http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/27/china-builds-a-jet-propelled-water-cannon-just-because-it-can/

China builds a jet-propelled water cannon, just because it can (video)

Quote :

"Just what does $456,000 buy you these days? Well, if you happen to run the fire department of China's Luoyang City, the answer is a jet-propelled water cannon capable of spraying four tons of water per minute. That pretty much qualifies it for a "terminal velocity" badge, as the water is said to move at such speed as to choke fires from the oxygen surrounding them. Maximum range for this blaze blaster is 120 meters (nearly 400 feet), though you'll need to only move a fraction of that distance to click past the break and watch the awesome video of it in action."

4 tons/min

That's a cube of water 5' 2" an edge. Although it is a lot of water, doesn't seem much per minute, so it is useful to look at it per second:

147 lbs/sec
or
67 liters/sec
or
18 gal/sec
or
16 inch cube

And then it does seem a lot.

Video is cool, though I wish they would show a fire being put out to see how quickly it puts out fires.

Cool gadget to have in your backyard...

(Or for security forces to use at protests... I hope not!)

2/1/2011 5:30:50 AM

How do they keep the water supply to the truck coming fast enough to keep the stream continuous?

2/1/2011 9:22:42 AM

In other news, Hasbro has filed suit for patent infringement of it's upcoming Super Soaker turret.

2/1/2011 9:31:31 AM

^^ doesn't seem that bad. Modern tankers have A LOT of pumping power.

2/1/2011 10:50:25 AM

I guess they finally figured out that using tanks to break up protests is a bit of an overkill

2/1/2011 12:57:06 PM

My thoghts exactly.

2/1/2011 7:12:40 PM

a regular 5” fire hose can do 1000GPM.

This might be one of those things that looks more impressive than it is useful.

2/1/2011 7:18:39 PM

actually, the purpose of it was just to get a chinese flash video in front of millions of americans and infect their PCs with old adobe flash exploits.

2/1/2011 7:23:06 PM

^^ which is the same rate as this cannon... however, it is not just the volume of water, but also the speed at which it strikes the flames and burning material. that can make a huge difference.

having said that, it remains to be seem how effective it can be.

i also wonder if they made it with any future use in sight (and replication), or just as a cool one-off.

2/2/2011 6:03:45 AM

Jet engines were used to put out iraq oil fires

2/2/2011 6:19:55 AM

^ So was TNT.

2/2/2011 9:34:57 AM

that newscaster looks 11

2/2/2011 7:09:51 PM

11 or not, she still has a sideways snatch, amirite?

2/3/2011 2:10:58 PM

Quote :

"regular 5” fire hose can do 1000GPM. This might be one of those things that looks more impressive than it is useful."

Regular fire hoses do not use a mixture of water and (nearly) oxygen free air.

This thing more turns regular water into a fire-extinguisher like cloud of smothering fluid/gas or atleast in theory thats what it does... I'm not saying it will work but if it does 1000gpm will not equal 1000gpm.

2/3/2011 4:18:54 PM