Berkey water filters offer an economical and simple solution to eliminate harmful contaminants such as fluoride, bacteria and spores from tap water supplies. Their simple operation and economical running costs make them highly recommended.
Each system comes complete with two stackable silver bowls, lid and spigot that can be stacked. In addition, there’s also a standard plastic tap with washers, sight glass spigot and plugs to block unnecessary holes.
Unpacking
A Berkey water filter is an economical and powerful solution for providing access to clean drinking water in emergencies or natural disasters where treated water may not be readily available, or for people looking to remove contaminants from their drinking water supply. It can even help improve health conscious individuals who wish to drink healthier drinking water!
Black Berkey filters use an ion exchange process, in which its elements contain ions that attract contaminants before they make their way down into the bottom chamber.
Unlike store bought pitcher systems, the Berkey can filter water from ANY source including ponds and streams. Not only is it more cost-effective than bottled water but it’s also better for the environment by helping reduce plastic water bottle waste. Plus if you need help keeping track of how much water remains in the lower chamber they even offer sight glasses which fit between it and its spigot!
Putting it Together
Berkey water filters are gravity systems designed to safely transport clean drinking water from an upper chamber directly into a lower storage container for later consumption – ideal in emergencies where treated water may not be readily available.
Both black and PF-2 filters utilize similar techniques to filter contaminants out of drinking water. Ion exchange allows heavy metals such as chromium, lead or copper to be stripped from the water and left behind on filter elements before being attracted by other ions that have an opposite electrical charge – like those present in Black Berkey purification elements.
Install your spigot by first removing the plastic from two metal washer-looking pieces on either end of its tube. After doing this, insert your spigot tube into the hole in your Berkey container.
Installing the Spigot
Installing the spigot requires placing the faucet stem through a hole in the bottom reservoir, pushing a rubber washer onto it, and tightening by hand – an effortful task which takes some practice to master.
If you purchased the Black Berkey Fluoride and Arsenic Filters (PF-2), they must first be primed by screwing them onto the stems of your Black Berkey elements. To do this properly, eight complete rotations must be made in order to secure them successfully.
Berkey systems can take up considerable counter space, making them hard to store. To address this issue, Berkey offers a sight glass between the lower tank and spigot that allows users to see how much water remains in their lower tank without lifting up its top chamber; an extremely convenient feature.
Cleaning
Use bleach in clean water to wash the tanks, while paying special attention to cleaning out the rubber gasket at the base of your lower tank as this may collect limescale, decreasing filter efficiency.
Clean your Black Berkey elements every three months or more frequently in areas with higher contamination. This can be accomplished by unscrewing and removing each element from its container before using a non-scratch cleaning pad (3M non-scratch recommended), to scrub over each surface before rinsing thoroughly afterwards.
Prime the elements to force air out and let water in, as well as cleaning to remove any built up sediment. To estimate their lifespan, count how many gallons the elements hold (Total Life in Gallons) and divide by the daily usage amount (Daily Use in Gallons) – this will give an estimate for when replacement will need to happen.
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