A Berkey water pitcher is a gravity-based filter designed to work without electricity and boasting long filter lives at pennies per gallon operating costs. This filter can remove parasites, heavy metals such as mercury and lead, chlorine as well as pharmaceutical drugs from drinking water sources.
Fluoride and arsenic that other filters don’t capture are removed efficiently by this system, while setup requires only a few drops of food dye and black filters that come included with it.
1. Easy to clean
Berkey water systems are extremely simple and straightforward to keep clean. Each comes complete with all the components for assembly (stackable silver containers, lid, rubber ring base, spout and filters). A set of two elements typically filters six gallons before needing replacing; which far surpasses most pitcher filters on store shelves that often fail to filter out pathogens, pesticides herbicides pharmaceutical drug contaminants or heavy metals.
If you’re concerned about the cleanliness of your Berkey system or want to conduct a food dye test to gauge how long the black filters have been working, simply remove the top container and rinse with vinegar – this will wash away any mineral deposits and reactivate them as filters.
2. Easy to fill
Though this gravity filter requires some time for water preparation, our testers found it durable and easy to use. Our camping trip participants also appreciated its portability.
Berkey systems are durable thanks to their polished stainless steel construction, unlike Brita and other filter pitcher brands which use plastic. A major difference between Berkeys and store bought pitcher systems is that Berkey removes more contaminants such as pathogens, pesticides, herbicides, pharmaceutical drugs, heavy metals and VOCs from drinking water than most store bought systems do.
Keep in mind, however, that Berkey filters cannot be used with well water due to their tendency to clog quickly compared to other types of filters. Therefore, it would be ideal if you chose an area close to your sink for effortless refilling of your Berkey filter system.
3. Easy to store
Berkey systems differ from other filter pitchers in that they do not require installation or connection to your faucet, instead using gravity to move water from its upper chamber down through to its lower one – meaning you can use them while traveling, camping or in emergency situations where treated tap water may not be available.
This package comes equipped with black filters (which are reusable but must be primed), a lid, rubber ring base and spout as well as some vials of red food dye to test purified water quality. Furthermore, there is an option to purchase an upper and lower chamber sight glass so you can see how much is still left in the tank.
Nicole Papantaniou of GH’s Kitchen Appliances and Innovation Lab particularly appreciated that its spigot was made out of stainless steel instead of plastic; an added benefit for anyone trying to reduce plastic use.
4. Portable
Berkey water filters offer an effective gravity filtration method that operates entirely off grid and without electricity, removing or significantly reducing harmful contaminants found in questionable sources such as drinking water from foreign countries and stagnant ponds.
This system includes everything you need: two stackable silver chambers, a lid, rubber base, spigot and two filters (some models may even include fluoride and arsenic filters).
Current models of Berkey water filters lack an easy way to monitor how much filtered water remains in their lower chambers, which may prove an inconvenience if stored somewhere less accessible. But Berkey has introduced accessories like stands and spigots equipped with sight glasses as solutions to this problem.
5. Great taste
Berkey water will quickly make you notice its difference in taste. It has a much cleaner taste without the metallic or mildew notes found in tap or filtered waters, unlike what many find bothersome about traditional options such as tap or filtered.
It also doesn’t strip away beneficial minerals like other filters do; to test this theory, add a few drops of food coloring to the top basin and watch as it travels down through it into one or more large jars (I use four large ones).
Berkey does not remove TDS or hardness, so softening or processing your water may still be necessary for optimal quality. But it does preserve its natural flavors – something which you’ll notice immediately when holding up both tap water and Berkey water next to your nose!
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