Thinking about getting a Berkey water filter? Here is our review of the Royal Berkey, it’s benefits, and whether or not it’s right for you!
Water filters are a popular product. While we have one in our fridge, we’ve thought about getting a more robust one. So when Berkey reached out to us, how could we say no!?
We hadn’t used Berkey Water Filter products before, but whenever we mentioned them to others who had tried them they had nothing but positive things to say. We responded that we were excited to try their product.
What is a Berkey Water Filter Revieew
First, I’ll explain very simply what a Berkey is and what it does.
Some are a little different in size and material, so I’ll just talk about our specific model, the Royal Berkey Water Filter.
The Royal Berkey has two stainless steel chambers, two filters, a rubber base, and a stainless steel lid.
To use it you put water into the upper chamber, with the filters, and the filtered water filters into the lower chamber. A spigot for the lower chamber allows you to pour water out as needed.
The Berkey is a gravity-based system and has no electrical parts. As such, isn’t lightning fast. You’d want to fill up the upper chamber to begin the filtering process a little while before you need your filtered water.
Fortunately, the short wait is well worth it.
According to Berkey, their water filters essentially take out the bad and leave in the good. The natural minerals are still there for you to drink, but the pathogens, heavy metals, chlorine, and other chemicals are removed.
I don’t have a lab to verify their claims for myself, but I can state that the water tastes great!
Plus, it did filter out the food coloring I add as my personal test.
The food coloring test serves as a test of seal between the two chambers, as well as testing the filters ability to filter.
Royal Berkey Water Filter Review
Initially, I felt that the Berkey was packaged well, and made out of high-quality materials. One chamber fits inside of the other like a Russian nesting doll, which is a space-saver while storing and transporting.
I thought that the instructions were relatively clear and easy. It was a little difficult to prime the filters, because my kitchen faucet is not flat enough.
Prime the filters forces water through the filters for the first tie to allow for smoother flow later. My kitchen faucet head has a bunch of bumpy holes for my sprayer setting. I had to go outside in late fall, it was rather cold, and use my spigot to prime my filters.
Maybe the instructions were not as clear as I thought, because I later realized that the filters go into the upper chamber. I had them hanging from the upper and going into the lower chamber originally. I think that is why I seemed to overfill the Berkey a few times and water spilled out of the side onto my counter.
Overall, I enjoyed using the Berkey and I would highly recommend the Royal Berkey and the other Berkey Water Filter products.
Benefits of a Berkey Water Filter
First, a Berkey Water Filter can provide peace of mind about the safety and health impacts of your water.
The news of water issues from Flint, MI and other areas has many people concerned about the quality of their water, and a Berkey Water Filter can eliminate that.
Two, a Berkey can help you to have great tasting water. I’ve lived in North Carolina, Utah, California, and Colorado, and water taste and quality can vary greatly from city to city.
Growing up I thought the water I was raised with was normal, but now I think it has a serious aftertaste of sand. It’s not the worst taste in the world, but definitely no the best tasting water.
I actually prefer that water to the I would later have where I could really taste the chlorine and chemicals used to clean the water. I have a feeling that this second type of water is more and more common. Berkey can help you feel like you’re drinking from a mountain stream.
Even if you have well water, you might want block whatever your neighbors might be leaking into your water table.
Third, if you’re someone who buys bottled water in order to avoid tap water, then a Berkey could save you from using a lot of plastic bottles. Plus, it would eliminate the use of all of the fuel and materials to make the bottles and ship them.
Plus, buying a lot of filtered water gets expensive. Over the life of Berkey, a gallon of Berkey filtered water is only about 7 cents. My Royal Berkey has two black, durable water filters that should be good for 6,000 gallons! I shouldn’t have to replace my filters for a very long time.
Lastly, since Berkey Water Filters are portable an don’t use electricity, it is great for emergencies and while camping/RVing. It can be difficult to prepare a water supply for an emergency. Water is so essential, so in an emergency you’ll need a lot of water. Giant water barrels can be expensive and a pain to store, and water bottles have expiration dates because the thin plastic an contaminate the water over time. I strongly feel that a Berkey Water Filter is a great option for providing water for your family in an emergency.
It wasn’t too long ago when my own home town had problems supplying water due to a hurricane. Increased floodIng due to torrential rain and rising sea levels puts the water supply of a lot of people at risk.
Compared to a bottle of water, Berkey Water Filters can see rather expensive. However, the value that I have mentioned above, it might be the right investment for you and our family.
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