Berkey Water Filter Question

March 31st, 2011

[Update] It’s Much Less Turbid Than I Indicated Initially

In email and through the story suggestion form, I’m being flooded with pre-filter related stuff. Ok, I gave the wrong impression in my initial description.

A pre-filter isn’t going to do anything with this water. I poured a glass of steam distilled water and set it next to a glass of the spring water and they’re visually identical to my eyes. So, thanks for the pre-filter info, but it doesn’t apply here. If we were talking about the water from our dam, a pre-filter would definitely be necessary.

However, when I steam distill a gallon of the spring water, there’s about a quarter tea spoon of dirt/clay/scale left in the boiling chamber. The boiling surface of the electric kettle also fills up with this stuff.

Also, since I have access to all the rain water I want, I may just put that through the Berkey and re-mineralize it separately to make the filters last longer.

So, let’s change the question to just:

Is it true that the white ones physically hold up better for cleaning than the black ones?

And thanks for all the responses! Although I can’t respond to all of you individually, I appreciate your input.

—End Update—

I’m going to buy a Berkey water system, but I’m not sure which filters to get: White ceramic/Supersterasyl or Black Berkey filters?

Which would be better for somewhat very slightly turbid spring water?

Is it true that the white ones physically hold up better for cleaning than the black ones?

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10 Responses to “Berkey Water Filter Question”

  1. anothershamus says:

    I don’t know about the main filter but if you have turbidity you want a pre-filter, like james mccanney is hawking at the bottom of the page here:
    http://www.jmccanneyscience.com/SecWebOrderPg.htm

    He has gotten a bit sales oriented and rambles on and on anymore, I can’t take too much of him. But I have seen those filters and they look good.

  2. anothershamus says:

    I would think the ceramic would hold up better but they might be prone to damage if dropped etc.

  3. anothershamus says:

    It could be dissolved minerals in the water and it would take a reverse osmosis filter or distillation process to remove that, however, mineral water is good for you and for your pipes (in your house), we have water that we have to add minerals to so it won’t take the minerals from our copper pipes and corrode them from the inside. A little white vinegar rinse will clean out the scale. Test for dangerous minerals (arsenic etc) but otherwise it’s good.

  4. Kevin says:

    I gave the wrong impression re: turbidity. I updated the post.

  5. AHuxley says:

    Reverse osmosis would be an idea to look into. They seem to get most of the bugs.
    Not sure what the gravity filters really remove beyond the easy larger bits and chlorine smell.

  6. dagobaz says:

    as the fremen would say:
    water is life.

    although you may think I am nuts, I have both, and I use both: first I run the water through the unit with the white filters, then I run it through the unit with the black filters.

    In my experience, the white filters are much easier to clean, but be careful to not jar them sharply while cleaning them, else they will crack.

    – cybele

  7. Kevin says:

    @ dagobaz

    Ok, will be gentle with the ceramic ones while cleaning. Check. Thanks.

  8. Eileen says:

    I bought my sister, a hydrogeologist of 30 years, a Berkey filter with the white ceramic filters. She informed me that the white clean out metals, not bacteria.
    The black filters are for all of what the white filters do, plus bacteria. The instructions for the white filters say that to clean bacteria, you have to run Chlorine Bleach through the filter.
    I like what Dagobaz is doing.
    Had my well water tested last month. Am happy with the results but plan to get some black ones for emergency situations where I might have to draw water from the creek out back.

  9. Kevin says:

    @Eileen

    I don’t know which ceramic filters she’s talking about, but the Doulton ceramic ones (which are normally used with Berkey systems) very definitely filter out bacteria:

    http://doultonusa.com/HTML%20pages/salmonella_test.htm

    There are lots of other useful lab reports on that page (upper right).

  10. anothershamus says:

    I found two good .mp3s about water with some detailed info over here at The progressive Radio Network: The Expat Files, about a half hour each:

    Part 1: http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-expat-files/2011/3/4/the-expat-files-030711.html

    Part 2:http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-expat-files/2011/3/18/the-expat-files-032311.html

    He mentions that if you get filters from the pool place it’s much cheaper than a ‘water’ place for what sounds like the same product.

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