Berkey water filters

[66788]

I just bought a Travel Berkey water filter from Amazon for permanent use in the Starship Grumman Olson. It is relatively small but yet purifies the water better than anything else in its class.

Berkey water filter

I sprung for the arsenic/fluoride filters as additional filters to the two black filters that it comes with.

The water is super and tastes delicious. I like the fact that it is made of stainless steel and the water goes from the Berkey to a glass pitcher, avoiding contact with plastic, which can leach harmful chemicals into the water.

It can easily filter 2-4 gallons per day if need be, but find that 1 gallon is more than sufficient for my uses.

It's nice to have emergency food in your van, but more important is good clean potable water. Now I've got that covered, as well as the emergency food.

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Just found out the link is bad.

Bob, is there a way to allow editing for more than 5 minutes? 30 minutes would be nice.

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Hope this link works.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...keywords=travel berkey&sprefix=travel+ber,aps

 

[highdesertranger]

the link is not working for me. oops, I see you fixed it. I want one of those it's been on my wish list for awhile. btw if you prefilter the filter in those will last longer. I run my water though a cotton towel first. removes a lot of larger stuff. highdesertranger

 

[Donedirtcheap]

"Bob, is there a way to allow editing for more than 5 minutes? 30 minutes would be nice."

Permanent editing would be better as it could cover everything from drunkenness to fumbling fingers to mistaken double doses of drool inducing drugs.

 

[66788]

the link is not working for me. oops, I see you fixed it. I want one of those it's been on my wish list for awhile. btw if you prefilter the filter in those will last longer. I run my water though a cotton towel first. removes a lot of larger stuff. highdesertranger

If I had to use lake or river water I'd certainly do that. I plan on using city water in the USA or bottled water in MX. Like you, I've wanted one for a long time and was very pleased with the product when it arrived. The water is absolutely delicious and it filters more water than I can use in a day.

To clean the black filters one simply scrubs them with a green Scotch pad while holding them under running water. 6,000 gallons per set of filters is quite a lot of water.

Here is a link to the Berkey website where they explain what it can do.

http://www.berkeywater.com/start.main.html

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For those of you who aren't familiar with the Berkey line of water filters, this is from the website and pertains to the "Travel Berkey":

The compact Travel Berkey™ system is the perfect system for use during travel and any outdoor activities or during unexpected emergencies.

This powerful system purifies both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best. Perfect for outdoor activities and a must in hostile environments where electricity, water pressure or treated water may not be available.

The Travel Berkey™ system removes viruses, pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces rust, silt, sediment, foul taste and odors and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove red food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.

Constructed of highly polished 304 stainless steel the system comes complete with two purification elements and utilizes the latest technological advances. This system has a storage capacity of about 1.5 gallons (5.7 liters) and when in use it stands 18” in height with a diameter of 7.5”. The upper chamber nests within the lower chamber for transport and stands only 12” in height.

Configured with two Black Berkey™ Purification Elements the system will purify up to 2.5 Gallons (10.4 liters) per hour*.

 

[LeeRevell]

And if you pre-filter the water going into the Berkey via cheesecloth, coffee filters, etc., then the filter lasts longer - get rid of the 'big' stuff before it hits the filter.
The 'Frugal Squirrels' prepper forum site has lots of excellent info on water filtering and purification.

 

[66788]

I've been using this filter at home now, kind of testing it out before use in the van. This thing works well and make great tasting coffee! I'm quite pleased with it.

 

[highdesertranger]

thanks for the review. keep us informed. highdesertranger

 

[INTJohn]

This thread is so awesome that its worth resurrecting it because I'm sure there's a lot of vandwellers that may not be aware of the Berkey water purifiers.......
Next to air water is as most important so Berkey if you hang n the boondock wilderness.

Of particular interest to vandwellers who hang in the wilderness may be the Go Berkey:
http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/go-berkey-kit.html

I use the Travel Berkey which will filter about 2.5 gal/hr & the Go Berkey will do about a gallon/hr.. Its small & compact for those who need to be more space savings aware.
I got my Berkey on the their site 'Scratch & Dent sale and saved about 40$.......

FYI...............INTJohn

 

[PattySprinter]

I have my eye on getting a barley - looking to figure out a way to mount it ...

 

[Vinniethevan]

I have a Berkey in my van. It is my home version, but as the van goes, the Floride filters screw off by themselves and land in the reservoir. If it is full, I have a mess. When I re-screw them on, I have to make sure my hands are very clean or the purification process was for nothing. Hand cleanliness is certainly not guaranteed after a while in the van!

