ceramic rings meant for using in an aquarium

[higgins]

Deleted post - it was a duplicate of an earlier post I made in this thread.

[Salt Must Flow]

Deleted post - it was a duplicate of an earlier post I made in this thread.

I read your previous post. What's important to note is the power you operate at (how many watts), the take-off rate and the % ABV. Operating info is important in order to compare and/or reproduce results.

For instance if you are getting 95% ABV, but not more than 1 LPH, that would perform better than someone who gets less than 1 LPH and perform lower than people who can get 1.75 LPH at 95% ABV. If you try increasing your power a bit and find that it floods consistently then you know where the bottleneck is with that packing.

Another example, I've always wanted to try SPP, but after comparing people's column diameter, packed height, power, take-off rate and % ABV, I am perfectly happy with Lava Rock. I get just as good, if not better results and with no hint of flooding. SPP no longer interests me due to the cost vs reported performance.

[higgins]

SMF,
I have added another 6" spool since that previous post to make my packed length 42".
My last neutral run with 41% ABV low wines was a little over 2 LPH at 1500 watts, and I got 95% ABV.
I'm quite happy with that.

[Jabman]

In all my testing, ceramic rings are absolute shit. Don't waste your money. They produce lower % ABV and cause the column to flood. Copper mesh and scrubbers work better. Lava Rock works MUCH better than copper mesh and far better than scrubbers. Lava Rock is also less expensive.

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

[Salt Must Flow]

In all my testing, ceramic rings are absolute shit. Don't waste your money. They produce lower % ABV and cause the column to flood. Copper mesh and scrubbers work better. Lava Rock works MUCH better than copper mesh and far better than scrubbers. Lava Rock is also less expensive.

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

I bought these.

I should be starting a sugar wash tomorrow afternoon and another on Monday so next weekend or next Monday I'll be repeating the tests again.

[OtisT]

I don’t think it’s true to throw out statements like rings are shit and flood, or rocks work fine. There are variables that will make either flood or make either give you decent results.

With rings or rocks, if the open space is too little for your power/reflux settings or if you apply too much power and reflux, the column will flood. If the rings or rocks have too much open space you will not get the best separation.

Different column diameters and/or different power operating ranges will require different sized packing. The trick is finding the right size packing for your column diameter and power range.

[drmiller100]

In all my testing, ceramic rings are absolute shit. Don't waste your money. They produce lower % ABV and cause the column to flood. Copper mesh and scrubbers work better. Lava Rock works MUCH better than copper mesh and far better than scrubbers. Lava Rock is also less expensive.

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

12:to 13mm work well

[Windy City]

In all my testing, ceramic rings are absolute shit. Don't waste your money. They produce lower % ABV and cause the column to flood. Copper mesh and scrubbers work better. Lava Rock works MUCH better than copper mesh and far better than scrubbers. Lava Rock is also less expensive.

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

12:to 13mm work well

For what??
That really depends on the diameter of the column.
I have a 4” packed column and the proper size of SPP would be 10 mm x15 mm. I compromised with 15mm x 15mm Siporax and it has worked out very well.
The size of your packing ie:SPP, lava rocks,Siporax etc should be sized to your diameter of your column.

[drmiller100]

In all my testing, ceramic rings are absolute shit. Don't waste your money. They produce lower % ABV and cause the column to flood. Copper mesh and scrubbers work better. Lava Rock works MUCH better than copper mesh and far better than scrubbers. Lava Rock is also less expensive.

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

12:to 13mm work well

For what??
That really depends on the diameter of the column.
I have a 4” packed column and the proper size of SPP would be 10 mm x15 mm. I compromised with 15mm x 15mm Siporax and it has worked out very well.
The size of your packing ie:SPP, lava rocks,Siporax etc should be sized to your diameter of your column.

Why? I disagree for 2 to 4 inch columns.

[shadylane]

I'll be starting a couple of large sugar washes very soon. I will repeat the testing of the ceramic rings to compare with my previous test results. If there's any specific testing anyone wants done, speak up. I plan to start at low power, stabilize the column, take-off at different rates and test the % ABV. Step up the power and repeat.

Do all the comparisons at a relatively fast, but fixed take off rate.
I think that would be more of a real world ABV measurement.
If your rig can piss azeo at 1 liter per hour, do all the runs at 2 liters per hour.
Then compare the ABV.

[Salt Must Flow]

I'll be starting a couple of large sugar washes very soon. I will repeat the testing of the ceramic rings to compare with my previous test results. If there's any specific testing anyone wants done, speak up. I plan to start at low power, stabilize the column, take-off at different rates and test the % ABV. Step up the power and repeat.

Do all the comparisons at a relatively fast, but fixed take off rate.
I think that would be more of a real world ABV measurement.
If your rig can piss azeo at 1 liter per hour, do all the runs at 2 liters per hour.
Then compare the ABV.

As OtisT basically said, it's not fair to make a general claim about any type of packing. It depends on the column diameter, column height, packing size, power input, take-off rate and % ABV. I can test it with with my 3" VM column listing the results based on each variable. I figured I'd test both packing at many different power ranges, each with many takeoff-rates and test the % ABV of each. I will list the dimensions of both packing and the results of every test. The only thing that would be subjective is odor and taste. The rest would be perfectly objective. I'll also be listening to the column throughout its height with a stethoscope and making note of if or where the column is beginning to flood (making a sizzling sound).

If anyone can think of any other reasonable variable, I will add it to the list. Height is a variable. I plan to use 12" of copper mesh and 5' of the compared packing.

[Salt Must Flow]

I'll be starting a couple of large sugar washes very soon. I will repeat the testing of the ceramic rings to compare with my previous test results. If there's any specific testing anyone wants done, speak up. I plan to start at low power, stabilize the column, take-off at different rates and test the % ABV. Step up the power and repeat.

Do all the comparisons at a relatively fast, but fixed take off rate.
I think that would be more of a real world ABV measurement.
If your rig can piss azeo at 1 liter per hour, do all the runs at 2 liters per hour.
Then compare the ABV.

I will be sure to do that too.

[Windy City]

Its just that I dont have time or motivation to crush lava rocks to specific size 12-24 hours. Here the price of lava rocks and 2 packs of ceramic rings/balls equals. So why not test first with them?

Did you stick same manufacturer rings or did you test others too?

12:to 13mm work well

For what??
That really depends on the diameter of the column.
I have a 4” packed column and the proper size of SPP would be 10 mm x15 mm. I compromised with 15mm x 15mm Siporax and it has worked out very well.
The size of your packing ie:SPP, lava rocks,Siporax etc should be sized to your diameter of your column.

Why? I disagree for 2 to 4 inch columns.

I came to that conclusion on sizing from reading on this forum and other research on ADI.
Check out this link.
viewtopic.php?t=71777

Also check out DAD300 response.
Re: SPP packing questions?
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Post by DAD300 » Sat Aug 11, 2018 11:43 am

Dia approx ~1/10th the dia = 10mm]
The length should be ~150% of the dia.
100mm column = 10mm x 15mm spp

Made from .030 wire, will not crush under it's own weight.

24"s of column will take almost a gallon and weigh about 13lbs.

Sounds big compared to the tiny stuff for sale but works fantastic in 4".