Sometimes people just have ideas, right? These guys who have a fabrication business of some sort that includes a bad ass 60,000psi water jet. They had previously cut a turbocharger smooth in half with the water jet and for their next trick decided to buy a cheapie turbo and then strap it down to the table. Not content to just spool the thing, they got the idea to fill a 12′ diameter weather balloon with the turbo pumping the air and the water jet spinning the turbo. This is kind of awesome.
It’s tough to get a physical representation of what kind of air a turbo actually moves so this is a neat way to “see” it. It’s pretty enlightening to see how quickly the balloon is filled. It’s even more amazing that the turbo did not seize without lubrication and the wash from the water jet being undoubtedly sucked in when it was spooled up.
Educational? No. Fun and interesting? Yes.
At least these clowns aren’t cutting off each others body parts….?