Hey Gang,

I previously wanted to get a nice Berkey water filter system for the house. We filter our tap water, because we don't like the taste of chlorine. We also have fluoridated water, but none of our current filtration can deal with that. Berkey water systems are supposedly some of the best filters on the market. I also like that they are gravity fed, and don't rely on utility pressure. Our current system is a Pur faucet-mounted system with expensive disposable cartridges. It is cheaply designed and started leaking after the 2nd filter (we're on our 4th...they last about 4 months each).

My wife is not a prepper, and probably will never be 100% on-board with my preparedness goals. With that in mind, I thought the Berkey would be a good system, since it is a fairly attractive piece of kitchen hardware (if you get the stainless model)that she wouldn't find objectionable. They are rather expensive, and I'm not sure of the company's claims. There don't seem to be any studies (except one university study that wasn't very thorough) supporting the company's claims. I read somewhere (can't find the article now) that the fluoride filters release a small amount of aluminum into the water as the fluoride is absorbed. I'd really like to filter out the fluoride, but I don't want aluminum in the water either. Seems like we'd be trading one bad thing for another.

Anyone have any suggestions or experience with Berkey and/or other filtration systems like this? In a situation where a loss of utility pressure happens, I'd like to still be able to filter a lot of water. I have a backpacking filter and a pitcher-type filter, but these will not provide a ton of water. The Berkey (or one of those 5-gallon bucket ceramic filter kits) seems to be the best choice.

Thanks!

For complete loss of water pressure, we use a Ecoloblue model 30. It makes water from the air, using the humidity in the air. If the power goes out as well, we plug into a backup battery.

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I know what you mean... thank you for the tips.

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yes you can try 5 gallon bucket ceramic filter kits..

The Big Berkey is a Berkey water purification system that is designed to give you delicious, completely clean water without the use of any sort of electricity. Big Berkey Water Filters are made in the USA and are some of the most popular gravity fed water filtration systems to exist.>>>>>>>http://www.berkeyshop.com/berkey-water-filter-systems/big-berkey.html

We just purchased a monolithic water filtration system. We spent $50 for the filter, parts, and 2 five gallon buckets. What's nice about this, the filter is portable and it will work for 6 months (oonce you start using it) , it's storable for 3-5 yrs without use - and it's been tested in some really harsh areas. You can go to monolithic.com to check it out. You can also just purchase the filters without the whole system.

The Berkley and other gravity candle filters are OK if your water doesn't a have a lot of crude in it. If so, they will clog.

Somebody suggested using a 5G bucket and the candles. While cheaper, it has the same disadvantage. A better and MUCH cheaper solution for having safe emergency drinking water is to use the 5G bucket and some in-line cartridge filter(s). You can elevate the bucket to generate much more water pressure which then pushes the dirty water through the cartridge filters.

Depending on your selection of cartridges, you can filter out about anything.

Best place to get the parts and good prices for most filter types: http://www.premium-water-filters.com/

If Mark is still there ask him about an emergency SEGMENTED LOW PRESSURE FILTER. He used to have a kit, including the bucket with a pre-drilled hole in the bottom. I have one stashed away in my garage for "just in case."

You'll also find a lot of great information and various water related links on the Premium Water Filters site.

BTW, most filters, including all candle filters, won't remove a virus - like pandemic bird flu. Reverse osmosis ones will but they require energy and waste too much water. And they are expensive. However, you can simply add a little chlorine (like PURE unscented Clorox) to kill all virus. A solid carbon block filter will then filter out the chlorine. Premium Water Filters also carries a "nano-ceramic" filter that is supposed to filter out a virus. You can put that one on your regular house water to prevent an "oops" contamination but if H5N1 infected birds are swimming in your emergency water source add chlorine on the "better safe than sorry" principle.