How you pack your column

[Dancing4dan]

Looking for discussion on how you pack a column with copper or SS mesh or scrubbies. As in what is your technique? The idea of not to tight but tight enough is pretty subjective and I have been unable to find a description of "how" to pack a column that will result in consistent packing throughout the column height and width.

Do you use a broom handle and ram it in?

Do you just keep shoving more scrubbies in by hand until they start to come out the other end?

Do you have a formula used to determine how much packing? Ie so many ounces of copper for every inch of column height and diameter.

I have a 2" copper packed column that is 45" tall. Initially not being sure how to get the packing done I just started rolling up a bunch of copper mesh and shoving it down the column. But it didn't seem to be very consistent and it was getting tighter the more I shoved in. When almost done I accidentally dropped the column on one end. Suddenly the column was only 1/2 full again. The mesh had slipped together and compressed under its own weight. Gave me an idea so I emptied the column and started to make loose fitting rolls and thumped the bottom of the column on the floor. This caused the copper to compress down at the bottom. I just kept adding more copper mesh and thumping the column on the floor from about 8 - 10 inches above the floor until the column was full. The copper reached its own level of compression and seems to work fine.

Look forward to hearing how you do this.