Berkey water filter - as good as they claim?

[curly_kate]

DH & I have been talking about buying a Berkey. Does anyone have any feed back on whether or not they actually work as well as they claim? Also, if you like them, what size do you recommend?

 

[sufficientforme]

I have the "Big Berkey" and I love it, it works as stated and they have great customer service. I had stored mine for an extended period of time and the elements had separated from the base and they sent me replacements for free (they are around 100.00) I have a family of four and we fill it daily.
Also you can purchase extra filters that are cheaper from a few dealers to have extras on hand for emergencies.
One another note there is a dealer called Monolithic that sells emergency filter kits (same principle as Berkeys) that they have invented for disaster relief that are around 30-40.00 that you could have on hand to make in an emergency situation also. Hope that helps!

 

[SSDreamin]

We wanted a Berkey but couldn't justify the expenditure, so DH went ahead and got the kit offered at cheaper-than-dirt. For the cost of the kit ($30), plus 2 extra candle filters ($22/ea) and 2 buckets from Menards, we have a great filter that does a fantastic job at a fraction of the cost. It isn't pretty, but it works for us.

 

[THEFAN]

We wanted a Berkey but couldn't justify the expenditure, so DH went ahead and got the kit offered at cheaper-than-dirt. For the cost of the kit ($30), plus 2 extra candle filters ($22/ea) and 2 buckets from Menards, we have a great filter that does a fantastic job at a fraction of the cost. It isn't pretty, but it works for us.

Me likey this idea.

 

[sufficientforme]

I too purchased (I think they are the same manufacturer) but with the arsenic filter so it was around 40.00 and ordered two extra of the candle filters (that fit the Berkey) however I was disappointed to see the box when the candle filters arrived stating it was made in china, the other filter does not state origin. Do I want to rely on them for taking the pathogens out when they have failed in quality control in so many areas, that's a question I ponder. I will keep them on hand though for an emergency and put them in with the black Berkey filters (the Big Berkey holds 4 total but comes with two) because it was a pain to ship them back. Just my .02 on them
I am not sure how much shipping is at cheaper than dirt but monolithic.com has filter, a sock for it and spigot for 27.50 and the candle filters that fit Berkey are 19.95 and I would suggest food grade buckets for making it and a gamma seal lid on the top bucket makes for easy filling rather than prying off a lid every time

 

[Icu4dzs]

I have the Big Berkey with the ceramic filters and I just bought a Royal Berkey with the new "improved" black filters. My money is where my mouth is. No need to expound on that!
Hope this helps.
Trim sends
//BT//

 

[R2D2]

I bought a berkey years ago, still haven't used it,i bought it for emergency uses only, which hasn't happened yet for me..I'd be interested in extra filters, but wouldn't accept one made in China if it were free...China is the biggest threat to America, they routinuly send us health hazard goods...Remember, the childrens toys they sent use recently loaded with lead paint..?
Spend the extra money for a safe filter.The Chinese want to kill America, don't you know that..?

 

[sufficientforme]

Yep, I ended up selling them to an individual that didn't care, I just did not feel good about them. I will save up for some more black filters from Berkey!

 

[AnnaRaven]

We had the Big Berkey for years. Loved knowing that I wasn't going to have to worry about my kids picking up pathogens. It's still in use - we got it for y2k. Just clean up the filters occasionally and still use it up in MN.

I recently bought a katadyn hanging filter for our home, since we have a pool and figure that might be useful in an earthquake or other shtf situation.

 

[hoosier]

We have a filter from Doulton which was made in England.