Welcome to the best Berkey water filter review on the internet.
Here is a quick overview of the Imperial Berkey water filter:
Product: Berkey Water Filter (Travel, Big, Royal, Imperial, Crown Berkey)
Type: Portable Gravity-Fed Water Filter
Filtration Stage: 2 Stage Filtration System
Product Warranty: 6 months
Suitable For: Rented Apartment, Offices, Big Household
Table of Contents
Berkey Water Filter Review
From experience, the Berkey Water filter has its own pros in terms of quality and portability. But, slower flow rate and requires frequent cleaning. It is RECOMMENDED if you are renting a place that lacks water filter. The Berkley is a better option when compared to a water pitcher.
Background
Berkey is a small company focused mainly on the production of portable indoor water filters for home, outdoor activities and offices.
There have been questions and controversies surrounding Berkley on its indoor water filters because they are banned in lowa and California.
Imperial Berkey Water Filter Reviews
Berkey is a portable water filter that is mobile and portable. The filtration takes place inside the stainless steel container itself once you fill it up with tap water.
It uses gravity to force the water to pass through the filtration cartridge that will be stored in the storage tank.
Berkey Features
Size and Capacity: Berkley water filter comes in various capacity and sizes. They meet all your needs ranging from camping or hiking to small offices usage.
Generally speaking, the functionality and concept of all models are the same.
The larger the system, the more cartridges it allows to be inserted to speed up the filtration process. Crown Berkley can handle up to 8 cartridges at once.
State of The Art Filter: Berkley claims that it’s filter has passed the ANSI/NSF Standard 53. Their Black Berkey filter has been tested in an EPA-approved laboratory.
The result came with a long list of water contaminants that were filtered by Black Berkey. Berkey claims that it is the longest list ever been seen in the industry.
It raised the standard of filtration in the water filter industry.
Pathogen Removal: It s awesome Pathogenic bacteria removal is one of it’s selling the point that makes Berkey standout from the crowd. It claims to have 100% remove pathogen to a non-detachable level
Traditionally, the pathogen is only capable of being removed by UV light. The Black Berkey is able to remove it without using a UV light in the system.
Isn’t that amazing?
Portable and No Tubing: All Berkey water filters are gravity-fed filters that don’t require any connection to pipes. With that, no tubing is attached to the system and it can literally be anywhere in the house.
It is free up the space near the sink where conventional countertop water filters are situated.
Filtration Capability
The major filter for every Berkey systems is the Black Berkey filter.
Black Berkey: It is a microporous filter, which contains pores that are less than 2nm in diameter. It is a cleanable purifier element which filters off bacteria such as pathogen and virus in the water.
PF2 Fluoride Filter: This filter mainly absorbs arsenic, fluoride, and some of the heavy metal ions in the water. We rated this system as one of the great water filters that remove fluoride.
Berkey claims that it is capable of the filter up to 99% of the top 20 contaminants shown below.
Simple Installation
- Before the installation, rinse your Black Berkey filters for 20 seconds on the tap as a start.
- Because there is no involvement in drilling and connection from the pipe, you just need to screw on the two Black Berkey with an optional of PF2/PF4 fluoride filters on your Berkey.
For more help, You can refer to the setup video below on the installation process.
Replacement and Maintenance
It doesn’t need regular filter replacements. Since the Black Berkley is re-cleanable, it can last for a longer period. The suggested replacement schedules are shown below:
A pair of Black Berkey: 6000 Gallons
A pair of PF2 Filters: 1000 Gallons or 2 Years
Annual Maintenance Cost: $80
Lifetime Warranty With Conditions
Each Berkey comes with 6 months limited warranty on manufacturer defects.
However, if you register when you first buy your Berkey (limited to Big, Imperial, Travel, Royal, and Crown only), you will be eligible for Berkey Care Lifetime Warranty.
Aside this, the Black Berkey filter comes with 2 years prorated warranty on manufacturer defects in 6 months interval.
Drawbacks of this system
Frequent Cleaning: One of the primary customer complaints is regular cleaning required for the Black Berkey. This is due to it affects the flow rate of the system.
Berkley is a gravity-fed filter, but the flow rate is slower compared to pressure led filter. It is suggested that you fill up your Berkley when it is empty, not when you are thirsty.
Although it is portable, the Berkey can sometime be a bit bulky which can take up a lot of space.
