Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-09-03
Barney 0ldff@@!d1 says:
Copyright. 1929. by King Feature Services
HOW THE ENGINE OF YOUR
MOTOR CAR OPERATES

WQeu you put gaSonue III the tdnh
attached to your car, where does it
explanation is in the operation Of the
engine and in order fully to under
stand we shall start with the car
buretor and work from that point.
A carburetor is simply a device to
mix gasoline and air to form a gas
that will burn. 1t does this by
spraying the gasoline like a perfume
atomizer into a narrowed space IN
the inside of the device which causes
the air to- rush past at high speed.
Instead of a rubber bulb to force
the liquid through by pressure, the
suction of the engine serves to suck
in air. The gasoline feeds to the
spray and nozzle in such a way that
it will flow by gravity to the top,
but not quite, so that it cannot flood.
This level is controlled by the float
feed. which is simply a little tank
on the side of the carburetor, which
it kept full to this constant level by
q float of cork or metal, which acts
on the supply valve, much like the
familiar ball valve in a water tank.
The Vacuum Feed
Most cars today use feed,
though most owners do not realize
Lndt Nv SupPOSCu III SbSAs
working is no greater than that in
the carburetor itself, for the vac
uum tank is practically a large sized
auxiliary float chamber, which, in
stead of feeding to a spray nozzle,
empties into a second chamber which
feeds by gravity, that is, run down
hill, to the carburetor. First, there
is a tube leading from the gasoline
tank tothe float chamber of the
vacuum tank. Another tube runs
from there to the inlet manifold. OF
course, while the engine is run, there
is suction in the inlet manifold, or
gas-pipe which conducts the gas from
the carburetor to the cylinder valves.
When the float chamber of the
vacuum tank is nearly empty, the
float opens the valve in the tube lead
ing to the inlet manifold. This al
lows the inlet manifold suction to
suck gasoline out of the tank, just
as we suck ice cream soda from a
glass with a straw. When the vac
uum tank float chamber has been
filled just as we fill our mouths, it
swallows the gasoline into the feed
tank, corresponding to our stomachs.
1t cannot empty its float chamber
before it has been filled because the
suction closes a little check valve
leading to the lower chamber and
keeps it closed until the float rises
enough to shut off the suction, when
it can flow by gravity.
Inlet Valves
This is the start of the series of
simple processes and simple appara-
tus that make up the operation of
the motor car. When the gasoline
has been sucked out Of the tank, con-
nected to the carburetor, sprayed
into the air which the engine is
sucking through the intake manifold
manifold simply means a pipe which
connects with several cylinders-it
is ready to enter the cylinders and
do its work.
1t is admitted to the cylinder. a
cylindrical hole in the cylinder block
which is one of four, six, Ell hit or
twelve, depending on the car, through
the inlet valve. This is simply a
piece of steel shaped something ike
a mushroom, which fits into a hole,
like the stopper in the bathtub. 1t
is opened by a simple mechanism and
when not opened is held closed by a
spring on its stem. The opening
mechanism is simply a push-dash at
the end of the valve stem, which
bears on a shaft called the camshaft,
so that it turns once to the crank
shafts twice. On this shaft are a
series of bumps, known as cams.
Every time one of these bumps turns
around it strikes the end of the push
rod and makes it jump and open the
valve. The size, shape and position
Of each bump. of course, is carefully
determined to make each valve open
and close just at the right time.
How Cylinders Work
The inlet valve always opens when
the piston is going down, SO that a
suction will be created in the cylin-
der to suck in the gas. This pis-
ton is simply a smaller cylinder, the
top of which is closed, which is tele-
scoped inside Of the cylinder prop
err. A connecting rod is jointed 70
the piston and to the crankshaft, so
that as the crankshaft revOlves the
piston moves up and down. Since
the crankshaft and camshaft are
geared together in such a way that
the crankshaft makes two revolutions
TO the camshaft's one, it is thus seen
that the inlet valve opens only every
other time the piston moves down.
The inlet valve closes after the
piston has reached the bottom of its
again so that the gas is trapped in
the cylinder with both valves
closed. Thus it is squeezed between
the piston and cylinder, or COM
pressed. This is done because the
gas will burn much more. rapidly
and produce a stronger explosion
when compressed. When the piston
has about reached the top of it's
COMPRISING stroke is the best time
to touch the gasoline blast which we
have prepared in the cylinder. This
Is done by an electric spark, which,
in most cars today is obtained from
a storage battery. This spark causes
the gasoline to explode, just as a
barrel filled with gasoline vapor
would explode if a lighted cigarette
were dropped into it.
The Exhaust Valve
The cylinder is such a strong bar
rel. however, that it does not blow
all to pieces, but remains unframed
and the piston Is driven down forci-
bly, by the explosion, thus imparting
a turning motion TO the c~rankshaft.
In an engine having only one cylin-
der, this monetary impulse is all the