Keep reading to learn more about the Berkey Water Filter. Learn why we chose it, how it’s different, and what we like about it in this Berkey Water Filter review.
For a very, very long time I have wanted a berkey water filter. I did research years ago on various water filters on the market. It seemed like most of the water filters available either filtered out too much, or didn’t filter out enough. The price point kept us from purchasing a Berkey for several years. In hindsight, I wish it was an expense I had made a priority sooner! It turns out when you consider the filter cost and their capability, it is a fairly inexpensive long term investment. In this Berkey Water Filter review, I am sharing why we chose it, how it’s different, and what we love about it.
What Is A Berkey Water Filter
The Berkey Water Filter is a gravity fed water filter. There is a top and a bottom chamber, and with gravity water is pulled from the top chamber through the filters, and into the bottom chamber. All except the Berkey Light are stainless steel. While depending on the size you choose it is quite large, it’s fairly light when empty and doesn’t require any electricity. In an emergency situation we could take this with us and filter water as needed.
What’s So Great About The Berkey Water Filter
If you’re looking into spending around $500 on a water filter, I’m going to go ahead and guess that you want to make sure it’s worth it before you spend your hard earned cash. There are plenty of water filters on the market at much lower price points, so why would you want a berkey water filter?
The water we drink is easily one of the foundations of our health. Clean water, sunlight, nutrition, sleep are all key players when it comes to our health. It doesn’t take much digging to find that most city water is filled with chlorine, fluoride, lead, arsenic, and viruses and bacteria. None of these are particularly things that I want in my water.
Per Berkey, their Black Berkey Purification Elements Remove:
- >99.999% of viruses
- >99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria
- >99.98% trihalomethanes
- Inorganic Minerals up to 99.99%: Chloramine, Chloride, Chlorine Residual, Free Chlorine
- Heavy Metals
- >99.9% Micro-Organisms (including e.Coli)
- >99.9% Pharmaceutical Drug Contaminants (yep, this can be in your water!)
- Pesticides & VOC’s to below lab detectable limits
You can find more detailed information on this straight from Berkey.
While Berkey removes all that junk, it does leave the minerals we need in our water. Consuming water stripped of minerals can be very depleting.
Berkey also has fluoride filters. We are on a water line and our water in untreated, so fluoride is not something we have to worry about. Had we purchased our Berkey while we were living in the city, we would be using the fluoride filters as well.
How Is The Berkey Water Filter Different From Other Filters
There are so many different types of water filters, including reverse osmosis, pitcher systems, under counter systems, etc. To keep it simple, here are some of the differences between Berkey and a store bought, inexpensive pitcher system.
While a Berkey may seem like a more expensive option due to it’s upfront cost, when you compare it to the cost of a typical pitcher filter, Berkey is much, much cheaper at filtering water per gallon. Every Berkey system comes with 2 Black Berkey Purification Elements which will last up to 6000 gallons. Given the cost of a set of the black Berkey filters, it works out to a cost of about 4 cents per gallon. My quick calculation of the cost of a typical store bought pitcher filter based on how many gallons it will filter gives you a cost of about 15 cents per gallon. Long term, Berkey is the cheaper option by far.
The store bought pitcher systems will not remove pathogens, pesticides, herbicides pharmaceutical drug contaminants, or heavy metals like the Berkey does. Depending on the brand, these may reduce them but will not remove them. For a more detailed comparison on many different brands of water filters versus Berkey, check here.
What Size Berkey Water Filter Should I Get
Berkey makes a variety of sizes for water filters. Make your choice based on how you intend to use your Berkey, the space you have, and the size of your family. We went with the Royal Berkey which holds 3.25 gallons, or over 12 litres of water which is recommended for a family of 2-6 people. We use our Berkey for drinking water, to fill pots and the kettle, our coffee maker, fermenting etc. I didn’t want to feel like we were constantly filling up our Berkey if we went with a smaller model.
While it felt like a big expense when we purchased it, I only wish we had went with a Berkey Water Filter sooner. I feel at peace knowing that we are getting some of the best water possible, free of anything harmful. I hope this Berkey Water Filter Review helps you in making your decision!
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