization, mixing and vaporisation is
to small.(0.02 second when engine running at 3000 RPM )

 The design of the system becomes more difficult.

 Temperature is one of the factors which accelerates


vaporisation but this would reduce the power output due to
reduction in mass flow.

 The design of carburettor is difficult and complicated as the


requirements by the engine for A:F ratio vary from 1:1 to 15:1
under different operating conditions.
Mixture Requirements
 Engine induction and fuel system must prepare a fuel-
air mixture that satisfies the requirements of the
engine over its entire operating regime.

 Optimum air-fuel ratio for an SI engine is that which


gives
(1)Required power output
(2)With lowest fuel consumption
(3)Consistent with smooth and reliable operation
Mixture Requirements (Continued)
 The constraints of emissions may dictate a
different air-fuel ratio and also require
recycling some exhaust gas.(EGR)

 Relative proportions of fuel and air that give


the above requirements depend on engine
speed and load.

 Mixture strength is given in terms of air-fuel or


fuel-air ratio or equivalence ratio.
Mixture Requirements (Continued)
 Mixture requirements are different for full load
(wide-open throttle or WOT) and for part-load
operation.

 At full load, complete utilization of inducted air to


obtain maximum power for a given displaced volume
is the critical issue.

 At part-load at a given speed, efficient utilization of


fuel is the critical issue.
Mixture Requirements (Continued)
 At part-load (or part-throttle) it is advantageous to dilute the
fuel-air mixture with excess air or with recycled exhaust gas.
This dilution improves fuel conversion efficiency for three
reasons:
1. The expansion stroke work is increased for a given expansion
ratio due to the change in thermodynamic properties,

2. For a given mean effective pressure, the intake pressure


increases with increasing dilution, so pumping work
decreases,

3. Heat losses to the walls are reduced because the burned gas
temperatures are lower.
In the absence of strict NOx emission control, excess air is the
obvious diluent at part load and the engine runs lean.
Requirements with emission control
 For control of NO, HC and CO, operating the engine with
stoichiometric mixture is advantageous so that a three-way
catalyst can be used for emission control. In such a case, for
further decrease in NO the diluent used is EGR.
 Amount used will depend on the EGR tolerance of the engine
at a given speed and load based on the details of the engine
combustion process.
 Increasing excess air or EGR will slow down the combustion
process and increase combustion variability so as load
decreases, less dilution must be provided and at idle, no EGR
may be used and mixture will have to be made rich.
What is carburetion?
 The process of formation of a combustible fuel-air mixture by
mixing the proper amount of fuel with air before it is admitted
into the engine cylinder.

 It is the process of preparing air-fuel mixture in S.I. engine


outside the engine cylinder.

 The device used for this purpose is known as Carburettor.

 Comes from the words “car” and “burette” because the


carburetor “meters” the appropriate quantity of liquid fuel
(like a burette) and mixed it with air before sending the
mixture into the engine cylinder.
Factors affecting Carburetion
1. Engine speed. In a 4-stroke engine running at 3000 rev/min,
the intake will take about 10 ms during which the fuel has
to evaporate, mix with air and be inducted into the engine.

2. Vaporization characteristics of the fuel. Will require a


volatile fuel for quick evaporation and mixing with air.

3. The temperature of the in coming air. Must be high enough


to be able to evaporate the fuel and yet not too high as to
reduce mass of fresh charge.

