Carburetion combines fuel and oxygen for combustion in engines. The process takes place in a carburetor, where the correct air-to-fuel ratio is crucial for optimal engine performance. Too much or too little of either can cause damage or waste fuel. The exact ratio depends on various factors, including the type of fuel and engine settings.
In an engine, carburetion combines the proper proportion of oxygen with a gaseous form of a fossil fuel, such as natural gas or gasoline, so that it can burn. Internal combustion engines work by igniting fuel that has been sprayed into a fine mist and mixed with air. This mixture, called an emulsion, will burn with the correct amount of energy to power the engine. Carburizing typically involves all of these stages, from vaporizing the gasoline to letting air in and finally moving the mixture to where it can be burned.
Carburation is responsible for allowing an engine to perform at an optimal level, whether it is cranking, running at full throttle, or idling. Any combustion engine, such as a lawn mower, chainsaw, or automobile, must use some form of carburetion. If there is too much fuel or too little oxygen, the engine runs “rich” and wastes fuel, produces smoke, generates too much heat, or ruins engine parts. If there is too little fuel or too much air, the engine runs “lean” and can sputter, stall, or cause engine damage.
The carbureting process usually takes place inside a carburetor, but can even be demonstrated with a set of household chemicals. In a carburetor, there should be a central mixing chamber where the air will meet the fuel. An opening, a needle valve, pushes the fuel through such a small hole that it sprays into that chamber in tiny droplets. The other opening, a vacuum or suction valve, uses air pressure to control the amount of air entering the chamber, called metering. The atomized gasoline, suspended in the total volume of air, exits through a wide tube into another chamber where a spark will ignite it.
The exact amounts of air and fuel depend on the surrounding air pressure, the type of fuel, the fineness of the gaseous particles, and whether the engine has settings for faster, slower, or idle. On older model cars that use a traditional carburetor, that ratio is around 15 parts air to 1 part fuel. Other motors, such as those in a gas leaf blower, do not have variable speeds; therefore they require a simpler carburetion that does not represent a little more or less fuel.
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