You Will Understand How a Carburetor Works After This Video

This door kept slamming shut by itself whenever we tried to air the place out. We got a door stopper, but I realized that the layout of the apartment is the same as that of a carburetor and the reason behind the moving of the door is the same as behind the moving of the fuel in a carburetor.

Both the carburetor and the apartment feature large open spaces which are connected by a narrow passage between them. This narrow passage results in an increased air velocity and an increase in air velocity results in a decrease in air pressure. A decrease in air pressure leads to atmospheric air pressure working for us and pushing the fuel into the engine and moving doors in an apartment in ghost-like fashion.

The atmosphere in which we live has an air pressure (1 bar or 14.5 psi) because all the air above us has a mass. This mass pushes down on us and creates pressure. Pressure is higher at sea level because there is more air mass above as at sea level than at the top of a mountain.

If we manage to reduce air pressure at any point then atmospheric air pressure will push things towards the point of low pressure. Air always moves from high to low pressure because air aims to equalize pressure everywhere.

Now we can reduce air pressure at a desired point by increasing air velocity at that point. A narrow passage between two large spaces is a great and simple way to increase air velocity at the passage because the narrowing space acts as a constriction or bottleneck and so air builds behind this constriction and pushes air or another fluid through the narrow passage with greater velocity. You have probably experienced this yourself if you ever blocked off half a garden hose with your thumb to increase the velocity of the water coming out the hose.

Now increased air velocity results in reduced air pressure because the fast moving air molecules they bump away the still-standing air, they disperse it or reduce it's concentration if you will. This why doors in a draft will often slam shut by themselves. Air velocity increases across the front of the door so air pressure reduces on the front of the door but atmospheric air pressure remains behind the door. This pushes the door and moves it into a position where the air drag can grab it and slam it shut.

The same thing happens to the fuel inside the carburetor. One side of the fuel is exposed to atmospheric air pressure but the other side of the fuel is exposed to reduced air pressure that occurs due to the increased air velocity in the narrow section in the middle of the carburetor. This is how atmospheric air pressure managed to push the fuel up through the tube that leads to the fuel hole in the narrow passage. The fuel slightly protrudes above the level of the hole and then the air drag grabs it and takes it into the engine.

But this does raise an important question. If we rely on the throttle slide or butterfly to provide air flow through the carburetor how do we get fuel into the engine when there is no airflow i.e. the throttle slide is released and the engine idles? We do this by leveraging the power of the vacuum generated by the engine and using the idle air bypass. The throttle slide acts like a barrier between the atmosphere and the engine internals. The downward motion of the pistons generates a vacuum and when the throttle slide is released it prevents the atmosphere from entering the engine so the vacuum or the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the engine remains. In reality we perceive this vacuum as air being sucked into the engine and when the throttle slide is released and the engine idles - vacuum is strong. So the engine can suck in air through the idle air bypass. But as soon as the throttle slide is raised atmosphere enters, vacuum weakens and so the task of fueling the engine gets transferred from the pilot jet and the idle air bypass to the main jet.

A special thank you to my patrons:
Daniel
Pepe
Brian Alvarez
Peter Della Flora
Dave Westwood
Joe C
Zwoa Meda Beda
Toma Marini
Cole Philips

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[szymoniak]

im gonna walk around my house now and explain to my wife how it's an analogy for an internal combustion engine

[DerKropa]

Bro woke up, noticed the draught air flow through his flat, and was like "yep, this is my moment to explain how carburetors work".
Amazing work, as always.

[GrimReaping]

I have learned more about engines from you in the last year than I have by working on engines for the past 10 years. I knew generally how things worked and the mechanical part of it, but you have such a great way of explaining the physics of it all. Thank you for making these videos, man.

[SpeedFreak]

I have never seen/heard a clearer explanation of how a carburettor works than this. Thank you!

[eTiMaGo]

Such a complicated explanation for a simple answer: ghosts

[AnthonyCelata]

Only a true gear head would see this happening in his home and immediately think... Carburetor!

[brewmental]

You really do have a terrific ability to develope an idea. A one sided discussion with a camera, but somehow make me feel included. A great analogy this time too. Thank you!

[WolfmanDude]

I just finished your "iconic engine" playlist and loved every second! Maybe you could do a video series on the most terrible engines ever made? It would be sooo interesting to see what went wrong on a in-depth technical level! Your calm, factual and neutral video style would be perfect for this, analyzing if the hate for each engine is really justified.

[tomwatts]

forget engine, you just explained a whole bunch of ghost videos

[LG]

this is one of the best explainations of the venturi effect i have ever seen

[samc]

i went from thinking he went crazy to now being able to pass an auxiliary engine systems parts exam

[rezkidgamingyt]

I really like how you beak things down to make it easier for people to understand the basics of how things work Awsome love your content brother

[OutsideTheTargetDemographic]

For YouTube : My apartment is an internal combustion engine analog

For his wife : And this is PROOF for why I AM NOT THE ONE THAT SLAMS THE HALLWAY DOOR SHUT!!!!

[LyvTube]

I've never studied mechanics in school or with professionals but i've always wondered how the hell all those pieces of technology work, and you systematicaly deliver clear and visual, tangible answers to those questions so well and in a way everybody, at least with a little bit of will, can understand them.
I don't say i'll remember them for ever but at least, you nail it every time, no matter the subject .... thanks so much for the energy and time you put in your explanations to teach us things !!!! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

[JoaoZagoSJC]

Wow. Nice. Now every slam on my house's doors will be understood as combustion stroke! Got it. Love it.

[yuriibubis]

This guy has some amazing ability to entertain with educational videos
Huge thanks for your work my brother!

[YusufGinnah]

That's it!

*Holley* is officially 'The Best House Name' from now on!
😎👍🏼


*EDIT:Ok guys, you can call it Edelbrock if it's a boy house..*

[borismatesin]

Thank you for demonstrating the workings of a carburator at such high risk to your life. It is well known that promaja (a local name for a draft going through the house) causes death, joint pain, neck cricks and the common cold.

[szymoniak]

damn its really impressive how some smart people came up with this. Also, great job on explaining, it's very clear.

BTW, your demonstration would be even better if you used some visible gas to show the air flow in the carburetor

[c.a.r.s.carsandrelevantspecs]

Fantastic video! I can confidently say that this is the most helpful and informative video about the principles of carburetors that I've ever seen! Excellent work! 👍