 

[Ken in Anaheim]

I wonder how the Berkey  compares to the (cheaper) Sawyer ?
https://sawyer.com/products/sawyer-pointone-one-filter/

 

[highdesertranger]

what I like about the Berkey is the stainless containers. highdesertranger

 

[caretaker]

I've read the reviews about berkeys,there are a lot of complaints about quality, and this i don't get, their not legal for sale in CA, whats up with that? for what its worth i believe katadin sells a model that i haven't read any bad reviews about, its called the base camp, i don't own either, but thats what I've read.

 

[SoulRaven]

I read about the CA directive and why Berkey wasn't participating: http://www.directive21.com/why-berkey-products-cannot-be-shipped-to-california/

We used both the types of Berkey in the past and saw no adverse effects. I see the Berkey as a tried and true product.

 

[closeanuf]

I've had a Berkey for about 5 years and I love it.  Berkey probably refused to pay the right people in Ca.

 

[Sabatical]

I've been looking at one of these as a way to avoid the water kiosks in the desert sw. Good read!

Sent from my SCH-I435 using Tapatalk

 

[cherterr]

I have used my Berkey for ? over a decade!   HOWEVER... For my little cabin last summer, I purchased the Travel Berkey. LOVE IT.. and it looks purdy too!  
ANYWAY..
(Not to usurp this thread.. BUT)...

HOW do you keep it in your van?  Do you camp/stop a lot so you can set it up, filter and fill glass bottles for use later on the road?
I keep staring at mine trying to figure out how to use it in my van (which was ultimately what I got it for.)  Still land bound in my granny cabin!
Thank you..
AND FYI.. nothing compares to the Berkey filters.  There are cheaper, but forget about it.  Just suck it up, save up some money,  and get the best thing!  You won't be sorry.

 

[SoulRaven]

I have used my Berkey for ? over a decade!   HOWEVER... For my little cabin last summer, I purchased the Travel Berkey. LOVE IT.. and it looks purdy too!  
ANYWAY..
(Not to usurp this thread.. BUT)...

HOW do you keep it in your van?  Do you camp/stop a lot so you can set it up, filter and fill glass bottles for use later on the road?
I keep staring at mine trying to figure out how to use it in my van (which was ultimately what I got it for.)  Still land bound in my granny cabin!
Thank you..
AND FYI.. nothing compares to the Berkey filters.  There are cheaper, but forget about it.  Just suck it up, save up some money,  and get the best thing!  You won't be sorry.

Hello and Berkey's are the very best water filters bar none. I do use certain filters as prefilters within my water lines before final stop into Berkey which has the most expensive filters and those prefilters make Berkey filters last much longer. My Travel Berkey has its home on right side front corner & at far end of my van's kitchen galley countertop. I used wood screws into side plywood of galley cabinet to attach two 1 1/2" wide 3/4" thick 28" long strips of wood about 3 inches apart and up to ~3/4 of the overall height of my Berkey.. I'm using 2 large nylon TyWraps to strap Berkey onto the two wood strips. I pounded four staples most of way into the outside of the two wood strips, staples sideways to put the TyWraps through to prevent sliding up and down, and for stability. I bought largest releasable Ty-Wraps for eco reasons & reusing many times, also to wash Berkey's filters & tanks out occasionally. 

On my main pump tubing line, I routed 1/2 inch tubing and various barbs & valves under countertop to shutoff flow of water into my faucet water tank and into tubing to Berkey. I then used 90 degree brass 1/2" PEX elbows to design a well fitting system of filling my Berkey with fresh clear water from my main tanks. I removed the Berkey lid's knob, drilled out the hole carefully to allow the tubing inserted about 2 inches into the fill chamber. I can hear the bubbling so I know it is nearly full and to turn off pump switch. It was a labor of love of having good clean water via my Berkey.

Hope this helps you in designing placement of your machine.

 

[SheepDog]

I’ve owned and used daily Berkey filters for about 15 years now!  Trying look into their testing methods and the labs that did themtakes you in circles and down dead end paths enough to be very frustrating!

I can’t help but think if they where as proud of their filters as they try to pretend the lab test would be very open and above board,

That being said I’ve switched to Doulton Super Sterasyl candles since better information is available on them!

A small kit will keep one of these running well long term!

SD

 

[Firtree]

I’m now seeing several sellers of the stainless steel containers and you can put in the candles of your choice.
Walmart is showing a Doulton SS with filters for $199 and Amazon shows several stainless steel with or with out filters.

Have a friends that were with the US govt for several years in Egypt and they all had the beautiful Doulton ceramic ones with the ceramic filters. I’d love to have one of those, but not for travel.