Balanced Carburator?....

[Bob-A]

I have found some info on balanced carbs, a Zenith, in the archives. But nobody has actually said that they run one and yes, they can tell a difference in the performance of their "A" Can somebody tell me if they are running a balanced carb and it is a better carb for it? I'm thinking about spending some big bucks on a restored Zenith and I do like running
an air cleaner. TIA

Bob-A

[V4F]

i thought balancing carbs were for more than one . i will be very interested in answers ........... thank you .. steve

[Flathead]

Is this venting the float bowl to the air intake so an air filter won't upset the mixture? A good idea if you use an air filter, as the carb was designed for no filter restriction.

[Rowdy]

Here is a pic of the balanced carb I took severalyears ago.

[steve s]

Balancing refers to equalizing the pressure over the fuel in the fuel bowl with the pressure in the intake area of the carburetor. Any filter that actually filters must necessarily lower the pressure on the filtered side. The problem is that the greater, atmospheric pressure over the fuel will tend to push excess fuel out of the jet(s) making the car run rich. Whether it's a significant, or even noticeable, problem depends on many things. Many people seem to run filters on A's with no problems, at least that they are aware of.

Carbs designed for air filters have an air passage between the fuel bowl head space and the carb throat. Here's a picture of an after-market modification to a B carb that accomplishes the job; the normal air vent to the bowl had to be tapped and plugged.







In my case, I could never get this carb to run well and grasping at the balancing straw proved futile as well.

I understand that Zenith started balancing its carbs in the mid-30's. The model B's came with something that looked like an air filter but was actually more of a silencer. A real, oil-bath air filter was available as an option for extreme use conditions; this required cutting out a section of the engine pan. I assume under such conditions that running a bit rich was of lesser concern.

Steve

[steve s]

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Originally Posted by Rowdy

Here is a pic of the balanced carb I took severalyears ago.

I like this approach a lot better than my gauche rubber hose rigging!

Steve

[BillLee/Chandler, TX]

Another option is to get one of the new Zenith Model A carburetors. #13922 They are balanced. See the Tech Topics on my club's website (link in my signature).