Carburetor

Component of internal combustion engines which mixes air and fuel in a controlled ratio Two-barrel downdraft Holley 2280 carburetor Cross-sectional schematic A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Venturi effect or Bernoulli's principle or with a pitot tube in the main metering circuit, though various other components are also used to provide extra fuel or air in specific circumstances. Since the 1990s, carburetors have been largely replaced by fuel injection for cars and trucks, but carburetors are still used by some small engines (e.g. lawnmowers, generators, and concrete mixers), motorcycles, and smaller outboard engines. In addition, they are still widely used on piston-engine–driven aircraft. Diesel engines have always used fuel injection instead of carburetors, as they do not compress an air-fuel mix and instead require fuel injection much later in the compression stroke. Etymology The term "carburetor" is derived from the English verb carburet, meaning "to charge with hydrocarbons";