The electronic fuel injection or EFI is an electronic system that manages the fuel injection autonomously in a dynamic way, compared to the manual setting of the carburetor. The EFI injects fuel directly into the throttle body. The amount of fuel required is calculated using a series of electronic sensors as input.
What are the advantages of EFIs on small UAV engines?
There are many advantages of upgrading an engine from carburator to fuel injection. Below you can find some of the most relevant ones:
Easy start
First, it makes starting the engine easier, since the EFI does not require a choke. It works for both hot and cold starting, eliminating one of the main problems of carburetor engines.
Increased safety
Correctly adjusting the carburetor of an engine is a difficult task, that traditionally has only been possible with a lot of experience, based on things like the sound of the engine. It is not at all a precise method, but a wrong carburation can lead to a broken engine, in the works case scenario, or a poor engine performance in most cases. The electronic fuel injection is a precise, automatic and dynamic method that extends the life on the engine, preventing carburation issues and mistakes.
Automatic altitude adjustment
As higher altitude is reached, the fuel / air mixture must be corrected to keep the engine running well. The electronic fuel injection uses the absolute pressure and temperature sensors to automatically compensate for height, unlike the carburetor, which will fail once the atmospheric conditions change, because it can only be adjusted manually and has no possibility for remote adjustment.
Better fuel efficiency
It is possible to get a 25% improvement and even up to 40% under certain conditions if the EFI map is correctly adjusted. Löweheiser provides standard EFI maps for the electronic fuel injection kits, together with the required software and hardware to fine tune the EFI. For the EFI engines and drone generators, every single unit is delivered with a custom EFI map validated in the manufacturer facilities.
It does not require periodic carburation
Carburetor engines require continuous needle adjustments, especially when the atmospheric conditions change or when operating in a different region or altitude. Carburetor needle adjustments are no longer needed with an EFI.
It was quite informative when you told us that electronic fuel injection is a system that directly injects fuel into the throttle, which is suitable for small UAV engines that need an easy start and better fuel efficiency. I imagine if you own vehicles needed for your business, it would help to have an EFI system to use for them to properly manage your fuel source. I’ll keep this in mind in case I ever need fuel injection in the future.