Royal Berkey Stainless Steel Gravity-Fed Water Filter System 3.25 Gallon

My Review of the Royal Berkey with 2 black filters and 2 PF-2 fluoride filters. Everything I drink, especially tea, tastes better after a week or so of using this filter system. Installation was easy for me after I stressed out thinking it would be really difficult. I'm not particularly mechanical and I'm awful at following instructions. Before I ordered the Royal Berkey, I asked my son if he would be willing to put it together for me. I had read reviews of people having problems with leaky spigots and puddles on the floor, etc. He said he would. Good thing, because I had already decided to order it. It turns out that I didn't need any help. On recommendation of some of the reviews, I bought the glass Royal Imperial Berkey Water Filter Water View Spigot to help me know how much water is in the tank. Apparently if you fill it too full, it may leak through where the top (filter) section sits on the water storage canister. I'm very glad I did order the glass spigot. I'm finding it very helpful. While I was waiting for everything to arrive, I read every review of each model. I got some great ideas! I used many of them. I'll share some of the ones that helped me most here. I decided to take it very slowly, step-by-step, and do each step correctly the first time. That's not my normal style, but the slower, cautious approach paid off for me this time. Nothing got broken during the installation. I briefly looked over the instructions that came with the unit and decided to come back to them in a few minutes when I was ready to put the system together. I viewed the YouTube videos of how to PRIME the filters. VERY helpful! Also helpful was one reviewer's comment about how you will get sprayed with water. I thought I could avoid that if I was careful, but I got semi-soaked. It was kind of interesting watching all that dust and debris rush out of those filters and down the drain. After viewing the YouTube video, I went back to the instructions that came with the unit. It was much easier after having seen it done on the video. Installing the canisters was easier than I thought it would be. It was fairly obvious how to install the BLACK canisters, just just stick their little stems through the holes in the bottom of the top stainless steel tank, but I had trouble finding the instructions on how to install the white ones. I somehow missed those instructions or didn't understand them. I Googled YouTube again and had an 'Aha!' moment. Very easy once you know that they hook on below the black canisters. I was thinking they fit in one of those other slots. There are little ARROWS on the canisters that point up, so it's easy to know how to connect them. There are 4 slots for canisters, and only 2 black canisters (with 2 white canisters hanging on to them). That leaves two extra empty slots. Something has to be in those slots or the water will just gush through, defeating the whole purpose. It took me a few minutes to figure that out, the hard way, so I filled the tank with water, which just swooshed right into the containment (storage) tank, without ever touching very much of the filter canisters. The water went through so fast it was obvious that it didn't filter anything. It didn't even make good contact with the filters. Then I remembered the PLUGS I had read about and had tossed aside earlier because I didn't know what to do with them. I took the plugs and plugged them into the slots that didn't have filters attached to them. Then I put water through again. The water didn't drain straight through. It filled the tank as it was supposed to do. THIS time I could hear the water draining through, but very, very slowly. At that rate it would take a couple of hours, or more, for all the 3 gallon or so of water to filter through. That was what I wanted. When I installed the spigot, very carefully so I didn't break it or ruin the threads, I tested it by filling the storage canister with water. I noticed just a smidgen of water around the spigot, so I went back in, unscrewed it, and screwed it back. Apparently I hit the "sweet spot" as another reviewer put it. No water seen around the spigot since then. I'm especially glad I got that "Water View Spigot." It has already been helpful. I can see that it will pay for itself. I moved my filter system around, first on top of a higher 'bar' counter-top, but that means I have to get a step-stool to fill it. Then I put it so it would drain into the sink, 'just in case', but I couldn't fit a container under the spigot very easily. I moved it to the edge, so that the spigot hangs right over the edge of the counter, but I didn't like how it looked. I moved it back on the higher 'bar' counter-top. That works fine for me because it's easy to get the spray faucet and fill it that way or climb up and fill it every couple of days as needed. After using it for a couple of weeks, I've found that I need to fill it every 3-4 days. I hope some of my experience will be helpful to someone. I had fun doing this, and I'm the world's worst at assembling things. If you are like me, an uncoordinated klutz, just plan it out, do it slowly, step-by-step, doing each step correctly as you go. It's really easy, and fun. I'm really pleased with how it filters the water.

