What's a carburetor?

[Dangerously Amused]

[Left Is Write]

1. It's...uh...you know...that THING...that thing that used to be in cars.

Or something. You know.

:D

[AllegroRondo]

2. before fuel injectors

[Dangerously Amused]

46. Oh, that's right.

It's right next to that other thing that goes "whirrrrrrrr" except when it's broken and it then goes "chika chika chika." What was I thinking?

[riona]

3. the thing that caused a fire

in a couple of my cars, i think

:smoke:

[Carla in Ca]

7. lol...have to adjust it a bit

from time to time, but it is worth it. We just put a new one in our '57 Chevy. Now she runs like a dream. You can see it on my journal.:)

[Oeditpus Rex]

17. Sweet!

Check your PM. :hi:

[riona]

41. oops, nothing left to check

:cry:

[riona]

40. it's a long, pathetic story

and, i'm no longer a member of the ford family.

[Dangerously Amused]

47. Wow. How many cars have you had go up in flames?

Or perhaps you've just have a little "misunderstanding" with "the family."






Dude, that's NOT just a bad carburator...

[riona]

59. nothing so dramatic

pretty much slow, pitiful incineration. one happened on a sunday, a long way from the middle of nowhere and the fire dept. was having an annual picnic. they were late to the scene. the other vehicle was always ornery. just didn't like anyone to drive it, period.

but, maybe i'll adopt your theory and picture. way more interesting!

[gollygee]

4. I think it mixes fuel with air

or something

[Dangerously Amused]

48. I thought the sonic jet thrusters did that.

:shrug:

[harleydad]

5. Assuming you are serious . . .

A carburetor uses venturi action (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venturi) to mix a very slight amount of gasoline with air as it gets sucked into the engine. Once in the engine it explodes creating power.

Most gasoline engines now use fuel injection wherein computer controlled injectors squirt the fuel into the air before it gets sucked into the engine and exploded.

Hope this helps.

[Dangerously Amused]

49. Thanks.

Actually, I wasn't serious; it was a (lame) copycat of the "What is a moderator?" thread. But hey - I am always open to learning something new. Thanks for that, and welcome to DU!

[northofdenali]

67. Harleydad!!

:hi:!

[Roon]

6. It's a hole in a pipe or bong

that clears the chamber of smoke.

[jukes]

12. n/t

:smoke: :rofl:

[GrpCaptMandrake]

44. See that's the first place I went, too! n/t

[Dangerously Amused]

50. So THAT'S what my mechanic was talking about!

[Oeditpus Rex]

8. gollygee had a good start

The fuel pump forces fuel into the carburetor, where it's mixed with air drawn into the carburetor through venturis — hourglass-shaped doohickies that work on the Bernoulli Principle of vacuum creation. The proper fuel level is maintained in the float bowl by a plastic or aluminum float and mixed with the air and distributed into the throttle bores by metering rods and jets — precision parts that mix fuel and air at a ratio of approximately 1:14. Once it passes through the throttle bores, the fuel-air mixture goes to the individual combustion chambers (what the spark plugs screw into) through plenums in the intake manifold.

A toilet, btw, is kind of a big, simple carburetor.



Next: the four-stroke cycle. :freak:

[gollygee]

11. My husband just made a toilet

and is the reason I had any idea at all about carburetors at all.

I mainly know how much car parts cost. Carburetors are about $240. LOL

[Oeditpus Rex]

13. Depends

A rebuilt Rochester 2GV or 2GC will run ya about $75, but a race-tuned Holley 4150 goes for about a grand.



"Speed costs money. How fast do ya wanna go?"

~Deke Sommers (Adam Roarke) in "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry."

[gollygee]

14. Ah well the one my husband got

at one point was $240. Or did he later decide to get a better one? I don't remember.

Car parts are expensive.

