2 Reasons Why You Should NOT Buy A Berkey Water Filter
*This review is from REAL personal experience*
I purchased the Royal Berkey Water Filter + 2 Black Purifiers Elements Filtration System UK Steel from Amazon on 15 February 2018.
I personally own and use a Big Berkey water filter (The Royal Berkey) in my home so this article is coming from my personal experience of owning and using this product. This is in conjunction with looking at other reviews from verified customers online.
As shown below, I purchased it in 2018 from Amazon with my own funds and still use it today.
Before talking about all the good features, let’s quickly highlight some reasons why you might NOT want to buy a Berkey:
2 Reasons Why You Should NOT Buy a Berkey
It does NOT filter fluoride and arsenic without special filters.
Like most high quality counter top filters, Berkey is not cheap costing a few hundred bucks for the device and requires you to buy replacement filters on an on-going basis. However, the filter cartridges can last upwards of 6-12 months depending on your usage.
AquaTru Water Filter | Berkey Water Filter |
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| - Arsenic: Approx 90% (unspecified). - Fluoride by 91.8% (WITHOUT extra filters). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.9% - Chlorine 96.6% - Cysts 99.99% | - Arsenic by 99.9% (special filters required). - Fluoride by 99.9% (special filters required). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.8% |
| Available in 1-size only. | Available in various sizes. |
| Plastic materials. | Metal & plastic materials. |
| Number of filters: 3 | Number of filters: 2 - 4 |
| Filter methods: Mechanical, Reverse Osmosis & Activated Carbon filters. | Filter methods: Black microporous-filters & white fluoride Filters |
| 4-stage filter process. | 2-stage filter process. |
| Holds a maximum water capacity of 3-quarts. | 2.25 Gallons |
| 45.7 x 45.7 x 38.1 cm | 19" High x 8.5" Diameter |
| System: 1 year limited warranty. | Filters: 2 years; System: 1 year. |
| Full Performance Data Sheet (AquaTru). | Berkey Contaminants List NSF/ANSI test results |
| SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, use code MRWATERGEEK  | SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, Big Berkey bundle sale |
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7 Reasons Why You SHOULD
Here are all of my favourite things about the Big Berkey products and why you should consider buying one:
1. What Does Berkey Water Filter Remove? A lot.
This brand of filter literally removes hundreds of contaminants including any type 
of bacteria or parasite that one normally comes across in your everyday drinking water.
But there is more.
Apart from removing the obvious (like bacteria), the Berkey water filter also removes heavy metals like mercury and lead as well as VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), toxic chemicals like chlorine, chromium-6 and benzene (think Erin Brockovich).
If your water filtration needs include removing things like pharmaceutical drugs and pesticides then the Berkey removes this to levels higher than 99.99%.
2. Berkey Has a Highly Effective Fluoride Filter (99.9%+)
I have written extensively about how local authorities routinely add things like fluoride to the public tap water supply. This is an apparent move to help improve the dental and oral hygiene of the population but you don’t need this if you brush your teeth on a daily basis.
Does Berkey remove fluoride? Yes.
Most filtration devices do not remove fluoride. But the Berkey water filter does. In fact it has special filters that remove arsenic (another big no-no in your drinking water).
3. Berkey Does NOT require Electricity
Many countertop water filters need a water pressure system in order to work and this can sometimes require electricity. A filter system that uses electricity means higher bills.
However, Berkey filters are gravity fed!
This means you don’t need to worry about water pressure or electricity for that matter.
All you need to do is pour water into the top chamber and it filters the water down. By the time the water reaches the bottom chamber it’s completely filtered, purified, clean and ready to drink.
4. There is a Portable Version (Berkey Travel)
I have taken my Berkey water filter with me on vacation with friends. Since it doesn’t use electricity, need cables or need to be plumbed in you can take it anywhere.
Apart from holidays, it is perfect if you ever experience an emergency situation like a hurricane, earthquake or even a zombie outbreak.
At least if the worst happens, you won’t have to worry about clean drinking water.
5. Berkey Water Filter Saves Money In the Long Run
The Berkey water filter is extremely economical.