I purchased the Royal Berkey with 2 Black Filters and 2 PF-2 Fluoride Filters as a replacement for water home delivery. After years of having "fresh" drinking water delivered by Arrowhead Water, I decided I was tired of the hassle. Too many bottles, too few bottles, empty bottles piling up, and an inflexible management/payment system, finally pushed me over the line. Also reading up on "the need for regular cleaning of home water dispensers to avoid bacterial contamination" was a real eye-opener. If you are using a commercial water delivery system in your home or office, spend some time on the internet reading up on the reccomended dispenser cleaning techniques for safe water. This should be enough to make you RUN away from home delivery. The Royal Berkey with 2 Black Filters and 2 PF-2 Fluoride Filters is an amazing system. Once it is set-up it is a model of simplicity compared to bottle delivery. Pour tap water in the top and fresh pure water drips into the bottom. That's it. You never have to wonder how long your drinking water has been sitting around. The unit size is very manageable, and regular cleaning is simple and accessable. Setting up the unit will take about a half-hour for someone who is used to basic household projects. The instructions are poorly written and somewhat confusing (specifically concerning the washers and avoiding leakage). You will need to do your internet research, and make sure the spigot washer is TIGHT. Priming and cleaning the filters in the sink was kind of a squirty mess, but you only need to do it once. After you attach the filters, and screw on the little knob on top of the unit, you're good to go. There are plenty of Youtube videos to help you out. PROS 1. The quality and flavor of the the water is wonderful! Delicious, safe, and uncontaminated. 2. Very simple maintenance. The filters last for a very LONG time before replacement. All parts are accessible for cleaning in the kitchen sink. 3. Sturdy construction and simple design mean there is really nothing to break. 4. If you are replacing a commercial delivery service the unit will quickly pay for itself. 5. Attractive design. CONS Assembly is a little confusing, but is not that big of a deal. Even with the mildly confusing setup, I'm giving this product a full 5 stars. It's that good.

Reason I chose this filter system was because we use well water (hard calcium) and ended up having to purchase water throughout the year especially after heavy rains and when the power goes out obviously our well pump does not come on; we live in Central Indiana and sometimes are under tornado watches and having drinking water did play a factor in my purchase consideration. It was packaged well, they sent this item right away, one piece was slightly dented but nothing serious and everything was included – up till I received this in the mail I had no realized I needed to use all 4 filters; so it is best if possible to order a backup set of filters. With that said the British Berkey system comes with white ceramic filters and PF4 filters so I chose this ceramic filtering system as my back up after I am done with the Black filter system: they are cheaper and it was originally the system I wanted. They can be found on Amazon, and had I looked harder could have ordered the Berkey system without filters and the ceramic separate but do not regret the Black filter purchase. Followed the instructions which were easy to read and when it came time to drink my first glass of water I was impressed: it tasted like clean water. My husband who is fussy with water drank some as well and noted the coffee tasted better than with the ‘distilled’ water we had been buying. We do not drink bottled water so I cannot speak to the difference in tastes in that regard. After a few hours the nozzle started to leak and all I did was tighten it some more while it was on the Berkey system, putting it together I might have been hesitant to tighten it too much, but since has not leaked. So when first putting this system together do so with a towel close by just in case. The nozzle compared to the force of a tap is slower but that is expected. It is a higher price point item than I would normally buy but after looking around for a year and reading reviews outside of this site (and considering a home filter system but again power outages and tornadoes a factor) I am confident in my purchase and my ability to clean and care for the system (filter cleaning and care) and with options of changing the filters to the ceramic when I choose. As of today I would recommend it and update this entry if anything changes.

Finally took the plunge years after our friends first told us about their Berkey. I’m so glad I finally purchased this system! I didn’t like constantly drinking from plastic bottles but also refused to drink city water. Our city water tastes crisp and pure once filtered through the Berkey system. I can’t even believe it! This filtration system works so well, I see why our friends told anyone who would listen, for years, about theirs. It amazes me that even though water sits in the tank over night or for a day there is no metallic taste as you’d expect like when it sits in a stainless tumbler. It is made a such high quality stainless steel. Assembly was touch and go for someone who “reads” instructions only not really reading them for real. Once I ACTUALLY read the instructions it was a breeze. Priming the filters was quite difficult but we managed. I’ll definitely purchase a tool to help make that process easier when they need to be replaced. I’ve only had 2 leaks. First because after I washed my clear view spigot I cross threaded the top of the view piece and didn’t realize it wasn’t properly shut. The second time was because my husband overfilled the tank with water. Both avoidable, both human error and none of the tank. I highly recommend Berkey to anyone serious about having quality water for their family readily available. It’s well worth the investment.

