DIY Berkey Filter

[Evan1boy]

DO you sell the filters by themselves? I couldn't find them on your site.

[titaniumtube]

Consider using stainless steel beer kegs if you can obtain them.

[spamllpitdept]

Any way to make something like this with glass to avoid the plastics?

[ERicincal]

Question: Could you go camping in the desert and use RV grey water (bath water/ dish water) to run through this filter? If you did, would the water that came out, be ok to use again? If it sat for a while in the bucket, would there be odor? I was thinking of building a filter like this, and then using the reclaimed water to put into a misting fan to cool the 110 degree desert air, but I don't want a weird smell in the air.

[dirtdiver5050]

Great video thank you!

[darksidenactseit]

Getting sick of all the videos of these idiots making these "make your own filter" videos when you obviously didn't make the filter itself. You also fail to show a PPM test. I get no more than 9 PPM using a hanna instruments meter.

[rockyourglock23]

how long does it take to filter 1 gallon of water???

[sspence65]

@rockyourglock23 about a half an hour or so.

[dvinci12345]

How would I add the fluoride reduction filters to this set up? Thanks

[sspence65]

@dvinci12345 They screw on to the bottom of the main filters, inside the lower bucket.

[PHILG8Sdaproducer]

Proud 2 say that this was a GREAT VIDEO!!!!

[PurplePalace55]

Thanks... lol.. I"ve had my Berkey for about 6-7 yeas, and wanted a second one for my new little 'campsite' .. so thanks for saving me more than 1/2 the price!! :):) UM..??? have you ever used a 5 gal. container to do this??

[sspence65]

@PurplePalace55 I've built these with 4, 5, and 6 gallon containers. I can provide you with the filters and the faucet kits.

[PHANTOMSLAYER7]

To think people are being ripped off for 10s of thousands, when there is a more affordable way for the depression era survivor.

[PHANTOMSLAYER7]

This is simply the most phenomenal video yet.

[sspence65]

@PHANTOMSLAYER7 Thanks! Please share.

[PHANTOMSLAYER7]

I guess the first bucket has to be cleaned occasionally, when replacing the filters?

[sspence65]

@PHANTOMSLAYER7 Usually rinsing is sufficient.

[PHANTOMSLAYER7]

Hey, call me dense, but, suppose I wanted to purify enough rain water to hydrate two humans with this system, how safe is it, and are there any meters that one can attach in order to know when to replace filters? Awesome video.

[sspence65]

@PHANTOMSLAYER7 This is a purifier, so it's totally safe. When the filters slow down, scrub them gently with a brush or pad. When that no longer works, replace them.

[tjayweaver]

$100 for two filters that will do 3000 gallons. That is: $1 for every $30 gallons. Seems just a scoshe high IMO. That's unreasonable unless you are only using it occasionally.

[sspence65]

@tjayweaver 3000 gallons per filter, or 6000 gallons total. Try pricing water by the gallon at the grocery store. Best I can find is $0.25 / gallon. The berkey comes in at less than $0.02 / gallon. If you are in a situation where clean drinking water is not available, you can't put a price on it.

[BigDH28]

@sspence65 VERY TRUE!

[garlicdawg]

nice work Bro'....Im on this project like yesterday.....can I buy it from you.....?

[sspence65]

@garlicdawg yes you can, on the green-trust website

[ohgodratwings]

My main concern is filtering the fluoride in tap water. Berkeys site has the black elements and the white attachments, which filter fluoride. i wonder if it is possible to use these alone, as i am not trying to collect rainwater or anything like that. thanks!

[sspence65]

@ohgodratwings The main filter will remove chlorine, the secondary filter will remove fluoride. It would be challenging to rig up the secondary filter alone, but possible. I sell both on the green-trust site in the /products/ area

[ohgodratwings]

@sspence65 thanks for the quick reply. would you know of any other fluoride filters i can rig up in the same way as youve done with this one? i tried to research it myself but as you can imagine its hard to tell what you can DIY when everyone is trying to sell you something. thanks

[sspence65]

@ohgodratwings not off the top of my head. I sell the parts so you can DIY the thing yourself.

[MarshallrN]

Great video! I have a Berkey light and love it, yet my filters came apart after only 145 gallons. UN happy with the craftsmanship.

[sspence65]

@MarshallrN Have not had that problem. Did you contact your dealer?

[agarrat76]

Lol my man use the drill that bucket is beating you and that screwdriver up...

