Copper Pipe instead of mesh

[birdgunner]

Hi Y'all,
Quick question, I have a Brewhaus rig and mostly run it as a pot now, depending on what you read and who's philosophy you elect to follow, pending you see merit in loosely stuffing the pot column with copper mesh could you instead use a say 1" diameter copper pipe that runs/rests from the bottom of the mash kettle up the column a good ways and achieve the same results or would the surface area of the pipe not be enough and you wouldn't get the same reaction with the sulfur to produce as clean of end product as with the mesh?
A pipe would be much easier to clean and remove the oxidation as opposed to discarding/replacing the mesh after the recommended 4-5 times of use is what got the gears thinking this way.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks.