Types of Carburetors: How They Work

Types of Carburetors
How they work
This presentation is from Virginia Tech and has not been edited by
the Georgia Curriculum Office.
Performance Objectives
Students will be able to list and

describe the common types of small
engine carburetors and their
applications.
Enabling Objectives
Given the instruction in class the

student will correctly identify and
describe the principles of operation of
the three common types of small
engine carburetors.
Natural or side draft
Updraft
Downdraft
Interest Approach
How many of you know where the

carburetor is located on your lawn
mower?
Is it above or below the gas tank?
Does it really matter where it is

located in relation to how it works?
Types of Carburetors
In this unit we will discuss three

common types of carburetors. They
are the:

Updraft
Downdraft
Natural Draft Carburetor
This carburetor is
used where there
is little space on
top of the engine.
The air horizontally
into the manifold.
Updraft Carburetors
This type is placed

low on the engine
and use a gravity
fed-fuel supply. In
other words, the
tank is above the
carburetor and the
fuel falls to it.
Updraft Carburetors
Even this carburetor uses gravity to receive

the fuel from the tank, the air-fuel mixture
must be forced upward into the engine.
Downdraft Carburetors
This carburetor
operates with lower
air velocities and
larger passages.
This is because
gravity assists the
air-fuel mixture
flow to the cylinder.
Down-draft Carburetors
The downdraft
carburetor can
provide large
volumes of fuel
when needed for
high speed and
high power output.
Float-Type Carburetor
A Float is a small
sealed vessel made
of brass or plastic.
It maintains a
constant level of
fuel in the float
bowl.
Float-Type Carburetors
The float works

much like one in a
watering system,
opening and
closing a needle
valve as the float
lowers or raises.
The Choke
The choke is a round disc mounted on

a shaft located at the intake end of
the carburetor.
The Choke
Since cold fuel is

hard to vaporize,
the choke is used
during cold engine
starts to provide a
rich mixture to the
carburetor in order
to get the engine
started.
The Throttle
The throttle is a
round disc
mounted on a shaft
beyond the main
fuel nozzle in the
carburetor.
The Throttle
It regulates the
amount of air-fuel
mixture entering
the cylinder.
Load Adjustment
The amount of fuel

entering the main
discharge nozzle is
sometimes
regulated by a load
adjusting needle.
Load Adjustment
Many carburetors
today have a fixed
jet or orifice which
is preset to allow
the proper amount
of flow. These
carburetors are
non-adjustable.
The Primer
Many small engines have hand operated

plunger called a primer. When depressed it
forces additional fuel through the main
nozzle prior to starting a cold engine.
Diaphragm Carburetors
This type does not have a float,

rather the difference between
atmospheric pressure and the
vacuum created in the engine
pulsates a flexible diaphragm.
Diaphragm Carburetors
The pulsation of
the diaphragm
takes place on
every intake and
compression
stroke.
Throttle Controls
A basic manual
throttle control
consists of either
mechanical linkage
or flexible cable.
Throttle Controls
This linkage
manually opens
and closes the
throttle valve to
obtain the desired
engine speed.
Summary
Small engines have one of the

following types of carburetors:
Updraft
Downdraft
Summary
The natural or side

draft carburetor is
used when there is
little space on top
of the engine. The
air flows
horizontally into
the manifold.
Summary
The updraft
carburetor is place
low on the engine
and uses a gravity
fed fuel supply.
The air-fuel
mixture is forced
upward into the
engine.
Summary
The downdraft
carburetor
operates with lower
air velocities and
larger passages.
It provides larger
volumes of fuel
when needed.
Summary
Some carburetors are either float type

or diaphragm carburetors.
The float type uses a float to maintain
a constant level of fuel in the fuel bowl
The diaphragm carburetor uses
differences in atmospheric pressure
and vacuum pressure to pulsate a
diaphragm to pump fuel.

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Types of Carburetors

How they work

Students will be able to list and

Given the instruction in class the

How many of you know where the

Is it above or below the gas tank?

Does it really matter where it is

In this unit we will discuss three

Natural or side draft

Natural Draft Carburetor

This type is placed

Even this carburetor uses gravity to receive

The float works

The choke is a round disc mounted on

Since cold fuel is

The amount of fuel

Many small engines have hand operated

This type does not have a float,

Small engines have one of the

The natural or side

Some carburetors are either float type

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