Carburetion

One major part of a car that many people do not know about, because of the lack of use of this part on newer vehicles, is the carburetor. A carburetor was put on vehicles before fuel injection was invented to allow the fuel and air mixture to flow into the engine. Carburetion is still used on many smaller engines and racing vehicles because of its ease of repair and the ever important cost aspect.

The carburetor is a small piece of metal made up of an intricate system of holes and valves that allow fuel and air to mix. Some engines can have more than one and they come in several different forms, each providing a different mixture of fuel and air, thus giving you a difference in performance. The most commonly known are single, double, and 4-barrel carburetors.

These carburetors usually are adjustable by small needles that can be screwed in or out to adjust the ratio of fuel to air. If the mixture is running to “rich” it means there is too much fuel in the ratio, and if it is running too “lean” it means there is too much air and not enough fuel. Having a wrong mixture can cause effects on other parts of the engine also, such as the formation of black or white build up on spark plugs.

Even though the carburetor is starting to go out of style because of its inefficiency and unreliability it will still be used because it is a cheaper alternative to fuel injection. Carburetion has been proven to be a huge stepping stone in internal combustion engines. It has been powering things since before the automobile was first put on the assembly line by Ford. Its successor though is making up for all the things lacked, make sure to read my next blog on fuel injection.