Big Berkey Gravity-Fed Stainless Steel Countertop Water Filter System 2.25 Gallon with 2 Authentic Black Berkey Elements BB9-2 Filters

Berkey
I didn’t know how I could love this so much! Water is so much better easy to use comes in a variety of sizes

Excellent product
Absolutely wonderful. Water taste so good

So far so good.
Works great. I hope it is filtering out all it says it does.

Not NSF Certified
I was fooled back in 2017, the claims Berkey makes are just too good to be true – and it turns out they are. One obvious example is they claim to filter 99.999% of VIRUSES; no authority on water quality will tell you that water filters (including reverse osmosis) can effectively remove viruses – even pure chlorine bleach claims “only” 99.97% effectiveness on viruses. This is a Logarithmic Scale, it does not mean 0.029% better; it means Berkey is claiming to do over 1000% better than pure bleach on viruses!Berkey misrepresents their “independent” tests as meeting or exceeding NSF standards. NSF runs 6,000 gallons of water through the filter BEFORE testing, Berkey’s tests ran 2 liters at most. NSF requires surprise onsite inspections annually and will purchase filters on the market randomly to test. Private testers are paid by Berkey and will only test what they are given. There are several competitors that are competitively priced, yet manage to be NSF certified and transparent about how they manufacture their filters.Be cautious when searching for “Berkey third party tests,” many do not do any technical testing, merely rate based on convenience and aesthetics. Other top results claim to not be funded by Berkey and give the filters top marks. Scroll down those pages and do a little investigating and you will see that either Berkey provided the specific filters tested, provided discount codes, or the sites are straight up Berkey dealers or directly owned by Berkey! Sites not affiliated with Berkey will give far more scathing reviews.The red food coloring test proves nothing except that the filters can filter out red food coloring. Carbon block water filters are not like sieves, they would clog up almost immediately if that was the case. Oversimplified, they are an absorbent material with varying ability to absorb and bind a variety of contaminants. There is ZERO evidence that food coloring is an accurate analog for contaminants we are seeking to filter out. A filter that allows food coloring through may still effectively filter contaminants; conversely, a filter that does not allow food coloring to pass may still be passing contaminants – possibly more than the prior example because the filter is binding with inconsequential particles.Again, Berkey’s claims are too good to be true and even if accurate, the company has no truly independent mechanisms for consumers to verify that their filters perform consistently.(FYI, the Water Quality Association [WQA] is another rigorous, transparent, and reliable water filter certification body. Berkey also lacks WQA certification).

I live in London (where water is said to have passed through many people before it got to you) in a Victorian terrace house that is divided into flats. I can’t replace the lead water supply pipe from the street as the owner of the flat above me lives abroad and can’t be bothered with the expense of replacing the pipe. The water from my kitchen tap has always tasted unpleasant and, with the added lead issue, it ended with my dental hygienist telling me I was far too dehydrated. She told me to get a water filter and so I went with a Berkey, as I wanted something that stands alone and doesn’t involve complicated machinery under the sink. Also, I liked the idea that it was gravity-fed and didn’t require electricity to work, unlike water distilling machines.I have to say that I am incredibly impressed with the result. They are finding plastic particles in mountain streams in Scotland and the Lake District, so no water in the UK can be considered “100% pure” but with my Berkey the filtered water has no taste of chlorine and no “mankiness” in general. The other day, I drank a glass of water from the kitchen tap without thinking and the horrible taste of it was a shock. I used to have to drink tea and coffee to mask the taste but now I have at least one glass of filtered water for every tea or coffee that I drink and I’m feeling and looking better for it. I still use the kitchen tap for the washing up and cleaning but for everything else, drinking and cooking, I use water from my Berkey.Lead pipes… copper pipes… plastic pipes… they will all have issues and the information that comes with the filter tells us that the Berkey can filter approximately 99% of pollutants (please check the info for the actual details), so I will be having a Berkey in my kitchen at any future property that I move to, even if I’m living in a less-polluted part of the country like Dartmoor.I have a couple of caveats. I have only had my Berkey for a couple of months, so I don’t know how easy it is to clean the ceramic filters and I don’t know how often they need to be replaced. As we saw with the Volkswagen “Diesel-gate” scandal, it is common practice for companies to be “economical with the actualité” and the filters may have to be replaced earlier than the company says. I won’t know for a year or two or three. However, for clean, potable, odour-free water…? In my experience, the Berkey has genuinely been worth the initial expense (it has been cheaper than paying a builder to dig up my front yard and replace the feeder pipe) and I won’t balk at the expense of getting new filters when the time comes. Other people who have purchased it complain that not all the water drains from the tanks due to how the ceramic filters and the spigot are placed but I have no issue with this. The small amount of unfiltered water that can’t drain out of the top tank is poured into the sink and the small amount of filtered water in the bottom tank gets poured into a jug I keep in the fridge. It’s very easy to manage.I just need to add that the advice on assembling the Berkey isn’t very clear, especially the part about how you “prime” the ceramic filters. So I recommend that you look at videos on YouTube where people show you how to do it. Once the details are clear, it takes just a few minutes.BTW, after having my Berkey for 3 months, my dental hygienist is really impressed with the results. I am now properly hydrated and the water I drink has less calcium in it thanks to the Berkey, so I have much less tartar on my teeth than I used to.

Delivers perfect water without much effort. Great design and looks great in the kitchen. I certainly can’t live without this filter as it makes poor quality water taste fantastic

Très satisfait de ce système de filtration par gravité acheté depuis un mois. J’ai ajouté un robinet inox et un support pour surélever l’ensemble sur ma table. Pour fonctionner les cartouches filtrantes doivent être remplies d’eau du robinet à l’aide d’un petit adaptateur que l’on pose entre le robinet et la cartouche que l,’on maintient à la main. Ça gicle un peu. Ensuite c’est très facile on remplit le bac du haut avec de l’eau max 8 l pour ce modèle et la filtration se fait assez rapidement en moins d’une heure. L’eau purifiée est très agréable à boire sans aucun goût en carafe ou au verre, pour préparer des boissons chaudes et froides. Plus besoin d’acheter des packs de bouteilles en plastique. Entretien une fois par mois en lavant les cuves et en réarmant les cartouches qui sont faciles à démonter/remonter. Les cartouches peuvent filtrer entre 22 000 et 23000 l avant d’être remplacées donc tranquille pour des années suivant la consommation quotidienne. Seuls bémols: notice en anglais mais vous trouverez des vidéos en français sur berkey water france et l’absence de jauge qu’il faut acheter en supplément. Sans elle il faut soulever le bac du haut pour vérifier le niveau d’eau restant dans le réservoir du bas . Ce modèle convient très bien pour une famille de 2 à 4 personnes et se remplit rapidement si vous êtes plus nombreux et que votre consommation augmente temporairement. Pour conclure j’ai vu ce système fonctionner sans problème depuis 2 ans chez ma fille ce qui m’a convaincu de m’équiper.