Electric Choke vs Manual Choke

[bronco9588]

Can someone explain to me the difference between electric choke and manual choke on an edelbrock carburetor. I have a 440 I need a carb for. Thanks

[John Kunkel]

The electric choke mechanisn has a coiled flat spring that closes the choke when cold, an electric heating element heats the coil and it expands to allow the choke to slowly open; a vacuum piston inside the housing pulls on the choke linkage to hold the butterfly open, the process is totally automatic.

A manual choke is actuated by a cable and requires the operator to monitor the warmup of the engine and open the choke gradually as the engine warms.

I'd go with the electric, I have a habit of forgetting to fully open the manual choke; driving arouns with a partially closed choke does wonders for your gas mileage...not.

[bronco9588]

is the electric carb completely independent or does it need some type of instrument connected to it. Moreover... i'm expecting about 500 ft*lbs in a 440. Would 750 electric be the right size for me?

[roadchicken]

you have to run a wire to the elec choke hot when the ing sw is on. the elec choke carb will come with smaller metering rods.i'd go with the man. choke.although i elect on my rr. i have man choke on a 63 savoy with a 440 and it does great.

[rumblefish360]

Bronco, whats the Max HP level expected and at what RPM?
750 would be doable, but probably smaall, not to a bad degree though.

Below is a picture of a Carter aftermarket AFB just before Edelbrock was the sole maker of the carb.
It has the electric choke on it. You just run a single 12 volt wire to the choke housing (Black plastic round part that is hard to see) And the white wire is the ground wire that can be attached on the carb at any point.

The Red (hot) wire should only be hot when the engine is running or the key in the run position. Not allways on (or hot)

There is no performance advantage in a manual choke carb.

[sthorvictor75duster]

im running a manual choke on my 69 383 and i dont have problems, like rumblefish said...you just have to pay attention to it..other than that, it works great

[Rigormortor]

Im also running a manual choke on my 59 CRL..... I had to use a 1" spacer for the correct height then adjust for the butterfly for the weather, once it is adjusted right it is trouble free.

[sthorvictor75duster]

Originally Posted by Rigormortor

Im also running a manual choke on my 59 CRL..... I had to use a 1" spacer for the correct height then adjust for the butterfly for the weather, once it is adjusted right it is trouble free.

how did the spacer help??

[Rigormortor]

Originally Posted by sthorvictor75duster

how did the spacer help??

Without the 1 inch spacer the choke rod was too long, I had to turn the adjustment on the rich/lean on the spring all the way down and it still would keep the butterfly closed, the 1 inch spacer put the rich/lean right in the middle and the butterfly fully opens at 50 degrees.... im happy with that.