What Are The Best Berkey Water Filter Combinations?
Choosing the right combination of filter purification elements for your Berkey System can sometimes be a little confusing. Let's try to clear that up.
How Many Berkey Filters are Needed?
How Many Berkey Filters are Needed?
Choose You water Filters Wisely
Take time to learn your filtering needs and match them with your long term budget goals!
Berkey Water Filtration Facts
How do these Berkey Filters Match Up?
- Basic systems all start out with 2 filtration elements in the upper chamber. You then build upon the system from there depending on your needs and system capacity.
- The larger the system, the more elements you can fit into the upper chamber. It ranges from 2 elements in a system like the Travel Berkey or Berkey Light, to 8 elements in the Crown Berkey. More details can be found in Berkey Water Filters.
- Traditionally, filter / purifying elements are designed for either the upper or the lower chamber. Ceramic filters and Black Berkey filters are upper chamber. PF-2 Fluoride / Arsenic and PF-4 Fluoride / Arsenic / MTBE / Lead filters are lower chamber. In theory, if you wanted to pimp out your Berkey, 16 filtration elements could fit into the Crown Berkey
- Black Berkey's only match up with PF-2's, and Ceramics only match up with PF-4's. This is because the PF-2's are designed to complement the improved filtering abilities of the Black Berkey elements. Similarly, PF-4 filter technology is designed to complement and fit with the Ceramic filtration elements. So, if you buy 4 BB's up top, you'll need 2 sets of PF-2's down below...not a PF-4 set.
- The amount of upper chamber elements in any given system must match the amount of lower chamber elements. i.e. 2 BB's up top must equal 1 set of PF-2's down below, 4 Ceramic's up top must equal a set of PF-4's below...etc.
- You cannot combine different types of filtration elements in one chamber. In other words, if you have 2 Black Berkey purification filters in the upper chamber and you'd like to expand to 4, you cannot add two Ceramic filters to the mix. You would need to add 2 addt'l Black Berkey filters.
- More Filters = Faster filtration; not better filtering. If you're buying a larger Berkey water filter system, you most likely have a requirement for water to be available quicker and in larger volumes. In this case, you would want to opt for 4, 6, or 8 upper chamber filter elements.
Big Berkey with 4 Ceramic Filters
Here's what the Big Berkey looks like with 4 Ceramic Filters in the Upper Chamber
Big Berkey with PF-4 filters
Here's what the Big Berkey looks like with 4 PF-4's in the Lower Chamber
These PF-4's match the "Big Berkey with 4 Ceramic filters" picture above.
"Berkey Water Filtration elements are respected and revered the world over as best in class!"
What type of Berkey Filters are needed?
Black Berkey and PF-2 Combination
The Black Berkey and PF-2 Combination are the biggest sellers in the US.
Black Berkey - These are the most popular in the US due to their longevity, ability to be cleaned, and long list of items they filter. The powerful Black Berkey purification elements remove or reduce pathogenic cysts, parasites, harmful or unwanted chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides, VOCs, detergents, organic solvents, trihalomethanes, cloudiness, silt, sediment, nitrates, nitrites, heavy metals, foul tastes and odors, yet they leave in the healthful and beneficial minerals that your body needs.
PF-2 Fluoride / Arsenic - If you are concerned about fluoride and arsenic and other heavy metal ions in your water, you would then invest in a set of PF-2's to work along with the Black Berkeys.
Black Berkey - These are the most popular in the US due to their longevity, ability to be cleaned, and long list of items they filter. The powerful Black Berkey purification elements remove or reduce pathogenic cysts, parasites, harmful or unwanted chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides, VOCs, detergents, organic solvents, trihalomethanes, cloudiness, silt, sediment, nitrates, nitrites, heavy metals, foul tastes and odors, yet they leave in the healthful and beneficial minerals that your body needs.
PF-2 Fluoride / Arsenic - If you are concerned about fluoride and arsenic and other heavy metal ions in your water, you would then invest in a set of PF-2's to work along with the Black Berkeys.
What type of Berkey Filters are needed?
Ceramic Filters and PF-4 Combination
The Ceramic and PF-4 Combination also have a strong following due to a well respected and longstanding reputation as best in class.
Super Sterasyl Ceramic Filters - Similar to the Black Berkey's the upper chamber ceramic filters elements remove suspended solids, parasites, cysts and pathogenic bacteria and reduce organic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, organic solvents, trihalomethanes, SOCs, VOCs and foul tastes and odors. These are also recleanable and use silver as part of the filtering mechanism.
PF-4 Fluoride / Arsenic / MTBE / Lead - Where the ceramic filters leave off, the PF-4's pick up. They remove MTBE (Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether, Fluoride, Lead, Arsenic, and designed to adsorb DBCP (Dibromo-chloro-propane), THMs (trihalomethanes), Herbicides & Pesticides, and Heavy Metal ions. These filters however need to be replaced approximately every 6 months.
Super Sterasyl Ceramic Filters - Similar to the Black Berkey's the upper chamber ceramic filters elements remove suspended solids, parasites, cysts and pathogenic bacteria and reduce organic chemicals, pesticides, herbicides, organic solvents, trihalomethanes, SOCs, VOCs and foul tastes and odors. These are also recleanable and use silver as part of the filtering mechanism.
PF-4 Fluoride / Arsenic / MTBE / Lead - Where the ceramic filters leave off, the PF-4's pick up. They remove MTBE (Methyl-tertiary-butyl-ether, Fluoride, Lead, Arsenic, and designed to adsorb DBCP (Dibromo-chloro-propane), THMs (trihalomethanes), Herbicides & Pesticides, and Heavy Metal ions. These filters however need to be replaced approximately every 6 months.
How Many Berkey Fitlers Are Needed?
Check out the Blog
- How Many Berkey Fitlers Are Needed?
- More details can be found at my blog.
What's your experience with berkey water filters?
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by stretch555
Dan DeBaun writes and reports on all things water and how it relates to your health. (more)
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