4" Bokakob Column Packing Options

[roachmann]

Hi all, just looking to gauge some opinions here.

I've done plenty of reading on/searching for packing options for my upcoming 4" Bokakob build, and am faced with an unpleasant truth; either I must open my wallet wide, or I must get creative.

I'm looking around for some creative packing options that ideally aren't going to bankrupt me. Copper scrubbers are pretty expensive here, or at least the amount of them I'd need to fill a 4" tube to around 1500mm high makes them cost prohibitive. Glass marbles seem to be no one's first choice any more, and again are cost prohibitive. SPP would naturally be amazing, but I don't much feel like remortgaging the house just to pay for packing, and even raw material cost to make that volume of them is expensive, several hundred dollars for a spool of Stainless mig wire last time I checked. Ceramic staples/rings would be nice, but again, will cost several hundred dollars to get the volume I need.

Natural first thought would be Lava rock/scoria. I'm not sure if anyone else from New Zealand can chime in here, but all the rock I've been able to find here is a solid red colour, not the nice black rock I keep seeing photos of on here. The Red colouration is supposedly caused by iron oxide, which doesn't strike me as being particularly nice to pass your product through. Has anyone tried using red scoria before, and if so, what do you think of it?

Next option which comes to mind is Stainless Steel swarf. I'm a machinist by trade, so I have access to near unlimited volumes of what is essentially sharper than normal Stainless scrubbers. Naturally I'd need to clean it thoroughly, to remove cutting oil residue etc. I've tried searching to see if anyone has used it, the best I could find was people saying it might possibly work ok, but no accounts of it actually being used. Has anyone here tried it, or can anyone think of a reason why it wouldn't work? For the record, I'm talking about long stringy lathe swarf, not small chips. Although I've got plenty of those too!

Sorry for the long winded post, thanks in advance for any input you may have!

[juana_b]

Some have used speaker wire.

[shadylane]

Next option which comes to mind is Stainless Steel swarf. I'm a machinist by trade, so I have access to near unlimited volumes of what is essentially sharper than normal Stainless scrubbers. Naturally I'd need to clean it thoroughly, to remove cutting oil residue etc. I've tried searching to see if anyone has used it, the best I could find was people saying it might possibly work ok, but no accounts of it actually being used. Has anyone here tried it, or can anyone think of a reason why it wouldn't work? For the record, I'm talking about long stringy lathe swarf, not small chips. Although I've got plenty of those too!

All I can say is give it a try and report back on how it works.
I'm running a tall 4" that's currently packed with ceramic rings.
In the past I've used red scoria, black scoria, pebbles, marbles, SS pot scrubbers and coiled SS scrubbies that looked like something from a lathe, that worked better after being teased out and packed.

The red scoria worked, but there was sediment left in the bottom of the boiler after every run.
Bang for the buck is the black volcanic scoria.
Next is the SS pot scrubbers.

[Yummyrum]

I’ve used the red scoria as I can’t find the black stuff here either . As shady said , it works and yiu do end up with red dust in the boiler , but it’s less each time .

[Brewfiend]

Sorry guys never used this to pack a column but to wash scoria you should fill sieve with the rock and dunk it into clean water. Renew the water and each time it will come out cleaner. I'd be interested to see how the scoria compares to stainless steel scrubbers. I don't relish the thought of cleaning it though

[Brewfiend]

I use this method to clean my aquarium filter media

[NZChris]

NZ scoria works well from what what I've smelled coming off a friend's still packed with it.

If you are wanting to build a stainless column, you don't have the flavor advantage that copper brings, so you will to pay the price somewhere along the line, either for the packing or in the final product, your choice.

My Bokakob is built using copper from a scrapyard and cost bugger all. I'm currently getting very good results using copper scrap in the boiler, then marbles, then a knitted copper wire section at the top.

[Brewfiend]

NZ scoria works well from what what I've smelled coming off a friend's still packed with it.

If you are wanting to build a stainless column, you don't have the flavor advantage that copper brings, so you will to pay the price somewhere along the line, either for the packing or in the final product, your choice.

My Bokakob is built using copper from a scrapyard and cost bugger all. I'm currently getting very good results using copper scrap in the boiler, then marbles, then a knitted copper wire section at the top.

My bokakob works fine with sss though. It does have a copper head. I made some adjustments to what I was doing - run my still at a higher wattage and reverted back to 8% ABV washes and all is well.

[NZChris]

I know some people do use Bokakobs to do 'one run and done' from wash, but I never have. Mine gets used for making neutral from feints.

My flavored products are always made with double distillations using simple pot stills because they are the best tools for that purpose.

[Brewfiend]

I know some people do use Bokakobs to do 'one run and done' from wash, but I never have. Mine gets used for making neutral from feints.

My flavored products are always made with double distillations using simple pot stills because they are the best tools for that purpose.

Tripple distilled neutral is delicious

[Brewfiend]

Pot distilling is fine if you have time for that. Go with god

[Saltbush Bill]

I know some people do use Bokakobs to do 'one run and done' from wash, but I never have.

I'd be surprised if many long term distillers do "one and done" when running any sort of reflux for neutral.......its always going to be a far better neutral product if you run low wines, regardless of what the original wash was.

[NZChris]

Pot distilling is fine if you have time for that. Go with god

An extra day spent distilling is bugger all compared to how many years an aged product is going to be cellared for.

[Brewfiend]

A bokakob makes fine flavored spirits, you just have to tune it correctly or incorrectly lol

[roachmann]

Thanks everyone for all the help, I think I'm going to give the swarf a crack and see how it goes. Whatever I end up using, I'll buy some amount of copper scrubbers/mesh, so the vapour has at least SOME copper contact. Not as good as full copper packing/copper column, but I'm on a budget and beggars can't be choosers at this current moment. I'm also very keen to try the red scoria, the people voting in it's favour is reassuring, thank you all for your help.

[Yummyrum]

The trick with scoria is to get the right size .
I had made some sieves for work ( used on Biology field trips) and used them to sort the rock .
Just a piece of chicken wire or bird netting without the fancy pot would work just as well
you need two sizes , one to hold back the larger bit s and and another to let the undersized stuff fall through

[shadylane]

The trick with scoria is to get the right size .

Ya said that right.

[Brewfiend]

The trick with scoria is to get the right size .
I had made some sieves for work ( used on Biology field trips) and used them to sort the rock .
Just a piece of chicken wire or bird netting without the fancy pot would work just as well
you need two sizes , one to hold back the larger bit s and and another to let the undersized stuff fall through

IMG_7971.jpegIMG_7972.jpeg

What sizes in mm please... For the scoria grading