BERKY FILTER
For the longest time, I’ve recommended you buy not
only the dry bleach ( for $25 you get years worth of disinfecting water ) but
also buy a $55 Berky water filter brand ceramic element. You then take two five gallon buckets and
have yourself a water filter. I had been
under the impression that each element filtered up to twelve thousand gallons,
but I think I was relying on imperfect information. Going to the Lehman’s hand tool/off-grid
company web site:
It states that each white filter is good for six
hundred gallons. If you buy the black
filters for about $10 more each ( sold in two packs ) they are good for three
thousand gallons each. This is distressing
as I bought two white filters thinking I was good for twenty five thousand
gallons. I don’t have time for further
research so I’m not sure if I should panic yet or not. But regardless, this article is about the
Berky unit itself. Following my previous
advice, if you bought a ceramic element to make your own filter out of buckets,
you were almost paying the same amount of money as if you had just bought the
whole Berky steel unit with filters.
Four replacements are $220. The
whole unit is $235. Now, understood, if
you are really poor and can only afford $55 at a time you buy the lesser
bargain ( if you buy the two pack black filters you get a much better bargain-six
thousand gallons verses 1200 ). But if
you can swing it, it really is a much better buy for your money if you buy the
entire thing. To clarify, the “elements”
are the ceramic filters. The “Berky
Filter” is the entire unit, elements and their housing unit.
END
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Jim, as the saying goes, I have no connection to and no profit from but I bought Aqua Rain - filters only, and constructed the rest out of five gallon buckets. Anyone who reads your stuff would not spend the money on the whole unit when there is a cheaper workaround.
ReplyDeletehttp://aquarain.com/
http://grandpappy.org/hwaterre.htm
Well, as I said, I was under the mistaken idea the Berky's got way more gallons filtered than I'm now hearing. So, at the time, I thought the Berky got way more use. It WAS a better money deal.
DeletePrefer the Katadyn units myself. I have a table top and two backpacking units. I fugue of Katadyn is good enough for the Red Cross it's good enough for me.
ReplyDeleteAlso have an Aquarain table top unit.
Idaho Homesteader
I still have a Katadn from Y2K.
DeleteI sprung for the berky unit a few years back (2008?) they had a bad batch of black elements, adhesive holding the plastic fitting to the filter element failed after a week or two of use. They never did a recall and when I called the about it initially they said to keep using the other elements I had I reserve to see if the failed. They failed and when I called back expecting new parts they would only replace on a prorated basis, since I had several backups that failed over the course of almost a year I was going to get basically nothing. Also the supposed 304 stainless steel unit started rusting inside, when I told them about that they said I must not have cleaned it properly. My guess is Chinese 304 is not quite the same as 304 in the US.
ReplyDeleteI was reading of the quality control issues last night. And, if it is any consolation, I wasted my $110 buying the Berky's. Not because they broke, but because of lack of capacity. I hope I can get a good barter for them.
DeleteDamnation, I can't remember the color on my water filters, I THINK they are black but now I better check. Thanks for the update above by the way.
ReplyDelete