Air Maze, here we go again!

H

hangarb7

Senior Member
Hey I just wanted to hear what the bad things are about the AirMaze. I see some think they are bad but I can't find the reason why. Do they hold fumes or what?

Been using one for about 7 years and I know the car came from the factory with nothing at all.

Just tell me what you think.

THANKS!

JackD
 
I don't use one and I'm not and expert, but my understanding is that the air maze restricts the air flow to the carburator which can cause the car to run too rich and possible reduce power due to the carb not "breathing" enough. Please correct me if I am wrong.
 
The only thing that is bad, is if you put a paper filter in it. It will get wet with gas, so if there is a backfire , it can ruin your whole day. The restriction to air flow is only theoretical. It would be very hard to measure the small restriction.
 
Hi Jack D,

FWIW, this is what I think; however, thoughts with no actual experience will always vary considerably.

1. Any air constriction on the carburetor intake that does not allow "enough" air to enter the carburetor, will generate a carburetor mixture with too much fuel and not enough air; hence, the mixture is classified as "rich" in fuel whereby one begins to get excess black soot and carbon build up on plugs and in the interior of the combustion chamber.

2. After time, carbon builds up around valve openings constricts the flow of the fuel/air mixture; hence, engine efficiency is greatly hampered until one scrapes off this carbon build up around valves and cleans plugs so plugs can fire properly.

3. If a typical metal air maze's outer surface intake area is about 10 times larger in square inches than the approximately 4.75 square inches of the open intake of a carburetor, it should allow sufficient air where air starvation will not occur; however, if an air maze gets clogged with dirt, air starvation can occur.

4. Today's finer filter element surfaces must have larger outer surfaces to work properly because air passage through these finer materials is less. (Carburetor balance is a different subject and option.)

5. My Model A in the late 1950's came with a carburetor filter made with a large "rigged" tin can open on both ends filled with a few oil soaked non-ferrous "Brillo Pads". (Also had no engine pans on either side of engine).

6. With only gravel roads in our rural area, I cleaned the makeshift oiled "Brillo Pads" every weekend in a clean coffee can with clear kerosene. My guess is that it filtered about a teaspoon and a half of medium to coarse sand every week.

7. Air mazes are required by Coast Guard regulations on marine engines in case of engine backfire -- air filters on open compartment marine engines operating on water are considered almost useless because of little dust in the air.

This is only what I think. LOL
 
I've read that they can get saturated with fuel and if the carb backfires it can start on fire, this seems plausible to me. That's a decent reason to question them but I removed mine because she just starts and runs better without it (and with the engine pans installed and asphalt roads I'm not worried about not running a filter). This is all personal opinion so do what you want with your car and enjoy the ride.

Wally
 
The "AIR MAZE" will catch small birds and large rocks.
MIKE :) (mikeburch)
I don't think that you have to worry about air restriction.
 
Sarah came with one, very saturated from a bad leaking carb. I took it off, found a way to keep the carb from leaking by turning the gas off and letting it run out. But, considering I live on oil and chipped roads, dust and chips can end up being sucked inside, I don't have pans on, I did put a maze back on, a new one. If I live on a constant hardtop roads, I'd take it back off. I do have pans to put on and I might take it back off when the pans are installed.....maybe.
 
The original metal screen AirMaze is not as restrictive as a paper element would be, but there is still some restriction. They were intended to be cleaned periodically and then oiled again (not run dry). Dust and dirt is supposed to stick to the oily surface. It probably does, for a while. As it does, it probably also increases the flow restriction. I always viewed them as keeping the big stuff out of the engine.

Flow restriction from any air filter on a stock Zenith carb will make it run richer (kind of like having the choke partially closed). You can compensate for some of this by closing the GAV, but once it is fully closed, you are out of adjustment.

If you "pressure balance" the Zenith carb, the restriction does not make it richer any more, but it does somewhat reduce maximum power (kind of like not being able to fully open the throttle). Most of us do not run our Model As at wide open throttle for a long time, so this is probably a minor point.

Roads today are not as dusty as they were in the '20s and '30s. Engine pans help to keep the inlet to the carb cleaner. So I would not worry about running without an air filter.
 
As said the original Air-Maze had a metal screen and I can't see how it can detrimentally restrict a Model A carburetor. I've been running one for the 39 years I've owned one just because some folks say you can't, and, it came with it.
But, do they help? As said, they'll only filter out sticks, stones and small children. And if you want to filter any dirt at all they should be oiled constantly. I don't own enough stock in Mobil/Exxon for that, nor do I have the time.
So I guess the main reason I use it is cuz I like the looks of it.
 
I have the metal screen Air Maze filter in my Model A. I can't discern any restriction of air into the carb with my Air Maze. The one I'd be concerned about is the paper filter. I can really see how that filter could restrict air flow. I just have to remove my filter every once in a while and clean it, dry it and reinstall it back on my carb.
Rog
 
I agree with those in favor.....I have one with the metal screen, never had any issue, car runs and idles perfectly for a stock driving "A".
 
I read, "somewhere" that with a paper element filter, you need 1 square inch of filtering area for each 2 square inches of engine displacement??
What do you all think????
Bill W.
 
No expert, but both of my cars came with one, with paper elements. They were soaked with gas. I removed the one from my sedan, replacing it with one of the newer plastic ones with K&N filters. What a difference it made. While it is true that roads are not as dusty as they once were, what engine do you know that has been made for the last 60 years that does not have a filter? Few, if any. There is a reason for that.
 
An Air-Maze came on my car when I bought it. It ran great. I replaced the carb because it had a machining defect so I bought an air balanced carb. Put the Air-Maze on it and it ran the exact same as the first carb. So that led me to believe it doesn't restrict air flow and I'm very glad to have it. It collects a lot of junk on the outside that I occasionally wash off. Glad that junk doesn't go through the engine.
 
I'm sorry but maybe I'm just in a bad mood but you knew this thread was going to be problematic by your title "..here we go again".

A simple search will find a ton of information on the air maze, unbalanced pressures, fire hazards, etc. They will also show the mods used to over come these things.
 
Hi Jack D,

Being in a good mood, after a possible 40 trillion Forum responses to benefits of Air Mazes much later in the year 3046, one may then in 3046 be able to possibly agree on the following:

If you have carbon build up on your plugs or in your combustion chamber, adding an Air Maze will not help to clean your plugs.

But, we today on this Forum know better ....... there will always be someone in 3046 who swears his Air Maze completely overhauled his engine on a 3 mile trip. LOL
 
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