Berkery water filters

[AJCrow]

I'm designing a camper van and trying to figure out water filtering system for drinking water. I came a cross this Berkery water filter system that seems to be the best option for clean water. Not sure if this is going for way too far what comes to drinkable water but I can't shake Will's words about how important clean water is for your health. So my question is: does anyone have any experience with Berkery filters? Are they worth it?

Their website: https://www.berkeyfilters.com/

I was considering the Berkery Light (https://www.berkeyfilters.com/products/berkey-light). This would increase my water supply for about 10 liters and solves the water filtering issue for my tiny home. Also seems like a really easy to maintain, but also quite expensive.

 

[x98myers7]

I have been using a Berkey filter as our primary home system for 2 yrs now. My extended family has been using them for about 10yrs now. The initial purchase is high, but they are simply the best there is. The filters are also expensive, but as long as you are using mostly clear tap water to fill it, the filters will last the 6k gal rating. I have no experience with the flouride filters as we are on a well. We are still on our original filters (2 black). We are at ~2300 gals through ours and we consume ~3gals per day. Overall, I highly doubt you're going to find a better solution for less $.

 

[AJCrow]

I have been using a Berkey filter as our primary home system for 2 yrs now. My extended family has been using them for about 10yrs now. The initial purchase is high, but they are simply the best there is. The filters are also expensive, but as long as you are using mostly clear tap water to fill it, the filters will last the 6k gal rating. I have no experience with the flouride filters as we are on a well. We are still on our original filters (2 black). We are at ~2300 gals through ours and we consume ~3gals per day. Overall, I highly doubt you're going to find a better solution for less $.

Thank you for your reply and insight. I will keep this as my primary option for drinking water filter.

 

[x98myers7]

if you're going to use them to filter lake/stream/untreated water, use a cotton towel, sand/charcoal bucket, or some other form of a pre-filter to remove as much sediment as possible. It will increase your filter life tremendously.

 

[Bobert]

I'm designing a camper van and trying to figure out water filtering system for drinking water. I came a cross this Berkery water filter system that seems to be the best option for clean water. Not sure if this is going for way too far what comes to drinkable water but I can't shake Will's words about how important clean water is for your health. So my question is: does anyone have any experience with Berkery filters? Are they worth it?

Their website: https://www.berkeyfilters.com/

I was considering the Berkery Light (https://www.berkeyfilters.com/products/berkey-light). This would increase my water supply for about 10 liters and solves the water filtering issue for my tiny home. Also seems like a really easy to maintain, but also quite expensive.

We use a Berkey for our family. We initially bought it for our house because we are on a 10’ deep dug well and I was concerned that we could get contaminated without knowing it. And even if we test the water semi annually that could skill be months of bad water before it was discovered. We initially got our water from the nearby village municipal water system which was fine for bacteria concerns but our well water is actually safer from heavy metals as the village probably still has sections of lead or lead laced pipe. The cost in time and fuel was also significant over time so we bought the berkey. The berkey does improve the flavor of the water but I have not independently tested wether it has a significant affect on bacteria count. It does not affect the hardness of the water and although it does remove chlorine flavor from the water it only reduces the flavor of bleach if you don’t rinse your pipes well enough after sanitizing them. We use the berkey in our camper and it works well for us. The biggest challenge is to find a place for it that doesn’t rob valuable space required for other things. We rebuilt a travel trailer and we’re able to create a nook that fit the berkey perfectly and plumed in a little faucet so when we have water in the tank or hookups we can fill it in seconds with ease. We also have the option to fill with a container as well. We are a family of 6 and one of the fringe benefits aside from better water is that less water is wasted by running the faucet longer than needed. I am sceptical of some of the claims made about the berkey and we don’t use it to filter known contaminated water but feel that it does give us a certain amount of protection from unexpected contamination and it certainly evens up the flavor changes between water sources. Sulfur and salt being notable exceptions. Like x98myers7 we use about 3 gallons per day have had our unit for 2 years and have not had to replace the filters yet. We ar pleased with our purchase and if you count 2 trips to the village per week paid itself off long ago.

