New tests

Looks good doesn't it?

Still doesn't work.

But I feel it's SO close...With the starter fan helping, I've had this engine up to 25,000rpm today.
Blew the water right out of my home-made manometer! Well over a foot of pressure.

At 18000 rpm the casing pressure is 6 inches of H2O (corresponds to 1.0150 bar)

Since I also know that the compressor is capable of delivering 5 inches of H2O at 18000 rpm,
I am optimistic that if I can just squeeze another drop of efficiency out of the compressor, I will have a working engine.

It's literally just an inch away!

I've taken to running indoors now, It's a matter of balancing the risk of an accident with the engine or gas supply against the English weather. It's wintertime. It never gets desperately cold in England in winter
but we have our own special brand of cold rain, wind and sleet that's kept these islands free from invaders for a thousand years..
(No one else is daft enough to want to live here.)