Updated 8/19
Did you know that fluoride can damage fertility, destroy bones, causes hyperactivity and lower IQ in children?
Researching to write Fluoride: Not About Kid’s Teeth, But Getting Rid Of Hazardous Waste At A Profit! opened my eyes to the sad truth.
Clean water is often regarded as the most important nutrient for life. Most people can survive no more than 7 days without it, but are you drinking pure water?
The Berkey water filter is what we have chosen to remove the toxic chemical pollution now common in most of our country’s water supply and many wells.
We Also Want to Be Prepared in an Emergency with No Electricity!
I don’t mind admitting I think about being prepared for emergencies.
The general rule of thumb is to store one gallon of water per person per day. In an emergency situation, you should drink two quarts (half a gallon) of water a day – more if you’re in a hot climate, sick, pregnant, or a child. The other half gallon can then be used for hygiene (thanks in advance).
You can run rain, pool or even stream water through your Berkey filters and still have pure, uncontaminated water to drink if the electrical grid is down for a length of time.
We searched and read lots of material over the years to find the best all-round performance available.
Berkey Water Filtration
This powerful system purifies both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best.
Perfect for everyday use, outdoor activities, and a must in hostile environments where electricity, water pressure, or treated water may not be available.
The Berkey® system removes all of this without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.
For some people, all this sounds too good to be true, but here are third party lab results for effectiveness of Berkey filters.
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Now we have a sight tube for no guesswork when filling
Constructed of highly polished 304 stainless steel, all the different sized systems comes complete with two purification elements and utilize the latest technological advances.
Royal Berkey & Big Berkey
The Royal Berkey system has a storage capacity of about 3.25 gallons (12.3 liters) and when in use it stands 23″ in height with a diameter of 9.5″. The upper chamber nests within the lower chamber for transport and stands only 15.25″ in height.
Configured with two Black Berkey® purification elements the system will purify up to 4 gallons (15.1 liters) per hour. This system can be expanded to use four purification elements to produce twice as much per hour.
We use the Big Berkey Filter in our home. This is the best price I know for the Big Berkey and filters. Includes Free shipping.
The Smaller Travel Berkey
The Travel Berkey system is slightly smaller for families with 2-4 people.
This is the BEST PRICE I know including the fluoride and regular filters. Free Shipping. It filters 2.75 gallons per hour.
Here’s a GOOD QUESTION! If Black Berkey filters remove 99.9% of the fluoride, then read here to find out why I should I add the fluoride filters, too!
We do keep extra filters on hand because having the ability to have clean water is your #1 emergency need.
The Black Berkey filters are re-cleanable with a Scotch Brite pad, and so can be used over and over until flow slows markedly. We have done this many times using a brand new Scotch Brite pad. The 2 filters will generally need replacing every 24-36 months depending on volume.
Minerals are not stripped out of the water, but the pollutants are.
If electrical grid is down, just fill with pool, stream, or rain water
I keep our Berkey right beside a small secondary kitchen sink (with the spigot over the sink to catch drips) for easy access to the faucet when filling.
Sight-Tube
Note: Because you can not see the water level in the lower tank, Berkey started making a sight-tube available to prevent accidental overfilling. We love it…no guessing how much water to add!
Tested and Accredited
The Berkey™ Filter element has been tested by accredited laboratories to exceed EPA & ANSI/NSF (Std. 53) protocol; Tested by the University of Phoenix Spectrum Labs, the Department of Toxicology and Environmental Science Louisiana University. Accreditation and/or certification by ISO 9002 Quality Standard, National Sanitation Foundation standards 42 and 53, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Water Quality Association, Department of Health (Toronto, Canada), Spectrum Labs (Minneapolis, USA), Water Research Council (UK), British 5750 Quality Standard, England’s Water Research council (WRc) Performance Standards, California Department of Health.
Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. I have started doing this to support my time writing this FREE resource as an encouragement and resource for families. I only recommend products I use or am familiar with personally, and I humbly thank you for your support.
Dejan
Wonderful information and nice web page layout.
Andy
This thing seems really cool, but…how does it work ?
I’m trying to live off the grid and filter my own rain water (solar charger for laptop of course :P). I know of a method that uses different types of sand and some rocks, but I’m not sure if that filters out all of the stuff that could…hurt me. Any info would be much appreciated.
Jacqueline
Andy, I wish I could help! (lol), but I think you will need to research the details and make your own decision based on your expectations. We like the idea of being off-grid 🙂
Andria DiBacco
Yeah, my mom has one. It works like they say it does.
