How a carburetor works (See through carb with high speed camera)

[Serk]

This was fascinating, and very educational for me, figured I'd share... Explaining how a carburetor works by making a 3d printed see through carb then filming it in action with a high speed camera...

https://youtu.be/toVfvRhWbj8

(And if you liked that one, check out his other videos, one of the higher quality channels on Youtube IMHO: https://www.youtube.com/c/smartereveryday/videos )

[msb]

Thx...ain't You Tube great? Love these kind of videos

[Bret SD]

I've seen this guy, he's really good. Thanks for posting a fascinating video!

[Skinhead]

Originally, I thought, this guy can't really be a mechanical engineer and not understand how a carburetor works, but then I thought of some of the engineers I know.

The video and videography are really good, and this is a simple application of carburetion, which doesn't lend itself to high efficiency and low emissions.  Fuel injection and especially closed loop fuel injection and electronic controls is much more fuel efficient, and provides a feed back loop to continuously adjust the flow of fuel through the injector and provide a stoichiometric mixture (all the fuel and all the oxygen are used) to produce the most power with the lowest fuel consumption and emissions.

I agree that YouTube is a great resource for learning and understanding new concepts.

Thanks for posting it Serk.

[old2soon]

       ALL those years I've worked on carbs set them up statrting with lawn moweres then outboards race cars-dirt roundy round and drag strip and motocrossing in Japan That was The First time I ever Saw WHAT a carb actually does!  And I was blown away! Much more insight of the What happens when I twist the throttle on Phatt Ghurl. Thanks Serk!  RIDE SAFE.

[97BLKVALK]

Thanks for sharing Seek. 

[Oldfishguy]

I had a carb in my hands for a few hours today from a 1981 Honda motorcycle. 

That is a great video.  Should be shown in every high school shop class.

[Robert]

 

[tarpshack]

Yeah. Thanks for the share. Really helpful. I think similar to the video creator I understood carburetors generally, but it was really nice to be able to understand it more specifically. Also, high-speed video is just awesome.

[98valk]

Originally, I thought, this guy can't really be a mechanical engineer and not understand how a carburetor works, but then I thought of some of the engineers I know.

The video and videography are really good, and this is a simple application of carburetion, which doesn't lend itself to high efficiency and low emissions.  Fuel injection and especially closed loop fuel injection and electronic controls is much more fuel efficient, and provides a feed back loop to continuously adjust the flow of fuel through the injector and provide a stoichiometric mixture (all the fuel and all the oxygen are used) to produce the most power with the lowest fuel consumption and emissions.

I agree that YouTube is a great resource for learning and understanding new concepts.

Thanks for posting it Serk.

  The fuel to air atomization provided by a carburetor still cannot be matched by a fuel injector last time I checked.  overall FI is more efficient due to the electronics esp ignition timing and cam timing events as u mentioned and now even more so with direct FI.  The actual fuel injector itself is less efficient than a carburetor.  Individual carbs system which most motorcycles ran for decades and as our classic valkyries do when properly tuned was the closet to fuel injection one could get per Engine expert David Vizard.

[98valk]

    Thanks for sharing Serk   

[Reb]

Originally, I thought, this guy can't really be a mechanical engineer and not understand how a carburetor works, but then I thought of some of the engineers I know.

Say it to my face Joe 

[Skinhead]

Originally, I thought, this guy can't really be a mechanical engineer and not understand how a carburetor works, but then I thought of some of the engineers I know.

Say it to my face Joe 

Next time I see you remind me.

[Serk]

He got invited to go to Holley and walk through the process of building a "real" carburetor...

Good stuff, IMHO:

https://youtu.be/1_hFKRDDP_o

[old2soon]

       Far as my cage is concerned I do NOT miss the carburetor. Lat couple of my rides have been injected. Way Quicker starting even in sub zero temps. My 54 Ford with that 300 inch straight six had a glass bowl instead of a metal one. Anybody sides me remember putting wooden clothes pins on the fuel line to help ward off vapor lock? Yeah-the clothes pins helped!  RIDE SAFE.

[Serk]

       Far as my cage is concerned I do NOT miss the carburetor.

No argument there... If I could change two things about our Valks it'd be the final drive and make it EFI... Really wish I could put my Valks through the Atkins diet!

[Patrick]

Daniel Bernoulli was a pretty smart guy.

I still do quite a bit a carburetor work, enjoy it. Folks keep dropping them off.

I still buy every Carter AVS I can get.

[cookiedough]

fiddled on a toro 6.75hp 190cc briggs/stratton lawn mower carb today.   kids fiancee I guess never bothered working on it kept borrowing his dad's lawn mower since he said it started but always died on him shortly after running.    I took off fuel line was fine gas ran thru it as expected.   Next thing was removed air filter was VERY dusty/dirty was probably the issue but figured why stop there after tapping out the dust/dirt/small gunk in air filter.  I took off the air filter box housing 3 12mm screws to get at the carb.  Was very gunky on top and all around the carb but also took off the 1/2 inch bolt on bottom of float bowel.  bought a can of carb/choke spray and sprayed above carb to remove gunk and also into ports of carb all over and down below where float bowl was.  let it all dry up and reassembled, but in the process split/cracked all the way thru both sides the paper thin air cleaner filter gasket that seals between plastic air box and metal carb.   Am sure over time those thin gaskets crack/split easy???

Went to 2 stores who should have them but NO luck either store.  So, reassembled with split in 2 small air cleaner gasket seals pretty good still (I think anyways).  

Well,  those newer Toro mowers have NO primer bulb supposedly one start pulls,  and since float bowel was bone dry no gas after removing,  I spent 5 minutes pulling and pulling and pulling to get gas into carb.  Finally fired up and NO LEAKS surprisingly and mowed 5 minutes around yard not dying on me.

So, was either bad gas,  clogged air filter (which it was), or gunk in carb spraying it clean, maybe?  Anyone ever had the metal needle in the float bowl either go bad??  I never replaced one ever never needed to.  

Told kids fiancee keep an eye on it to make sure no gas leaks out behind the air filter and probably should buy another air cleaner gasket that sits between square air filter plastic  housing and metal carb where 2 12mm bolts hold them together compressed in tightly.  Am sure he never will do it though unless I get them for him and do it myself.  He is more of a NOT do or try fixing type of guy as most young kids are nowadays.  

I was surprised he did tell me he did replace the spark plug though... LOL  

Am thinking was lack of AIR mostly thru air filter causing dying out after 1st start 1-2 minutes later,  but darn it no 2 stores I went to had that air filter to replace so tapped out most of dirt/dust/sand should be o.k. for now I hope even with broken in 2 air cleaner gasket now that NO GUNK and dirt is in that area anymore for awhile anyways.    

This spring I had a STIHL weed tiller (has a weed whacker motor on it same thing) after 10  years of minor use 2-3x's per year would not start and run.  STIHL dealer wanted like 40 bucks for carb alone and 1 hour labor to install/set idle speed hi/lo adjustment screws.    STIHL OEM carb Zumo I think said MADE IN CHINA so I took a chance on amazon.com and bought entire kit a chinese carb looked identical but did not say STIHL on it though,  primer bulb, hoses, spark plug, air filter, etc. for ONLY 20 bucks took a chance.   Installed entire new carb is all and new gasket came with and fired right up but had to fiddle with lo/hi speed adjustment screws to get it idling just about right I think, maybe a tad bit too high at idle but not too bad, good enough for me.  Saved 80  bucks if took to Stihl dealer and doubt they do much better?   Just do not feel it is not worth trying to fix yourself in a few hours to save 50-100 bucks mostly in labor on only say a used 150 dollar push lawn mower or rototiller when new 300-350 bucks.

After seeing first hand Big BF at my house last October in his trailer soaking all the tiny carb pieces on one of my VAlks and reinstalling though is WAY above my comfort level.  He has done 1000's of VAlk carbs and after he left he reluctantly told me he was going into IL to do yet another carb takedown him wishing it was something else he was all carbed out wanted to do something else for a change.  He tried convincing me to install one of his BIG BF quad horns showing me he had a few left in his trailer cabinets but did not take him up on his offer since my Valk had no working horn on it.   I told BF (thru texting often those few days here)  I just put in the clutch and rev the SNOT out of the LOUD cobra exhaust if needed a horn and once it worked VERY well when car in front of me tried going into my lane hearing my LOUD exhaust and promptly returned to her own lane.  He was lucky though unable to hear since when he fired up my LOUD cobra exhaust inside his trailer even with back door open he had to rev it up to sync the carbs on his machine reading the digital lighted readout and MAN, did that hurt my ears LOUD exhaust in trailer not good. 

Big BF had the patience of a God always never shook up or upset over much of anything the few days I met him, very nice guy.  He forgot to put a bucket under the gas tank hose when draining my entire gas tank and I was yelling at him for a bucket doing no good and he was so calm over it spilling about 2 gallons of gas on his nice trailer floor before he turned around noticing it.  He never got upset and texted me was not the first nor last time he had done that smiling at me.   I was more upset than he was by far.