[TheHeretic2011]

In Iowa, it's illegal to buy a real water filter (Brita's are commonly available though), so I find your info really useful. Gonna build one ASAP.

[BrokenCapo]

Actually the labor minus the container cost and base would probably be about 50. So DIY would save you $50 assuming you have the right tools.

[BrokenCapo]

nice job... cool... i was thinking about doing the same, but jst went and bought the Big Berkey Lite from Amazon for 235 with 2 black elements and 2 pf2 fluoride filters. So i essentially paid about 85 bucks for the nicer looking plastic translucent water cooler container with a base and no labor. So labor cost savings would have been about 70 bucks for DIY.

[unitedstatesdale]

Put silicone sealer on the rubber seal. Over time, The seal will leak bad water into your good water. FYI

[kmkdenali]

Should have shown it in action

[sspence65]

@kmkdenali There's not a lot to see. Open the faucet and water comes out. That's not a new concept ;-)

[asianstrength]

how do you know when to replace the water filter?

[sspence65]

@asianstrength When it slows down to the point that no water is coming through, and cleaning the filter does not restore action.

[asianstrength]

@sspence65 Thank your for answering my question and also for this great video.

[zehnsechz]

what about the toxins leeched from the plastic?

[sspence65]

@zehnsechz It's food grade plastic, and cold water. Leaching is not an issue.

[zehnsechz]

@sspence65 oh ok, i was wondering because the bottled water we drink is said to leech chemicals into the water.

[grandmaginny222]

Does anyone know if this setup would work on Rain Barrel water to make it drinkable?

[sspence65]

@grandmaginny222 It absolutely will make rain barrel water pure for drinking.

[NorCalMediGrower]

Awesome vid! Saving tons of cash with this vid!

[shithitthefanman]

How long do you find you have to wait till all the water from the top bucket filters through using two black berkey filters? Just wondering. Good job.

[sspence65]

@shithitthefanman a couple of hours, depending on how many elements you have installed.

[shithitthefanman]

great video. does the filter need to be prepped first?

[sspence65]

@shithitthefanman backfilling the filter with water before use gets it up and running faster, and increases flow. these instructions and the special grommet is included with the filter cartridges.

[rlmarin1968]

Seriously folks, let's cut the paranoia around food grade buckets. As long as a HDPE2 bucket was not used to store poisons/chemicals, it is food safe. The only difference between a HDPE2 bucket at a bakery and one at Wal-Mart is the bakery bucket held "food" in it and the Wal-Mart bucket hasn't held anything yet.

There are NO markings on the bakery bucket that make it different from the Wal-Mart bucket...they are the SAME THING!

I am NOT a certified inspector...just using common sense.

[sspence65]

@rlmarin1968 The point I was making is that these are used food buckets, they have not had poisons/chemicals previously, and being used, the embodied energy of the project is much less. Repurposing and recycling are good things. . As for all HDPE2 buckets being food safe, that's incorrect, as many of the labeled new buckets have special colors / paint jobs that I would not want in contact with my food. I recommend the plain white buckets.

[rlmarin1968]

Fair enough...so let's just say that all WHITE HDPE2 buckets are food grade as long as they were never used to store hazardous chemicals/materials. I called Argee (a major manufacturer of these types of buckets) and was told that all of their white HDPE2 buckets meet FDA requirements for such use.

My point is that people are being told that even white HDPE2 buckets aren't food grade unless they had food in them or that they can only be bought @ special stores for much more than @ home depot.

[Rustaholic777]

I will order The DIY Berkey Water Purifier kit in a few weeks but I will drill the holes with a Forstner bit in one of my cordless drills.

I want to see if those Berkeys will take the stink out of my mother's water.

[sspence65]

@Rustaholic777 Ready to order?

[Rustaholic777]

@sspence65 Soon I hope.

[waterfiltersystems1]

great video

[northernthaiguy]

great video. We used filters like these for 20 years in Thailand - they work GREAT!!!

[trisky1234]

Good luck with the legionellosis.

[sspence65]

@trisky1234 There is none. Can't be with this purifier.

[GOP4USA]

Where can I get these filters and buckets?

[Rustaholic777]

@GOP4USA Look above,, He gives the web site.

[littlebitofeverythin]

Excellent! I've always wanted a Berkey but didn't want to shell out the big bucks for the container. Thanks! Sorry people give others such a hard time on here. I think that is really sad.