[LostinVA]

16. And, my diesel engine does NOT have one!

[Oeditpus Rex]

18. It ain't got spark plugs, either

:thumbsup:

[LostinVA]

21. Correct! Glow thingies....

[Oeditpus Rex]

22. Glow plugs

They pre-heat the combustion chambers when the engine's cold. But the actual combustion is from the compression of air in the cylinders. When air is compressed — like, by a piston coming up — it gets hot.

You know how a poorly maintained carbureted engine will sometimes "run on" when the ignition's switched off? That's called "preignition" — or "dieseling," since it's the same thing: combustion from "hot spots" in the combustion chambers and/or poor ignition timing. That's how a diesel engine runs, but diesel fuel burns more evenly than gasoline, so the combustion is controlled. (That's also why the engine has that "pockitapockitapockita" sound.)

[LostinVA]

23. I know, I love my little "putt putt" sound

I also like that there's only like two movable parts in the engine... I don't like that one is a timing chain that costs like $850 to replace every 55k miles... but, I do like the 50-55 mpg.

That was an interesting post -- I almost understood all of it. Now, if you can explain "torque" to me in EASY layman's terms.....

[Oeditpus Rex]

24. Torque = twisting force

The force generated by the rotation of an axis, whether it's a bolt, a screwdriver or a crankshaft.

In terms of performance, horsepower = speed, and torque = how fast you can get to speed.

Basically. :D

[LostinVA]

25. So, it's kinda like an afterburner? Not literally, but figuratively?

I know it means twisting force, but could never figure out what that had to do with my car's speed.

My HP is lowish, but I have high torque, and my Golf just zips up hills and onto highway merges at speed. I love it!

[Oeditpus Rex]

27. Nuh-uh

I phrased it rather poorly last time.

Horsepower = top speed.

Torque = acceleration.

[LostinVA]

28. Okay, I understand that

[LostinVA]

26. Oh, and I Googled: the correct term is "glow thingies," not "glow plugs"

[Oeditpus Rex]

29. ROFL!

Well, see, I'm sorta old-school when it comes to cars.

:rofl:

[LostinVA]

31. Just telling you what the Chilton's manual said...

[Oeditpus Rex]

32. Must be a newer one

Mine covers 1964-71 — when they were still called "glow plugs."

:rofl:

[LostinVA]

33. THis is a new thing -- you know the new DSG automatic "manual" tranny?

Yeah? Well, it has something to do with that.... "glow plugs" isn't old school... it's just sad. Like rotary phones and 8-tracks...

[Oeditpus Rex]

34. Automatics have always been 'manual'

Nothin' stops you from shiftin' 'em yourself, does it? :shrug:



And I liked rotary phones. But 8-track tapes were best left where they inevitably wound up.



In a tree.

[Dangerously Amused]

51. My hourglass-shaped doohickie is on the fritz.

I think I just need a good throttle boring.




:7




What?

[Oeditpus Rex]

61. Maybe your cylinders

need to be honed.









No... honed.

:eyes:

[jakefrep]

9. Ask a NASCAR fan

NASCAR racers are about the only modern vehicles that still use carburetors. So much for racing improving the breed.

[DainBramaged]

39. Drag racers and street racers too.

I'd rather have two 1150CFM Holleys instead of a 950CFM Fuel Injection throtle body on my 572 any day.

[Texaroo]

10. Carburetors, man...that's what life is all about

"Upholstery, Where my baby sits up close to me. That's supposed to be, what our life is all about."

Ever see Phantom of the Paradise?

[Dangerously Amused]

52. Haven't seen it.

But it sounds good. Thanks!

