Berkey water filter

I made this thread for people that are thinking about buying a berkey water filter and for people that all ready have berkey water filters. When I first got them I loved them, the water tasted grate and I could really fell a difference between tap water and berkey water. After a couple months (three months) I started to notice a bad taste. So I decided it was time to clean the filter. hear is a picture of them
www.berkeywater-filter.com...

The black plastic piece witch is HOT GLUED onto the filter was leaking because they use HOT GLUE to connect the 2 pieces. So I called berkey and they said they would ship me out some new filters as long as I shipped the old ones back. A couple days later the new filters came in and a couple months later the plastic piece came completely off the filter. I have had to replace them at least 4 times. If you own these and are relying on them to clean your water in a disaster I would recommended you get some new filters OR find some kind of strong food grade glue to fix them.

For those that own these filters you may not know that they are leaking. Next time you clean them a simple test, blow into the filter drip hole and see if you can fell any air coming out of the plastic edges. If so then you have a leak. If your filters "filter" water really fast then you probably have a leak. These filters have to have a complete pressure seal for them to work properly.

Does any one know of a STRONG FOOD GRADE glue that I can use to fix these? I have tried to fix them with more hot glue and that faild. I do not want to send them back in to much of a hassle. How strong is food grade silicon?

reply to post by 8ILlBILl8


Thanks for the tip.

Not too sure about hot glue but Gorilla Glue has always worked really well for me in every situation, definetly recommend getting some anyway

reply to post by 8ILlBILl8

You better watch out bud, you're gonna have Alex Jones all over your case.

Originally posted by Dionisius
reply to post by 8ILlBILl8

 

Thanks for the tip.

Not too sure about hot glue but Gorilla Glue has always worked really well for me in every situation, definetly recommend getting some anyway

I need something thats made just for this kind of scenario. Their is no point in buying filters if I put toxic glue in them. It says its non toxic but then it says
"INGESTION: Ingestion can cause gastrointestinal irritation, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea."

Originally posted by lunatux
reply to post by 8ILlBILl8

 

You better watch out bud, you're gonna have Alex Jones all over your case.

haha, Screw alex jones. Over all berkey is a good company they have held their end of the deal by replacing the filters every time they leak. If they wear to use somthing other than hotglue then they would do allot better. I think they are processed in a machine witch is why they have not been able to change the glue.

reply to post by 8ILlBILl8


Its naturally made and once dried there is no way of ingesting, that warning is just for directly ingesting straight from the tube. I still recommend getting some Gorilla Glue for your BOB though, better than super glue and has more uses

Monolithic domes has good replacement candle style filters.

I think they say they are exact replacements. you can get .5 and .2 micron. .5 is faster and good for city water. .2 is very slow but it takes out everything living in bad water.

shop.monolithic.com...

I dont know if thats a good price compared to Berkey.

Originally posted by Dionisius
reply to post by 8ILlBILl8

 

Its naturally made and once dried there is no way of ingesting, that warning is just for directly ingesting straight from the tube. I still recommend getting some Gorilla Glue for your BOB though, better than super glue and has more uses

Well it all so says that its ok for little water use meaning that it is not supposed to sit in a tank full of water.

reply to post by 8ILlBILl8


I had the same experience with the black filters, although I had to drop one to break it. I went to the ceramic Berkey filters and have never been happier.

We collect our water from our [metal] roof and that runoff is deposited into a concrete cistern. Before the water comes into the house, it goes through a carbon filter. From the tap, I pour our drinking, cooking, and icemaker water into the Berkey. We've been using the ceramic filters for four years now, and they are very cleanable and backflushable. I have six sets of backup ceramic filters, and I think Berkey is the best. Many people I know are put off by the fact that it is a gravity filter, rather than something they hook up in-line in their water system. I personally enjoy humping the top section from our sink to the base several times a day. I also like that it all nests inside itself if a person wants to transport it somewhere.

Berkey works. Our water is continually fresh and sweet. Nothing else will do.

reply to post by 8ILlBILl8


throw the berkey in the bin , buy katadyn and relax

reply to post by ignorant_ape


The Katadyn series are excellent water filters -- I have one of the older generation Katadyn in my hurricane kit. My opinion -- the best water filter is dependent upon the situation. If, for example, I wanted to go backpacking and wanted to filter my drinking water, then the Katadyn is my first choice; The Berkey would be cumbersome to pack in this situation.

On the other hand, if a person is filtering ALL their drinking water, their cooking water and water for ice making, dedicating an hour or more every day to pumping water through a filter is a definate drag. The Big Berkey holds 2 1/4 gallons, and is gravity-operated. Yes, it takes some time for the water to filter down, but only seconds to fill it, leaving a purified 2 1/4 gallons for your use. That is my situation, and I can't imagine anything better. As said previously, our water is rainwater collected from the roof, and stored in a concrete cistern. Are there frogs or bugs in the cistern? Well, I hope not, and I clean it every coupla months, but I want to exclude all contaminants from our personal usage. You know how the filters on the Berkey are tested? You put water tainted with food coloring in the top, and verify that the bottom purified water is clear. I used a LOT of red. Food coloring becomes absorbed in solution and creates a molecule ever so slightly larger than a water molecule. It works.

I think the best option of all is to have both. The Katadyn filter you linked is very impressive -- much more advanced than my older model. The one you linked will filter 13,000 gallons with the same filter, and that's a huge leap from the one I have. They're not cheap, but what is the cost of dealing with the sickness of having ingested cryptosporidium?

To me, Berkey is for regular life, and pump filters are for emergencies. Either can be adapted for either situation.