Berkey water filter system - which one?

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Interesting......I didn't see anywhere that the black filters needed to be primed. I didn't do that.:oops: Whoops!

I also didn't get the primer kit for the black filters with my Berkey......I wonder why?

I'm not sure if home depot sells the berkeys or just the cleaning kit. I did find some cleaning kits on ebay for about $17. Although, I think a scrubbie from the dollar store would do the trick. It's likely that most people don't even know they need to be (or even can be) cleaned. I had never heard of it until this post.
 
Apparently priming it isn't absolutely necessary since mine seems to work just fine now. But, it does explain why it took so long for that first bucket of water to drain through. Live and learn...... At least I'll know to prime them when/if I ever replace the filters.

Amish, that's a great idea to have one in a remote location to ensure that you'll have good drinking water. That actually would be a great idea if we ever went on a long over the road camping trip, which is on my bucket list someday. Thanks for spurring on that idea! When we go camping now we just take a 5 gallon gott of fresh water from home (for coffee/drinking/cooking), which works fine, but would be impossible for a longer trip.......now, problem solved! I just don't trust the hook ups at camp sites, so now I won't have to worry about it.

Hopefully this thread will help anyone else who is new to the berkey family.:cool:
 
I was training a new employee today on our disaster preparedness plan, required for every school. And we were talking water storage and food storage for the school. So for shelter in place, we have a closet with (2) 55 gal water containers. The water has been treated with bleach in the correct amounts. We have a hand pump to pump it out, but I would pump it into our 5 gallon Igloo dispenser, then lug it out, then pour it through the Berkey for drinking. When we did lose power once, the Igloo came in handy for hand washing. Took it outside to the picnic table, full of water, and students could wash their hands there. Also keep 3 five gallon bottles full of filtered water ready at all times. I can dump unfiltered down the toilets to flush. We're on septic and well at the school, at our home, and at the farm. Would like to resurrect the outhouse that is falling over at the farm. It could come in handy.
 
I was a bit upset with my berkey yesterday when I went down to fill my water bottle and found that the berkey had leaked all over my counter.:mad: I figured the leak was around the spigot but that was dry. I could not find a leak at that time. So, I decided to fill it again to see if I could reproduce the leak. I did. Apparently you can't fill the top tank past a couple of inches or so when the bottom tank is full. I thought I'd just fill er' up while I was at it......mistake. I found that there is a small hole in the back of the bottom tank toward the top that I'm sure is an air vent but water will be foreced out thru that if the upper tank is filled while the lower tank is already maxed out.

Live and learn I guess...... I hope this helps someone else who gets a new berkey.
 
So here is a fun fact we had to have ours shipped to a relative in the next state due to a Kommifonia lead law. Berkey didn't feel like bowing to anti lead paperwork.
 
Too bad you can't do the same with guns, ammo and magazines. ;)
 
Check out Jeff "the Berky Guy" Glesson over at Directive21.com. Can't beat his service and has some really good prices sells the units and filters and can answer any questions you might have on them.
I didn't add a link in case that's against the rules.
 
So I decided my Berkey needed to be cleaned today. I saw a slight yellow color on the floor of the top bucket. So, I got a scrubbie and went to work. It wasn't very hard to do. I didn't use any soap, just scrubbed with warm water. I scrubbed out both buckets, although the one below the filters really wasn't dirty. However, those black filters were slippery! You could see the yellowish film on the black filters and the plugs too. After I scrubbed everything so that they weren't slippery or yellow, it was just a matter of putting it all back together. I'm sure it will decrease my filter time again. I think the film is b/c I put soft water in the Berkey, which I don't think is recommended. At least now I know, with my usage, I need to clean it every 4 months or so.
 
Peanut said:
Tip - I keep silver dimes in my British Berkefeld (Berky equivalent). The silver kills any bacteria, including slime that tries to grow in the containers.
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Good idea Peanut! I'f never thought of that,now to find a silver dime.Is that copper they wrap the edges in now?
 
I keep dimes in my water pitcher in the fridge or if I make a gallon of tea I'll drop a couple in. The water stays fresh, never gets a stale taste.
 
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Meerkat said:
Good idea Peanut! I'f never thought of that,now to find a silver dime.Is that copper they wrap the edges in now?
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Those are wafer coins. They are a sandwich of silver and copper. They are probably better than nothing. Go to a coin or precious metals place and ask for junk silver. It is 90% old silver coins, dimes, quarters half dollars, and silver dollars. Some coins are 40% but you want the 90%. You could also buy silver bullion. the bugs you will be killing won't know the difference. I believe the filters are silver impregnated, mine are anyways.
 
I'm looking at getting another Berkey for a family member for a Christmas gift. I should have bought 2 units when I bought my first one. Oh, well. So, I went looking this morning for a Berkey Light with both 2 white filters and 2 black filters. It looks like the white filters are out of stock on many sites, although I did find some. For the entire thing (with all 4 filters) the best price I can find is $308.

Does anyone use a prepping site that sells these units that may also have a coupon code? If anyone can find a place that can beat the above price, I'd appreciate a reply to this post. Thanks!
 
NevadaBlue said:
Sorry, I thought you were looking for ‘candle’ options. Another real way to get a ‘Berkey’, is to make one from 5 gallon buckets. Just buy the candles. Youtube of course, for instruction.
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YouTube has its problems but it is fantastic for learning all kinds of things,plus some good old movies on it too.
I saw one DIY where they used sand and home made charcoal to purify water.
 
I kinda got sticker shock with the Berkeys myself. But I have wondered whether I couldn't make something out of some cheap dollar store stainless steel stock pots. I think I'd prefer that over plastic buckets.
 
I went back to the first site I looked and was amazed that the Berkey Light was back in stock! :great:
It seems these days when something is out of stock, it's out forever. I found one at the same place I bought my first Berkey with 2 white filters and 2 black filters for $279 total shipped to my door. I went ahead and added on an extra 2 black filters since it looks like they are going out of stock in some places too (and the prices are going up), so my entire order was $384 with a coupon code. I didn't think that was too bad considering that will filter a lot of water!
I'm pretty sure I know who I'm giving this to, but if that plan changes, it'll be nice to have a backup to the one I have now. I'd be pretty bummed without it, since I use it several times a day.
 
I have the Berkey light unit and thought I share a tid bit about it. I've had my Berkey for a while now and use it every day. I still have the original filters on it, although I've had to clean the black filters more often now....as expected. Anyways, I had an issue with my Berkey light. There was a constant leak around the spigot area. I changed out the spigot and the problem was worse than before. Then I looked closer and found a small crack on the container just above the spigot. I contacted Berkey and was able to get a new lower chamber b/c I bought one within the last year. It was a total pain to get them to do anything about it. I told them that I wasn't sure that the one I bought last year was the same container that I had the crack in, so I asked if there was any identifiers in the container. I don't think they paid any attention to that. So, ultimately I did get a replacement, even though I had to pay to ship the original container back.

I didn't realize when I bought it that their warranty was only for 1 year. It's also a good thing to know that the plastic Berkey (even though it works for my needs) can crack, so be careful with the spigot. The lesson in all this is.....if you're looking for a Berkey to last a long time, it is probably better to go with the steel containers.
 
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