[swag]

15. Eat Yerself Fitter!

[Dangerously Amused]

53. Gotcha. As in, "No bread for me, I'm a Low Carburator."

Hee hee. :7

[hfojvt]

19. This guy was driving down a rural road when his car quit running

He gets out and opens the hood, trying to figure out what is wrong with it. After a few minutes, he hears a voice that says "It's the carburetor!" He looks around, but there's nobody around. Just a horse, leaning over the fence. So he asks it - 'did you say that?'
"Yup" says the horse, "I said, it's the carburetor".
The guy is so freaked out that he runs all the way into town until he gets to a bar, where he tells the story to these four old farmers who are sitting there playing cards.
When he finishes, one of the farmers asks 'is this about a mile south of here on Highway CC?'
The guys says 'yeah, I think so.'
The farmer says 'Then don't pay no attention to him. That horse don't know nothing about carburetors.'

[Dangerously Amused]

54. Dude, I know.

I almost never ask horses for car advice.


(Thanks for the giggle.) :)

[sarge43]

20. It's a thingy on a car engine whose true purpose

is to crap out on you, usually at the worst possible time.

[Oeditpus Rex]

30. There's not much that can go wrong with a carb

Ninety-nine times out of 100, the problem is dirt in it.

So change your air and fuel filters regularly. :thumbsup:

[Dangerously Amused]

55. Right.

That's why I always keep a spare in my purse.


:7

[jmowreader]

35. It is a very finely machined block of pot metal

The stated purpose of this device is to very precisely meter air and fuel together into the exact stoichiometric ratio to ensure maximal performance with minimal fuel consumption and emissions.

Which it does, at exactly one engine speed...which happens to be a speed you will never run the engine at.

And later, when this overpriced piece of shit decides to fuck up, which it will do because the entire functionality of this device is predicated on the sterility of a set of holes in the body which must be exactly the size they were when the carburetor left the factory (and which immediately begin changing sizes because of all the crap that's in gasoline), it makes a handy object to throw for grenade practice.

[Oeditpus Rex]

38. That's the best description of a carb I've ever heard

[Dangerously Amused]

56. LOL!

That was good!


Thanks.


:7

[Redstone]

36. It's a device that carburets.

Redstone

[dpbrown]

37. Um...a gas-powered burrito maker on wheels?

I'm just guessin', of course...


;)

[Dangerously Amused]

57. DP!

Good to see you again! :7

[dpbrown]

60. DA!

And it's good to be seen again by you!!!


:bounce:


Then again, maybe I should invest in those windowshades, after all.


:blush:

[Dangerously Amused]

63. You go right ahead and get those windowshades, hot stuff.

'Cuz I ALWAYS have a backup plan. Hee hee hee!







B-)



:loveya:

[dpbrown]

64. You'll catch your death of cold out there!

Besides, the view's better inside...





;)


:loveya:

[Dangerously Amused]

70. She shoots she SCORES!!!

:woohoo:


:loveya:

[dpbrown]

72. Guess I won't be needing this anymore....

:loveya:

[Dangerously Amused]

73. Sweetiebuns, you won't need a STITCH of clothing while I'm around. :)

You will, however, need these:





:7


:loveya:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

42. It buretes a car.

:shrug:

[billyskank]

43. It turns your petrol into a vapour and mixes it with air

ready for combustion in the cylinder.

Ever since fuel injection became standard carburettors have been obsolete. :hi:

[Dangerously Amused]

58. Darlin' Billy!

Thanks!

[madinmaryland]

45. This thing...

[Oeditpus Rex]

62. Holley 4500 Series?

That's a race carb, dude. :thumbsup:

[Gold Metal Flake]

69. No, that's a 4150.

The body is shaped, and it has annular booters, but it's a 4150 not a 4500.

Here is a 4500:



Note that it has a wider bolt pattern and a larger diameter air filter flange. Also, the linkage from primary to secondary throttle shafts are tucked into the center.


Edit to add pix.

[KitchenWitch]

65. It is the hole that you plug up in a bong before you take a hit.

Or so I am told.

[spacelady]

66. Who wants to know?

[northofdenali]

68. It's that thing in the car

that sucks. :P

[merh]

71. Are you still trying to figure this out?

:freak:

[riona]

74. carburator

it either burns carbohydrates or aerates them, i'm not sure

:shrug: