Survival Gear - Testing a Berkey water filter at the camp

[bigdanbear]

Have you had any problems with the filter? Other than the kids sucking it dry. I am thinking of buying one.

[Chewbacca1978]

If the Berkeys are so great,why do the Black Berkey filters break off at the base of the Plastic?I purchased 4 black Berkey filters four months ago used all four in the container and always took good care of them.Now I cant seem to get an exchange for the three that broke loose from what appears to be Hot Glued together.Berkey is a waste of my time and money.What a Ripoff.

[SelfRelianceGuy]

@Chewbacca1978 Berkey did have a problem with the silicone they use with the bases a while back. But you can contact a Berkey dealer and they will exchange them for you. Look for a little printed circle on the base of the filter and I bet it has a 11 with an arrow pointing to a 2,3,4. If you have a 11 with a 5 or higher, you should be out of the woods.

[shopkins011]

IF YOU ADD A PURE SILVER COIN IN THE TOP & BOTTOM .....EXTENDS LIFE!!

[outbackeddie]

These are great filters. I have a katadyn with two filters which operates the same way as the Berkey filters. You are right about the two filter elements being good for maybe 3-4 people. You definitely want 4 elements if you are trying to provide water for more than 4 people.

[CBob357]

On a realistic note, you boil the water first then filter it!

[hoopz2598]

So how safe would you say it is to drink water from anywhere (creek, river, etc.) with this Berkey filter? If I were to boil the water as an extra precaution, should I do that before pouring it into the filter or after the filtering process? I'm wondering cuz I'm thinking about buying one of these.

[dvorakfan1]

@hoopz2598 it is supposed to work even without boiling, but you could if you want to. But be sure the water is not hot when you filter it.

[PandoraLeigh]

Good video for seeing how well its quantity output works for your family. I have the big berkey w/ 4 ceramic filters.

I have yet to perform or see an independent analysis of bacterial contaminated water being cleaned up through this system.

[enjoythewildUSA]

I'm a little surprised at how long it takes to filter water.

[littleblessingsfarm]

I am glad you did this we have the same system with 4 filters. I am wondering if you primed your filters first? It seems like your system is running alittle slow even for the 2 filters.

[CooksGarden]

Kevin - Great information - It's the same reason I began growing my own food here in South Central Texas. Small step, and not as thorough as yours, but a step non the less. Thanks for your sharing

[n9hxv1986]

Where have you been? Waiting for your next video!

[1971emily]

I'd check your filters or something. Used this same model of berkey for 8 months living in the backwoods as our ONLY source of water (haul water in from 20 miles away from the gas station and put it through the berkey) for 2 adult humans & four dogs (all over 60 lbs, 1dog over 120 lbs in size) & we always had a full resevoir of water to drink from. It filtered so much that I was emptying it into a gallon jug 2 -3 times/day so had spare water. Elevation difference maybe? we were at 5K feet.

[nbenicewicz]

Pretty nice house for a camp site.

Awesome and very informative video though.

[sk8r706]

I also live in texas, could I leagally carry a full size ka-bar for camping or survival type uses?

[BugOutFox]

I don't get it... you have a sink and dish washer, so wouldn't you have running water anyway... whats the point of using creek water just turn on the faucet

[Rocdenindy]

@BugOutFox because in a survival setup you won't have running water.

[survivalistboards]

@BugOutFox - you dont test your plans very much,,, do you???

[TheRealSuperSlayer]

@BugOutFox It's for campers or for the end of the world :)

[prescottbill]

Solar stills work great (free plans available on Web). At correct temps they kill all bacteria and remove all solids. Build now to use later. Then all you need is sunshine and any water source.

[SECRETBOL]

Great demo ! Never seen anyone use it with stream water.

-Thanks.

[AppalachianFreedom]

-- Great Unit! Think I'll go through my Brita out the back door! ;^P

[directive21]

Thanks kev, this is a great video, which will answer a lot of questions that we get every day.

theberkeyguy

[Vicryl007]

Nice video. Here's an idea for you next video. Obtain different water filters that are currently out on the market and filter dirty creek water in each one then culture the filtered water on agar plates and see which one has the most or least bacterial colony units. Compare it the the culture of the dirty creek water. See which one is the best filter.

[mrbunnylamakins]

MMMMM I like the leeched taste of plastic from water bottle and not to mention it is good for your health....

[Banqoe37]

hey like the videos its good stuff i do a lot of camping/hunting in oregon

[bozzchem]

My 2 cents regarding the"Testing" of a Berkey system requires that the filters have been previously hydrated and that a couple drops of red food coloring are added to the water in the upper tank to give a visual representation of the filtration capabilities based upon what the water looks like once filtered into the lower tank.

Hydration of the filters makes a night and day difference in the speed of their filtration - based on my experience.

[bozzchem]

Hydration of the filters is done by getting the water to the internal area of the filter. Preferable with pressure but even if only poured in, the filtration rate will be markedly different.

If your water supply isn't trustworthy, a 1/2 tsp of bleach in a gallon of water allowed to sit for 20 min should render the water potable for use for hydrating the filters.

Keep in mind the Berkeys will remove all semblance of chlorine so you'll never taste it. It's worth the time to pre-hydrate them!

[bozzchem]

I'm sorry for the length of this and don't even know if my messages are following a "flow pattern"

Anyway, once the filters are pre-hydrated, plan on dumping the first 1/2 gallon or so that is filtered...which is perfect since you'll have put a couple drops of red food dye in the upper chamber. This allows for removal of the chlorine from the internal method of hydration as well as testing the efficacy of the filtration itself.

Once you have at least a 1/2 gallon of CLEAR water collected...

[bozzchem]

once you're assured that the collection water has no red in it. You can have faith that your filters are performing as expected. Me personally? When filtering creek, lake or pond water, I still add the bleach to the water and allow it to sit for 10 - 20 min. prior to adding to the upper chamber and the filtration process because once it's filtered, you'll never taste it. Consider the bleach an additional safeguard.

Again, this is my 2 cents based on my use of my Berkey system.

Cheers!

[survivalistboards]

@bozzchem - I wanted to test the unit with no purging, because a lot of people ask if the unit "has" to be purged to work.

One of the upcoming videos will be a berkey light - side by side test with 1 filter purged and 1 not. That way viewers will be able to see how flow difference their really is.

[johnlvs2run]

That's a great idea to put food coloring in the tank. Also be sure to have a TDS meter, that measures the total dissolved solids in the water. The berkey filters do NOT significantly change the tds of the water. All they do is to get out some of the largest particles.

Reverse osmosis is much much better. I would use a reverse osmosis system with a permeate pump.

[bozzchem]

@johnlvs2run

A TDS reading isn't always a bad thing. No TDS means the water has been stripped of any minerals that may be beneficial. The key to water filtration is filtering out the bad and leaving the good.

While RO does a great job, it isn't done by gravity as with the Berkey system. RO isn't a viable option (that I've seen) for tossing in your car and heading for the hills since pressure is required.

I'm not a Berkey shill...just a biochemist who has done his share of water testing.

[survivalistboards]

@johnlvs2run - will your reverse osmosis system with a permeate pump work without electricity?

[johnlvs2run]

@survivalistboards Yes, a permeate pump works from water pressure.

It does not use electricity.

[directive21]

@johnlvs2run This analysis is incorrect, TDS meters only read how much minerals are in the water, and not things like chlorine or giardia, and therefore don't really tell you anything but that the berkey systems do not remove the minerals.

[johnlvs2run]

@directive21 TDS meters measure the total dissolved solids in the water.

The RO membranes are orders of magnitude smaller than the berkeys, and do much better at removing chlorine, giardia. Also an RO membrane removes toxic chemicals such as arsenic, lead, radium, mercury and many more that the berkey does not remove.

I would not consider water from a berkey to be safe.

[chancey1979]

@johnlvs2run This is true about the berkey filter. To my surprise I just tested the TDS of my tap and then the TDS of my filtered tap from my Berkey Light. The Berkey Light with 2 Black filters reduced my TDS from 480 ppm with tap to 380 ppm. So thats a total reduction of about 20% with Total Disolved Solids.

[kimintexas]

I love my Berkey!

[bctruck]

This kind of review is exactly what I was looking for. My next prepping purchase will be a berky.

[survivalstuffonline]

Bottled water is tap water!

[rockhardxrocker]

@survivalstuffonline not all, some are filtered further.

[neonshoji]

Probably a dumb question, but do these have any affect on salt water? If not, are there any desalinization water filters for home use/shtf scenarios? Or are solar stills still the only option?

[CreamPie9uy]

@neonshoji Reverse osmosis filters can desalinate water. You can get one made by Katadyn which is hand operated, they use them on lifeboats. The type of filter he shows in this video wont remove dissolved salts, only particulate and possibly some heavy metals. You can also get domestic reverse osmosis filters which remove fluoride from tap water.

[threesixninezerotwo]

@neonshoji

Its a whole different ball game when it comes to Desalinization, I don't think a filter exists that can fix salt water to be good for drinking yet, so solar stills seem the only way still.

[TribTrekker]

Don't run dry filters without priming/flushing, as you did. You risk residue or loose contaminates in new filters and mold or mildew in used stored ones getting into your drinking water. Additional note for newbies: Berkey will not make salt water drinkable!

[TheGrayman1234]

TEST YOUR FILTER. TEST YOUR FILTER. TEST YOUR FILTER. I got a Berkey a couple of years ago and tested the filter putting water mixed with food coloring into the tank. Immediately the test showed a failure in one of the filter elements. Had I given this water to my family, I would have made them very sick. I have not bought a Berkey since. If I ever do, I will test the filters again just to make sure. TEST YOUR FILTERS.

[vonhismean]

@TheGrayman1234 I actually remember that vid that was nuts. I was so getting ready to buy one of those aswell. It definitely on my no buy list now.

[TheGrayman1234]

@vonhismean I may buy one someday, but I will never use it without periodically testing it.

[JOHNNYH8STHENWO]

Great review!! I got my eyes on that Berkey. I probably won't get the royal because it's just me, but I appreciate you showing the results. And by the way, I click ads, lol!!

[awakesleepinggiant]

Great review, I have one too and the only thing that frustrates me is that we forget to fill it the night before. We use it to make coffee, add to fruit juice for our 4 year old and to mix baby formula and also to drink, but if we forget to fill it, it throws us off. We buy cases of water, but not as much as we use too. Highly recommend it.

[capreolus4]

great filter,every first time, you have to pressure the water through, to start it .it holds air i think..then you have a better flow.

[CaptainBerz]

I have never heard of this product, I am really interested now. Great review, quick and to the point, just the way I like videos. Keep up the great videos.

[pacificcoast]

great video, and an excellent demonstration of why you need to go beyond just accumulating survival gear and actually put it to use. by "living" it you get a feel for the equipment and learn its limitations. you done good!

[mbray59612]

i love my berkey i have had it for years. great product

[katiatomsk]

We use ours at home to filter the city tap water. We also have the fluoride/arsenic filters attached below. The water drips into a water cooler which workes great.

We LOVE the Berkey, even in the city for our daily use. We keep it filled to a certain level and add if we see it below. Only once or twice in the summer do we run out because someone didn't refill.

[hallard069]

Good review, I think one of these should be at every BugOut Camp/TSHTF camp. Just a FYI, I've found some of the ceramic candles for Berkey's and their clones are different. Ones that don't contain the impregnated silver, the water should be pre-treated chemically then ran through the filter. Many cheaper candles contain just the ceramic (remove to .03) and a carbon core (to clean taste/chemicals).

[BubbleBeet]

cool vid, i didnt realize it filtered so slow. i just bought the travel berkey but havent used it yet. its good piece of mind knowing it can filter thousands of gallons of water. i plan on filtering water from some rain barrels or toting water from a nearby creek/lake if needed.

[buttheadfred778899]

nice video thank for doing a review on that water fiter..