Yes, it can be a little pricey upfront. For instance, the Berkey 2 gallon model costs around $250, which seems expensive but get this: the two filters that come with the 2 gallon model will purify around 6,000 gallons before you need to replace them.
To put this into perspective, if you drink 10 gallons of water each week, it will take you around 11 years before they need replacing.
All this will come at a cost of less than 2 cents per gallon.
Now compare this to the fact that most water filters only last around 3-6 months!
6. Berkey Is Easy To Use
My other favorite thing about the Berkey water filter is they are so easy to use.
Literally just add water.
Bear in mind that you don’t need to plumb them in, hook them up to an existing water supply or connect it to electricity.
It comes with a valve so using it is as easy as turning on a tap.
Also, it is made from stainless steel, which makes cleaning it much easier as well.
7. Versatile Capacity / Sizes (Berkey Light, Travel, Big and Crown)
This is possibly one of the best things about Berkey water filters. It is big enough to contain up to 2.5 gallons of water in its reservoir and filters around 3.5 gallons per hour.
This makes it ideal for a big family OR if you simply want to have something big enough so you don’t need to refilled too often.
Despite its capacity, it is still very portable and not hard to transport if you, say, want to take it on vacation.
It is easy to take apart and nestle the top chamber into the bottom one. Once nestled like this, the entire unit only stands at 13 inches high so won’t take up too much room in your luggage.
If this wasn’t enough, they also come in lots of different sizes. Everything from the super portable1.5 gallon Travel Berkey all the way up to the giant 6 gallon Crown Berkey.
Berkey Water Filter SCAM?
Berkey is clearly a reputable company that builds quality water filters so where does this issue of a Berkey water filter SCAM come from?
Well Berkey had a sudden surge of demand within a short period of time that many re-sellers flooded the market to help pick up all the extra demand.
Sadly many of these re-sellers did not always work with integrity and this generated lots of bad reviews online.
This has been such an issue that Berkey themselves even comment on this issue on their website.
To avoid the “Berkey water filter scam” make sure you always buy your unit direct from source.
They also offer the best prices typically lower than what you would find on Amazon.
…Even More Reasons To LOVE The Berkey Water Filter
Berkey was rated #1 at removing contaminants in 2014 by Natural News Water Filter Labs.
Berkey filters exceed ANSI/EPA NSF standards for filtration. This means that they are considered to be water purifiers (not just water filters).
Berkey is trusted by organizations like Red Cross, Peace Corps and UNICEF to filter “un-drinkable” water in developing countries.
Final Thought On The Big Berkey Water Filter?
The biggest flaw that I can find is its high upfront cost when compared to other water filters.
Sorry, there is no getting away from the fact that this brand is a little more expensive than you would expect.
But when you consider all the contaminants it removes from your water, how long the filters last and how easy to use/portable it is, in my opinion it’s worth the money.
AquaTru Water Filter | Berkey Water Filter |
| |
| - Arsenic: Approx 90% (unspecified). - Fluoride by 91.8% (WITHOUT extra filters). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.9% - Chlorine 96.6% - Cysts 99.99% | - Arsenic by 99.9% (special filters required). - Fluoride by 99.9% (special filters required). - Lead 97.5% - Benzene 99.8% |
| Available in 1-size only. | Available in various sizes. |
| Plastic materials. | Metal & plastic materials. |
| Number of filters: 3 | Number of filters: 2 - 4 |
| Filter methods: Mechanical, Reverse Osmosis & Activated Carbon filters. | Filter methods: Black microporous-filters & white fluoride Filters |
| 4-stage filter process. | 2-stage filter process. |
| Holds a maximum water capacity of 3-quarts. | 2.25 Gallons |
| 45.7 x 45.7 x 38.1 cm | 19" High x 8.5" Diameter |
| System: 1 year limited warranty. | Filters: 2 years; System: 1 year. |
| Full Performance Data Sheet (AquaTru). | Berkey Contaminants List NSF/ANSI test results |
| SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, use code MRWATERGEEK | SPECIAL OFFER? Yes, Big Berkey bundle sale |
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