Pros, Cons and a Little Controversy
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Pros
At the start, we already stated a few advantages that Berkey water system systems offers.
For one, while keeping all the healthy essential minerals in your water, the purity they achieve is exceptional. Even better, their filters last for a long time for extra convenience. Other benefits included in this Berkey water filter review are:
- They produce great tasting water!
- They look good – although that’s a matter of taste.
- Because they work with gravity, Berkey systems do not need electricity to run. This is good for your wallet, the environment and the ideal solution for any power outage or emergency situation.
- You can use almost any water as your feed source. Just be aware that contaminant levels in rivers, wells, lakes, etc. can vary so your filter elements may not reach their regular gallon capacity.
- Because of its countertop design, they are simple to use and highly portable. And there is no plumbing needed in their installation. In other words, you are flexible which is great if you don’t have a permanent living situation at this point.
Berkey Water Filter Problems (& Complaints)
- Some users have complained that the plastic spigot breaks easily
- The filtration does not stop once the lower chamber is full. So be careful to avoid overfilling.
- Although the systems are relatively cheap to buy, the replacement cartridges are rather expensive. Of course, their longevity evens that out. But, they definitely cost more than most replacement filters for other filtration systems. Also, the fluoride elements cost extra which will increase your price per gallon to $0.08.
- The larger system types can be difficult to fit into your kitchen. Plus, it’s harder to reach their top for refilling.
- With the standard version there is no simple way to check how much purified water is left in the reservoir. You have to lift the top chamber up and peek in.
- Sometimes because of the negative pressure, the water flow from the spigot is really slow, although there is enough water in the lower chamber. One simple trick is to slip a small piece of plastic between the chambers allowing air to flow inside.
- Another issue is the drop in filtration speed that you will likely see after having used a Black Berkey for a couple of weeks/months. We are going to discuss this issue in more detail in the maintenance section below.
Is Berkey A Scam?
The state of California needs all indoor water filter to pass through the independent third-party agency test, such as NSF before it is eligible to sell in the state.
Although Berkey complied with the request of obtaining the NSF Standard 42 and 52, the state requested high cost in maintaining the certification in the state of California.
After a thorough consideration, Berkey decided to withdraw from selling in the state of California.
But, there are a handful of items which Berkey is allowed to be sold in the state:
- Travel Berkey – 1.5 Gallon Stainless Steel Portable Water Filter
- Go Berkey Kit – 0.25 Gallon Stainless Steel Water Filter with Sports Bottle.
- Filter replacement such as Black Berkey, PF-2, and PF-4.
- Berkey Light – 2.75 Gallon Non-BPA Plastic Portable Water Filter
- Sports Berkey – Non-BPA Plastic Sports Bottle
- Replacement parts for all products.
Verdict: In my opinion, Berkey is not a scam. It is just the regulatory and rules issue that stops it from selling in two of the states. You can visit their website for the full lab certification.
Berkey Water Filter California Ban
Berkley water Filter cannot be shipped to California. At the moment, this law stops any Berkey water filter from being sold to the state of California, and canvasses all Berkey products that comes in contact with water intended for drinking.
Verdict: RECOMMENDED!
Berkey is one of the best gravity-fed countertop water filters in town. Although it was banned in California and lowa, we still recommend this filter based on the following reasons:
- Filtration Quality: Their quality cartridge, Black Berkey is capable of removing the top 20 major contaminants of up to 99%. Plus, its filter is capable of removing pathogenic bacteria without using a UV sterilizer.
- Portability: It is highly portable like a water pitcher which you can easily move around after you have filled up the storage tank.
- Reasonable Annual Maintenance: Consider the capability of removing contaminants; the replacement cost is relatively reasonable for such a great system.
- Lifetime Warranty: It comes with a lifetime warranty on the Berkey system against manufacturing defects and 2 years on the Black Berkey Filter.
Where Can I Buy It?
Check the latest price on my number one online trustworthy store, Amazon.
More Info And Question:
Have you ever wonder whether your city is affected by water fluoridation? Search for your country/state in the Extent of Water Fluoridation Guide.
If due to ban reason, you can’t purchase this product, allow me to recommend you some of other great countertop water filter in town. No complicated installation is required. Check out our best countertop water filter guide today!
Still having doubts about this system even after reading our Berkey water filter review? Leave us a comment below with your question and we will get back to you at our earliest.
Does it filter out coliform from well water?
I believe it does.