 

[AJCrow]

Thanks guys for your answers. I'm planning to fill this from my fresh water tank that should be fairly clean already (drinkable or close to drinkable). Also I'm using this solo so filters should last for years? Is the recommended maintenance accurate? That you should clean the lower container once per month? Just trying to get an idea on user experience in a long run.

 

[x98myers7]

yep. I do find the filters tend to get "plugged" toward the bottom over time. to combat this, i use a scrub pad to remove the buildup on the filter (yes, literally scrubbing the charcoal). second, I recommend you only and always fill the top bucket from empty to 100% so the water filters more "evenly", as opposed to adding a partial amount to filter.

 

[Bobert]

yep. I do find the filters tend to get "plugged" toward the bottom over time. to combat this, i use a scrub pad to remove the buildup on the filter (yes, literally scrubbing the charcoal). second, I recommend you only and always fill the top bucket from empty to 100% so the water filters more "evenly", as opposed to adding a partial amount to filter.

We have very hard water at our house. We occasionally scrub the filters with a plastic scrub pad soaked with vinegar to remove the encasing hard water deposits. The deposits are reduced if you macke it a practice to fill the berkey all the way to the top ( make sure the bottom is almost empty first) every time you fill it rather than just adding a little water here and there. When the berkey runs out of water you can usually get one more cup out of it by tipping the entire unit forward. Sooner or later someone will do this and forget to close the bottom valve since no water comes out when you tip it back. When you subsequently fill the berkey with new water the spigot will not run till enough water has been filtered to reach the spigot again. Make a practice of checking the spigot before filling the berkey. There nothing like coming into the camper for a nice cup of water after a long hike only to discover that there’s “ water water everywhere and not a drop to drink”

 

[MurphyGuy]

There's nothing special about a Berkery water filter. Well, unless you count the nice stainless steel container with the water tap at the bottom.

The filters inside them are what make it work, and they are available online from several places including Home Depot.

DOULTON UltraCarb Replacement Ceramic Filter DOULTON-W9123053 - The Home Depot

The Doulton W9123053 UltraCarb 10 in. filter Candle features four stages of filtration in a single cleanable cartridge. It reduces suspended solids, hydrogen sulfide, lead and other trace contaminants,

www.homedepot.com

The filter can be installed into a 5 gallon bucket to work the same way as the Berkery, for far less cost.

If you use a Berkery, and then don't plan to use it for a while, it should be back-flushed with distilled water, then dried to remove all remaining traces of water to extend its shelf life. This is a bit of a pain in the rear.

These filters are basically just an all in one system. They use a sub-micron filtration, followed by a silver impregnated layer to kill bacteria, then a carbon filter to remove bad taste, odors and dissolved gasses.

Nothing wrong with Berkery, but its kind of over priced since the important parts are just the filter cartridges inside.

 

[AJCrow]

There's nothing special about a Berkery water filter. Well, unless you count the nice stainless steel container with the water tap at the bottom.

The filters inside them are what make it work, and they are available online from several places including Home Depot.

DOULTON UltraCarb Replacement Ceramic Filter DOULTON-W9123053 - The Home Depot

The Doulton W9123053 UltraCarb 10 in. filter Candle features four stages of filtration in a single cleanable cartridge. It reduces suspended solids, hydrogen sulfide, lead and other trace contaminants,

www.homedepot.com

The filter can be installed into a 5 gallon bucket to work the same way as the Berkery, for far less cost.

If you use a Berkery, and then don't plan to use it for a while, it should be back-flushed with distilled water, then dried to remove all remaining traces of water to extend its shelf life. This is a bit of a pain in the rear.

These filters are basically just an all in one system. They use a sub-micron filtration, followed by a silver impregnated layer to kill bacteria, then a carbon filter to remove bad taste, odors and dissolved gasses.

Nothing wrong with Berkery, but its kind of over priced since the important parts are just the filter cartridges inside.

Hmm.. interesting..

 

[A.Justice]

 

[MurphyGuy]

He's testing mechanical filters and measuring TDS ?? ROFLMAO

That's a bit like testing a bug screen on your window to see how well it stops smoke from a forest fire.

TDS means: Total DISSOLVED solids. They are dissolved, meaning they are ions and they can not be removed with a typical mechanical filter.
The Zero Water brand worked because it has an ion exchange resin.
The last one was a reverse osmosis system.

Ion exchange is always going to be the winner to remove ions, but they are expensive on a per gallon basis. Reverse osmosis is about half the cost of an ion exchange, and while they don't do as good of a job, what they do is good enough for 99.9% of requirements.

For drinking water, it is not desirable to remove all of the ions. Those ions are beneficial to your body, and while too many of them can impart an undesirable taste to the water or cause surface discoloration, you want some of them to remain.

100 to 150 ppm is about right.

 

[Batvette]

I hear they are the best but if youre in CA they wont ship there.

 

[noenegdod]

He's testing mechanical filters and measuring TDS ?? ROFLMAO

That's a bit like testing a bug screen on your window to see how well it stops smoke from a forest fire.

TDS means: Total DISSOLVED solids. They are dissolved, meaning they are ions and they can not be removed with a typical mechanical filter.
The Zero Water brand worked because it has an ion exchange resin.
The last one was a reverse osmosis system.

Ion exchange is always going to be the winner to remove ions, but they are expensive on a per gallon basis. Reverse osmosis is about half the cost of an ion exchange, and while they don't do as good of a job, what they do is good enough for 99.9% of requirements.

Your making it sound like an ion exchange medium can reduce the TDS. I dont know if this is what you were trying to say or not but an ion exchange medium does not change the TDS. It trades the undesirable ion in the water for a different one. If you have calcium and magnesium chloride in your water and you dont want the scale on your appliances you install a water softener and it will exchange the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium or potassium ions. The TDS before and after the softener will remain the same. You will have removed calcium and magnesium but you added sodium or potassium. The net is the same, just different.

RO actually filters out ions. It takes out almost everything. My RO system pulls out literally everything and is as pure as distilled as it uses a demineralizing filter.

Edit: I just watched the video. Zero is not a "filter" or ion exchange, it is full of demineralization media. It is the same stuff I use as the 6th stage of my RO system. Using it like Zero does is insane. You will exhaust it very quickly.

For drinking water, it is not desirable to remove all of the ions. Those ions are beneficial to your body, and while too many of them can impart an undesirable taste to the water or cause surface discoloration, you want some of them to remain.

100 to 150 ppm is about right.

You cant remove all the junk with out removing all the good stuff too. Ion exchange will not remove fluoride, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals etc. You need RO for that.

The range is a lot broader than that. 0 to as high as 500 tastes quite good. Getting higher than that is an acquired taste. You can add the minerals back in manually by buying them in bulk and adding them from a dropper or you can install a remineralization filter.

I get magnesium from these guys:https://www.greenwaybiotech.com/products/magnesium-chloride-usp and potassium from several different suppliers depending on price. You just mix it in a dropper and add a few squirts depending on what you want the water to taste like. Water is not however a good source of minerals. it supplies a tiny fraction of your daily requirement unless you are fortifying it like above.

 

[Wildoaktrail]

I know I am few months late tot he discussion however I did want to add my family andI have been using a Berkey for almost 4 years now. The water tastes great and you can sure notice a huge difference. I happen to be an authorized dealer for Berkey. If you wanted to learn more you may find this link helpful. Please feel free to reach out for further questions

Berkey Water Filters

Protect Your Family With Safe & Clean Water. Berkey Water Filters remove Contaminants From your Water While Keeping The Beneficial Minerals Your Body Needs. Berkey Water Filters are renowned for their exceptional filtration performance. Their patented Black Berkey® Purification Elements are...

wildoaktrail.com

 

[MurphyGuy]

Your making it sound like an ion exchange medium can reduce the TDS. I dont know if this is what you were trying to say or not but an ion exchange medium does not change the TDS. It trades the undesirable ion in the water for a different one. If you have calcium and magnesium chloride in your water and you dont want the scale on your appliances you install a water softener and it will exchange the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium or potassium ions. The TDS before and after the softener will remain the same. You will have removed calcium and magnesium but you added sodium or potassium. The net is the same, just different.

An ion exchange system most certainly can reduce TDS. DI systems do it all day long. Softeners exchange problematic ions with non-problematic ions.. This usually means sodium goes in, everything else is pulled out in exchange. But DI systems exchange hydrogen and OH for the solids, and since hydrogen and OH are not part of the TDS in the flow, the solids are reduced. Hydrogen is a gas not a solid.

RO actually filters out ions. It takes out almost everything. My RO system pulls out literally everything and is as pure as distilled as it uses a demineralizing filter.

Not all Reverse Osmosis membranes are equal. They can range from ultrafiltration at the lower end, then into the nanofilter range in the middle, and up into the Osmosis range. As the density increases, so does the cost of manufacturing the filter media. I suspect you will find that unless the filters are certified and regulated, there are probably a lot of ultrafilter and nanofilters being sold as reverse osmosis membranes.

I don't know what you have and I'm not intimately familiar with the consumer osmosis market, but if its like everything else, its probably not as high quality as people think. Nor does it really need to be.

Edit: I just watched the video. Zero is not a "filter" or ion exchange, it is full of demineralization media. It is the same stuff I use as the 6th stage of my RO system. Using it like Zero does is insane. You will exhaust it very quickly.

DI systems are Ion Exchange, but they should never be used as a filter because they will, as you suggest, exhaust their capacity in a big hurry.

Typically, in industrial applications, we use a softener first, then a reverse osmosis system, and then a DI to polish off anything remaining.
Reverse Osmosis water will produce a very clean water, but it will still have enough conductivity to pass electrical current being in the range of around 10 to 20 S/cm.. (and probably more like 30 S/cm for a consumer system?) DI systems can reduce the conductivity to around 0.1 or less.

For drinking water, fish tanks, and clean dishwashers, 30 to 50 S/cm is probably fine.. but if you need to use water as a solvent in an submerged electrodeposition process, then you need something well below 1. This is where DI systems come in.

You cant remove all the junk with out removing all the good stuff too. Ion exchange will not remove fluoride, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals etc. You need RO for that.

Depends on the type of ION exchange being used.

That little filter in the video I posted would be a waste of money unless someone was trying to manufacturer their own IC chips at home or doing some kind of organic plating operation or something. I certainly wouldn't waste my money on a DI system for my home. Heck, even an RO system is a waste of money for a household unless you have something nasty in your well or tap water. If I lived in Flint, Michigan, I would most certainly install a reverse osmosis system... Probably a couple of 4" x 40" cartridges from AppliedMembranes to take care of the whole house.

The range is a lot broader than that. 0 to as high as 500 tastes quite good. Getting higher than that is an acquired taste. You can add the minerals back in manually by buying them in bulk and adding them from a dropper or you can install a remineralization filter.

I get magnesium from these guys:https://www.greenwaybiotech.com/products/magnesium-chloride-usp and potassium from several different suppliers depending on price. You just mix it in a dropper and add a few squirts depending on what you want the water to taste like. Water is not however a good source of minerals. it supplies a tiny fraction of your daily requirement unless you are fortifying it like above.

We have well water, and with the exception of the alkalinity being slightly high, and the TDS being stupidly high, we do not have any hazardous contaminates. I installed a Fleck 5600 water softener and our water tastes great.