Eleni Vamvakari
I have the Berkey Sport, which is their portable water bottle. This one is technically a filter and not a true purification system like their other models, but for household use and for relatively safe water when camping, hiking etc., that won’t make much of a difference. The water in my town is so horrible that my family and I never drink it. But if you gave me unfiltered water from my tap and then the one from the Berkey, I wouldn’t even know it came from the same place! I tried it and was absolutely amazed, and I have an extremely keen sense of taste. I can’t wait until I can save enough to get a larger model! They seriously can handle just about everything.
Laura Gazarian
We’ve got sulfur (major rotten egg smell) and iron in our well. Will this handle sulfur? I miss the days of being able to drink water whenever I was thirsty.
Jacqueline
Laura, When we were at the farm, the sulfur smell was aweful, and it DID handle it. We were surprised and pleased!
Meg Timmons
We love our Big Berkey!!! It handles everything well and tastes very normal to us.
jodi randle
I really love to have one Berky at home so soon! I guess everybody has it already. Thanks for sharing the goodness about Berky water filters!
M in Iowa
I an a single senior and wanted something that could run without electricy should the power go out and I also need clean water to drink, but should I also use it to make coffee? Wouldn’t this be expensive? I am on a fixed income, however I need to take care of myself.
Any advice you provide will be appreciated.
Jacqueline
Hi, M. I am unsure what you mean by using it to make coffee. Yes, you would use the filtered water to make coffee, but the Berkey isn’t a coffeemaker. It is the best water purifier I know, and you will have excellent water to use in your coffee maker. What I like so much is that it will work when the power is down. You can even use rain or creek water if there is nothing else and it will come through the filters clean and safe for drinking. Blessings to you. I will pray the Lord shows you the right thing for your needs and finances! 😀
M in Iowa
Sorry, My choice of words made that question confusing. I realize the Berkley is not a coffee maker.
As for my needs, I was hoping that since the Lord showed me this site perhaps you might suggest a filter that would affordably fit my needs not a camping model but not a top of the line model either.
Jacqueline
I am sorry that I am so long in answering you, M in Iowa.
I think if you are a senior and may be just 1 or 2 of you in the home the smallest Berkey would be a good fit, but you can make that call when you see it. I am providing you a link to read more: http://amzn.to/2ambJ6P If you look at the picture, there is a whitish arrow pointing to the smallest of the line, but it still has the same filters to really clean and purify the water. They are excellent in my opinion. It is what we use, but we need the middle size for all of us. I hope that helps. I am not sold on other companies so much, because others don’t remove toxic elements as well even for the price. The black Berkey filters can be cleaned and reused until they no longer flow (or really slow down), but if it just a few people, it takes a mighty long time before having to clean them. The instructions on how to clean them with a new Scotch Brite pad are included.
Also, there may be another one you prefer.
M, I hope that helps. I am praying the Lord gives you guidance! Psalm 34:4-10
Blessings!
Kami
We had a reverse osmosis system professionally installed, do you think they do a good job?
Jacqueline
It is hard to say, Kami! It depends on several things:
1. Who installed it and the quality of the design – did they do it in a manner as to keep the lines free from bacteria and contamination. As a closed system, once they are contaminated, you will not know it an all the water can be tainted. That doesn’t happen often, but it can happen.
2. If you lose electricity, the R.O. under-counter will not work. We wanted to be able to have clean, available water in all circumstances.
3. Cost was also a factor and the RO with all that could go wrong was still about the same or more expensive than a top of the line Berkey, including extra filters(We put extra filters in stock for years of use in case of emergency)
I hope that helps! ~J
Michelle
This may seem like a silly question. I have been on the fence about purchasing a Big Berkey filter for a while now. The price is pretty much the only thing holding me back. 🙂 In light of the current pandemic, I was wondering… If this virus continues to spread, would you still trust your filtered Berkey water more than bottled water?
Jacqueline
Hi, Michelle!
Our thinking is that if we have to hole up for months, we won’t need to go to the store to get bottles water. And the bottle water machines may not be working or kept in good working order at some point. The water there could be contaminated if there was an internal breach in the water supply. So, yes, I would think so. Still it is very good to think through these things!
Blessings, ~J
Marsha
I have looked at the Berkey which is highly recommended; I didn’t realize you could clean the filters and keep using. I thought that the filters lasted a year at which point you need new filters. Also, if they do indeed wear out, I was wondering if the life of the filters might be shorter lived if we use dirtier water in the process (i.e. pool water).
Jacqueline
Marsha, ours have gone through 3-5 cleanings before needing to be tossed. Yes, for sure, if the water is high in iron, mineral, dirt, etc. it will certainly shorten their lifespan!
Lorinda Hall
Several years ago you wrote about the Bison hand pump for the well. Is it still something you recommend?