The carburettor was a device invented by the Hungarian scientists Donat Banki and Janos Csonka back in 1893, the earliest days of the motoring industry. A carburettor is a specialised device which mixes fuel and air together at the right concentrations and feeds this mixture into the engine. A carburettor consists of an open pipe, through which air passes into the inlet manifold of the engine. Below the open pipe of the carburetor is a throttle valve, which is a rotating disc that can be turned end-on to the airflow, or rotated to the other extreme, where air is almost completely blocked from entering the inlet manifold. The throttle valve of the carburetter controls the flow of air through the valve opening and thus controls the quantity of air to the fuel mixture that the system will deliver. A carburettor thus regulates the engine’s power and speed. The throttle is connected through to the driver’s accelerator pedal. Fuel is introduced into the iar flow through tiny holes at the narrowest part of the open air pipe just prior to the throttle valve.

During the seventies and eighties, a favourite way of making a car go faster was by adding an extra carburettor. If you have ever had the joy of driving a twin-carburettor motor car, you will have noticed the peppy performance at higher engine revs.

A carburettor needs regular tuning to prevent the fuel mixture from “running rich”. Your nose will tell you if your car is running rich, as the amount of petrol fumes will increase. And also, the car will run “rough”. If you have noticed these things happening to your car, then it is time to get the carburettor seen to.
We hope that helps answer the question ‘What is What is a Carburettor?’!

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