Tag: filter

Lately I’ve been catching myself reading a lot of survival stuff, more specifically about water filtration. I think that at some point in the near future, the grid will shut down for a substantial period of time, and water will become even more important than it already is.

Before I go any further, I wanted to make clear that I am NOT connected with Berkey in any way. I just use their stuff and I like it. All righty, where were we?

Enter the Big Berkey. It’s rugged and gorgeous, and it gets the job done. The standard Big Berkey comes with two Black Berkey filtration elements, with the option to expand the unit to four in order to speed up the process.

Further, the optional Berkey PF-2 Arsenic/Fluoride reduction elements can be added on to make the system even more thorough.

Berkey shows that their filtration elements can remove all the nasty stuff like pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites while reducing harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and VOCs without removing beneficial minerals.

What’s not to like about this thing? Well, installing the spigot can be a pain. Be careful when installing that you tighten it pretty good, but take caution as it’s made of plastic. I wonder why this isn’t metal. Anyway, when you fill up the unit for your first time, set it in your sink. That way, if the spigot leaks, you won’t have water all over your countertop and floor. Happened to me!

“Priming” the elements is really easy and takes less than 5 minutes to do all of them. Priming basically means you flush out the filters of any process dust, so you need to discard your first full batch of water as it tastes metallic.

My suggestion would be to get the Big Berkey or perhaps a larger size depending on how many people you live with. I’ve never run out of Berkey water in a day, but I’ve come close.

These things are a little expensive, but when you factor your health and safety in there, as well as being able to filter rainwater, pond water and the like, it can’t be beat.

A simple alternative can be designed with just two 5 gallon food grade buckets outfitted with Berkey elements. You’ll save at least $100 and have a 5 gallon capacity…not bad! I built one to have as a backup system just in case.

Check out this link to see my video on how to build your own water filter:

Again, this is a great system and I definitely recommend getting one of these for your home…safe, clean drinking water is super important, and this should ensure you have just that.

-Tyler

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