What is a choke for and how does it work, on small engines.
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A gasoline engine generates the force to move the pistons by igniting a mixture of air and fuel. In a car engine, air and fuel are combined in the fuel injection system. In smaller engines, a device called a carburetor is used, which is essentially a big open pipe that sucks in air and mixes it with fuel.
When the engine is cold, the fuel doesn’t evaporate as well as it does when the engine is warm, and it tends to stay as a liquid (condensation) on the walls of the carburetor. So you need to bring in less air from outside to get the engine started. If you brought in the normal amount of air, you wouldn’t have enough gasoline in the cylinder to get the engine started.
The choke is basically a valve that limits how much air is being let into the carburetor. When you close the choke valve, you bring in less air, and then once the engine is warm, you open the choke valve again.
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