Carburetors - Taught By A Shop Teacher

I'm teaching my classes from home, and interesting challenge for Metalwork and Mechanics.

My students were going to start my Fuel System section of theory once we got back from Spring Break, only we didn't get back from Spring Break.

At the start of each lesson, I do a bit of a "song and dance" intro to help the kids down the path of the unit. This is pretty much what I do in class.

Give it a watch, and let me know if it makes sense to you!  It's a bit on the longer side, but for most of us, we have time, eh??

First, good on you for teaching carbs in an era where many don't know what they are.

Second, one thing, of many, I thought was cool about Auto Shop with Mr. Kyle, was we got to actually DO things, vs read about.  We took simple Rochester 2bbl carbs first and disassembled them and were told what each part did. Then we reassembled them. Each student then attached their rebuild to an old Chevy 283 and fired it up and adjusted it to  spec. I really loved that class. 

I'm amazed at your ablity to draw the piston, rods, and combustion camber so well and quick.

Man the SUs on my British car are simple by comparison...

Great video!

Excellent job!

You are my kind of psycho.  Nice work.

Very well done. 
 

Also PSI>KPA. AMERICA!

In reply to L5wolvesf :

My Level 1's (for whom this video is directed), "rebuild" an engine including giving me the full autopsy. Some of the engines they can run. They also learn engine support systems.

Level 2's rebuild a manual transmission, rebuild an alternator or starter AND explain how they work (including where the magnetic fields come from, etc), and do "troubleshooting" where I maim THEIR car, and they have to get it going again.

Level 3's learn mostly vehicle performance and modifications, and rebuild an automatic, and set up a ring & pinion.

Rebuilding isn't taught in the apprenticeship programs anymore.  But I'm not training apprentices - I'm inspiring kids, giving them skills to select/maintain/repair their own vehicle (our student demographics are largely low/middle class), and in some cases pointing them into a career parth.

barefootskater said:

Very well done. 
 

Also PSI>KPA. AMERICA!

Yeah, but then I have to talk PSI for pressure, and inHg for vacuum.  If I can just stick to one unit of measurement.....

The main reason I focus on kPa, is the next unit is EFI, and when they are reading a MAP sensor, it will already make sense to them.

It's well done. I shared it on my Facebook.

When i talk about carbs I usually start off by talking about toilets.  

When i talk about venturis I usually use that as a segue into talking about how low pressure changes freezing/boiling points and relate that to vaporization. I usually bring up how bridges will form ice even when temp is above freezing as another mundane sort of analogy. 

I liked the video. I'm teaching from home right now but haven't actually made any videos yet. I'm just doing 'synchronous' Zoom meetings and lecturing with powerpoints. I anticipate going back up to the school lab and filming some stuff in the coming weeks. This whole thing is pretty tragic for anyone who was going to school (and paying for it!) to learn a HANDS ON skill. 

In reply to SkinnyG :

Is this gonna be on the test?

You are very good at this. I learned stuff and I really enjoyed it. I would sign up for your class. Please keep the lessons coming!

I better up my online teaching content  . . .

This was awesome, thanks so much. I love the teaching style and I've been looking into race karting and they all run carburetors. Now I know what the instructors at the karting school were futzing with on the two stroke carbs and why there was a low speed and high speed screw.

I'll definitely follow along on the channel and take the shop class I should have a few decades ago. 

Vigo said:

When i talk about carbs I usually start off by talking about toilets.  

 

SkinnyG said:

In reply to L5wolvesf :

My Level 1's (for whom this video is directed), "rebuild" an engine including giving me the full autopsy. Some of the engines they can run. They also learn engine support systems.

Our school got very lucky somehow. We had an old Allison P51 engine as our demo / practice on engine. 

Great video Greg, although it really reinforces for me what a Rube Goldberg-ian contraption a carb is. They were pretty good at supporting combustion, but terrible at supporting optimal combustion, which is why there are none around anymore on new emissions legal vehicles. It also makes me appreciate the elegant simplicity of the SU design.

Got a fellow at work with an old MG that isn't running right. I'm a little intimidated, as I have zero experience with SU's.  I'm good with Webers, Holleys, Rochesters, Carters..... SUs are black magic and voodoo to me.

In reply to SkinnyG :

Is he shifting at 5000rpm and not 2?

Great carb video!  That helped put some of the pieces together for me. Yes I've owned stuff with carbs, but never could adjust them properly.  Luckily I had a friend who could.

There's an old expression about British cars - 90% of the carb problems are in the ignition system.  I'd go over that carefully first. Then check compression, valve clearances, fuel flow before messing with the carb(s).  

I believe he added Pertronics.

A while back I went to look, and there was fuel pissing out from everywhere, possibly from either a stuck float or too high a fuel pressure.  I didn't really look beyond that, and I haven't been back.

Yeah, they don't like much fuel pressure. Stuck float is plausible or old, tired gaskets.

SkinnyG said:

Got a fellow at work with an old MG that isn't running right. I'm a little intimidated, as I have zero experience with SU's.  I'm good with Webers, Holleys, Rochesters, Carters..... SUs are black magic and voodoo to me.

SUs are surprisingly easy. A Holley scares me. Too many parts! Most of the problems I've had with SUs, besides just being out of adjustment, were caused by worn throttle butterfly shafts or leaky float valves.

Damn I need to improve my online class content. Good on you.  I think my students would love this kind of thing right now being stuck at home.