[sspence65]

If you mount the faucet carefully, there might be a 1/4" to 1/2", but it's constantly being mixed with fresh water, so it should always be pretty full, so distance from bottom isn't critical unless you run it down to faucet level.

[EducatorHQ]

so there'll be a couple of inches of water left in the bottom of that second bucket. Depending on where you attach the faucet?

[ecg1992]

good video, thanks.

[THEDANEO86]

SO HOW DOES THE WATER GET INTO THE SECOND BUCKET ???

[sspence65]

@THEDANEO86 The water filters through the purifiers into the second bucket.

[waspswatter]

Good video, although the spigot isn't really necessary. You could just remove the top bucket and pour out the water in the bottom bucket.

BTW, I don't consider whipped margarine to be "food safe" lol.

[JonnyLikesPie]

Mmmmm....margarine water

[raw5069]

I love it  !

[voodazz]

Do the washers come with the elements?

[sspence65]

@voodazz yes, the washers come with the filter elements.

[Coyote1911]

Embodied Energy? Seriously? News flash: we arent running out of landfill space. 

[sspence65]

@Coyote1911 Embodied energy has nothing to do with landfill space. Reusing plastic instead of landfilling it means cheaper material costs and less oil consumption. Remember the 5 R's:

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Repair

Repurpose

[danfromabove]

@sspence65 You forgot some; refuse, resist, revolt. XD

[askaxis]

i was thinking about (2) 5 gallon plastic water bottles, i wonder if they are made with that bpa stuff? --cut the tops off 2 arrowhead bottles and nestle one on top, make a lid out of something for the top, nice thing would be you can see the water levels also cut down a third bottle for a base and stick a led light in it like the berkey light units, nice video steve!

[ih8regs]

I suppose you could split the difference, plastic on top for ease of creating, relying on the filter, and use stainless steal for the catch container.

[ih8regs]

I suppose you split difference, plastic on top for ease of creation, relying on the filter, and stainless steel for the bottom catch reservoir.

[ih8regs]

Only problem with the design is the use of plastic, bisphenol A. Also, if you wanted to get fancy, add float/valve, like in toilets, in the top reservoir for auto refill.

[sspence65]

@ih8regs I recommend food grade plastic buckets. Great idea, on the auto fill, but are toilet valves food grade? eh, probably not a big deal, as the berkey filter would remove any contaminates.

[ih8regs]

@sspence65 Food grade plastic doesn't sidestep the problem, they have BPA. This is problem in the U.S., other countries were smart enough to ban BPA. Regardless, plastics leech what they're made of, even hard plastics when cold, I would go with stainless steel. I said add a float/valve, like in toilets, not use a toilet float/valve:) Though you're probably right that you could put it in the top reservoir and rely on the filter, & could be certain by comparing BPA molecule to filter size.

[MeezersRcool]

Terrific video - I have a Berkey purifier like it very much, but was thinking of getting a larger unit - found this to be try this summer - we used a lot of water with cooking etc. now we can use make one along with out stainless Berkey. Thank you!

[sspence65]

I need two for volume. One isn't fast enough. Large families or groups may need up to 6.

[purplefetus3]

Awesome video! The truth is you also only need one berkey filter. Save the other one for future replacement.

[couchebag]

Great video, I know you can get the food grade butter buckets at any bakery for mostly free but where locally can one buy water spigots for the bottom bucket?

[sspence65]

@couchebag Local hardware store, maybe. we ship them with the filter cartridge.

[kastnmagic]

Has anyone had the PRE water and the AFTER water contaminants independently tested to see how well this system (Berkey) truly works?

[sspence65]

@kastnmagic yes, University of Arizona, Spectrum Labs, Louisiana State Univ.

[Myriadira]

wondering if a pocket katadyne filter would do similar..or does anyone know the difference tween it and the berkey..thanks 4 this vid, appreciate no electric tools demo

[sspence65]

@Myriadira The Berkey is a purifier, not a filter. It removes a greater number of contaminates than the katadyne, and is good for 3000 gallons per element. You can put at least 4 elements in a bucket.

[TheDudeRulez09]

wow Steve your looking good!!!

[sspence65]

@TheDudeRulez09 Thanks. I lost 20 lbs.

[sspence65]

@SuperSexyBoiGod $99 for a set of two, which will filter a total of 6000 gallons or so, or $125 for the complete kit with faucet and ebook.