4. Design of the carburetor. This will help in proper


introduction of fuel into the air stream and provide proper
distribution of the mixture to the various cylinders.
Summary of the Deficiencies of the
Elementary Carburetor
1. At low loads, the mixture becomes leaner; the engine requires the
mixture to be enriched at low loads. The mixture is richest at idle.
2. At intermediate loads, the equivalence ratio increases slightly as the
air flow rate increases; the engine requires an almost constant
equivalence ratio.
3. As the air flow approaches the maximum (WOT) value, the
equivalence ratio remains essentially constant; the engine requires an
equivalence ratio of about 1.1 at maximum engine power.
4. The elementary carburetor cannot compensate for transient
phenomena in the intake manifold. It also cannot provide a rich
mixture during engine starting and warm-up.
5. It cannot adjust to changes in ambient air density due to changes in
altitude.
Modern Carburetor Design
The changes required in the elementary carburetor so that it provides the
equivalence ratio required at various air flow rates are as follows.
1. The main metering system must be compensated to provide a constant
lean or stoichiometric mixture over 20 to 80% of the air flow range.
2. An idle system must be added to meter the fuel flow at idle and light loads
to provide a rich mixture.
3. An enrichment system must be provided so that the engine can get a rich
mixture as WOT conditions is approached and maximum power can be
obtained.
4. An accelerator pump must be provided so that additional fuel can be
introduced into the engine only when the throttle is suddenly opened.
5. A choke must be added to enrich the mixture during cold starting and
warm-up to ensure that a combustible mixture is provided to each
cylinder at the time of ignition.
6. Altitude compensation is necessary to adjust the fuel flow which makes
the mixture rich when air density is lowered.
7. Increase in the magnitude of the pressure drop available for controlling
the fuel flow is provided by introducing boost venturis (Venturis in series)
or Multiple-barrel carburetors (Venturis in parallel).
Essential Parts of Modern Carburetor

(i) Float Chamber


(ii) Strainer
(iii) Throttle
(iv) Choke
(v) Metering system
(vi) Idling system
(vii) Acceleration system
(viii)Economizer system
(i) Float Chamber

• The function of float chamber in a carburettor


is to supply the fuel to the nozzle at a constant
pressure head.
(ii) The fuel Strainer
• To prevent possible blockage of the nozzle by
dust particles, the gasoline is filtered by
installing a fuel strainer at the inlet to the float
chamber.
(iii)Throttle
• The speed and the output of an engine is
controlled by the use of the throttle valve,
which is located on the downstream side of
the venturi.
(iv)Choke
• A rich mixture is required to start the engine,
specially when the engine is cold.
• To provide this rich mixture a choke valve is inserted
in the air intake passage of the carburetor.
• During starting, this valve is operated to shut off
partially the the supply of air to the carburettor, thus
enriching the mixture supplied to the cylinders by the
carburettor.
• These choke valves are operated automatically by
thermostats in most passenger car carburettor.
(v) Metering system
• The metering system of the carburettor controls the fuel feed
for cruising and full throttle operations.
• It consist of three principal units:
1) The main metering jet through which fuel is drawn from the
float chamber.
2) The main discharge nozzle
3) The passage leading to the idling system.
Function:
i) To proportion the fuel air mixture.
ii) To decrease the pressure at the discharge nozzle.
iii) To limit the air flow at full throttle.
(vi)Idling system

• Motor vehicle engines require a rich mixture


for idling and low speed operation, usually
about 12 parts of air by weight to one part of
fuel (12:1 air-fuel ratio).
• To supply this mixture during idling, most
modern carburettors incorporate in their
construction a special idling system consisting
of an idling fuel passage and idling ports.
(vii) Accelerating system

• The function of an accelerating system is to discharge


an additional quantity of fuel into the carburettor air
stream when the throttle is suddenly opened thus
causing a temporary enrichment of the mixture and
producing smooth and positive acceleration of the
vehicle.
(viii)Economizer system

• An economizer is a valve which remains closed


at normal operation but is opened to provide
an enriched mixture at full throttle operation.
• It supplies and regulates the additional fuel
required for above the cruising range.
• In other words, an economizer is a device for
enriching the mixture at incresed throttle
opening.
Different Modern carburetors
1) Zenith Carburettor
2) Solex carburettor
3) Carter carburettor
4) S.U. carburettor
Zenith Carburettor

• This is the oldest and universally used in all types of automobile engines
some 25 years before.
Solex carburettor

• It is most common type of carburetor which is used in Fiat and standard


cars.
• It is famous for easy starting, good performance and reliability.
• This is also provided with basic jets required for starting and normal
running.
• In addition to this, it is also provided with separate idling jet and
accelerating jet.
Carter carburettor

• This carburettor is an American make and


generally used in jeeps.
S.U. carburettor

• It is used in many British cars and was used in


Ambassador car in India.
• The unique feature of S.U. carburettor is that it has
only one jet.
• There is no separate idling or compensating jet.
• Since a constant high velocity across the jet is
maintained even under ideal condition, there is no
necessity to provide a separate idling jet.

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