Let me start by saying that the company we bought this from Bois Blanc Sports, is just great. They were willing to try to help us trouble shoot, but when I explained the problems we were having, they agreed w/ me that we had a defective unit. I would've bought again from them as a retailer, but after having our problem and reading that it is apparently not uncommon, I did not want to take a $300 gamble on a Berkey that the product would be ok until after the return period and then some latent defect would rear its head. Anyway, we bought this thing expecting to really have a good, long-term solution for our water filtering needs. My wife had used a real British Berk w/ the ceramic filters while living on the mission field in Africa for several YEARS. Perhaps the British ones are better quality, or they had an old one and they USED to be better quality...I don't know. We bought this Berkey to use here in the U.S., and though it was expensive, I liked the idea of a long-term solution, made in the U.S.A. Anyway, we set this up, per the instructions. We ran the red dye test. Major fail, but not of the filters (yet), so far as I could tell. I inspected to see where the problem was. Upon close examination (me holding up the top canister while my wife peaked underneath) we discovered that the red water was coming out through the threads of one of the plugs (since we were only using two filters up top). I installed the plugs the same way, tightening by hand, and one leaked, the other didn't. Tried tightening further and the same problem happened (more red/pink water). Don't take offense, ladies, but this is beyond the place that most women on earth would be able to tighten this thing - and I say that just to make the point that we're talking about a defect here if hand assembly cannot work for 1/2 of the population. Oh, but there was one difference after I completed the re-tightening: Now the spigot was leaking! Perhaps it would have before, but I just looked into the bottom canister and discovered the pink water during the first test before the level got up to the spigot, I think...Anyway, I did as someone suggested online and used what Berkey says is the outside spigot on the inside, and vice versa. This did seem to alleviate the leaking spigot. But I still have pink water. Long story short; when you pay $300 for something, you have an expectation of quality components. Are these parts cheap compared to the whole? Sure, but it destroys my confidence that I'm dealing with a conscientious manufacturer. It pains me to say this, but I bet if this were a German or Japanese manufacturer even the little pieces would have been of good quality. This is no indictment upon all American companies, I still strive to buy American even if it costs more. But I have been disappointed at times by the lack of effort. One faulty component I could've overlooked, but having more than one right out of the box gives me the idea I'm staring trouble in the face if I keep the thing past the return period. We were both very excited about setting this thing up as soon as it came to our door, but were at least equally as disappointed by the failure of the product to deliver. We will find another solution, Berkey. Thanks again, Bois Blanc, for your help in remedying the purchase of the faulty product.

These were the elements I was working with: I live in the USA, Central New York to be exact. New construction on virgin land...no house, well, nor septic was ever installed on site before. After digging the well (drilled by machine), it emitted a foul smell every time I ran the water. Taking showers was like bathing in a septic vat. I even tried to boil the water to drink - needless to say the taste was unbearable. I had an independent company come and test the water, and I was informed that I had soft water. However, there were a lot of micro-organisms living in the water and I needed a UV unit for the entire house (1,200 sq ft). With a starting price tag of $1,200 for the UV unit alone (tax, installation, etc., not included). I decided to wait it out. Three months later the smell started to dissipate, but the taste and heaviness to the water remained, even when we boiled it. So instead of going through my local Health Department (paying $45 for them to come out and test the water (which they only test for salmonella & chlorine, by the way) I purchased: HM Digital TDS-3 Handheld TDS Meter With Carrying Case, 0 - 9990 ppm TDS Measurement Range, 1 ppm Resolution, +/- 2% Readout Accuracy to do my own testing (I just want to be able to drink good tasting water, that is below the health standards of 500ppm). Here is how my testing went: Before the Berkey: Tap - 193ppm Tap cold - 186ppm Poland Spring (room temp.) - 45ppm Poland Spring (cold) - 39ppm The first time I set up the Berkey the TDS read (193 x10) yes it was off the charts, even though I primed the filters. You must expect to use the filters for 1 week straight before you start seeing lower numbers. After 1 week I was down to 186ppm (combined with the white filters) - But without the white filters, I could not get below 200ppm. Will I spend the money in the future for the white filters? No, 200ppm tasted great at room temp, and even better cold. The bad smell and taste are completely gone, and even though the TDS registered it at 200, I could not tell the difference in taste and smell with the bottled Poland spring. Did the spigot work? Not for long, started leaking after four days - yes it was installed properly (now I just keep the unit in the utility room in a tub to catch the drips...not worth replacing. Can you really get 3 gallons per hour filtered? No, it is really, really slow...even after priming for two weeks! Remember it runs on gravity, so keep adding water throughout the day, or else it goes even slower. It did go faster without the white filters, I get about 1/2 gallon in a 24 hr period. Hidden in the manual: You must not let the filtered water stay in the Berkey more than three (3) Days!! Final summary: Pro - Made water completely drinkable, and removed bad smell and taste completely from water. Cons - Bad spigot design on such an expensive unit; priming and filtering time not accurate. So, will it ever get down to bottled water ppm? Will I ever get 6k gallons to the life of the black filters...only time will tell, keep you posted.

We've had our Berkey for over a year. Installation of the filter is easy. The black filters are supposed to last indefinitely so you should never have to replace them. They will only slow down in their speed of filtering but they should never lose their ability to filter. The fluoride filters are a different story. The fluoride filters are the main reason we purchased a Berkey. They are only good for six months. I tested my water twice to verify this. Our water comes from a well and is naturally fluoridated at about .9 ppm (parts per million). I tested a filter by purchasing a kit through 3M (about $20) after seven months of use and the water tested at 0.79 ppm. I replaced the filter and tested after about a month and the water came back to 0.06 ppm. Hardly any fluoride! I am curious to test my water again at the five month mark but not sure I want to spend an additional $20. I think I will just stick to the manufacturer's recommendation of changing out ever six months. Overall, this is the way to go if you want to remove fluoride from your drinking water. I know some reviews state they tested their water and have discovered higher concentrations of fluoride. I think the ph of your water can affect this. I am not a scientist but have read that the filters work better with slightly acidic water (pH range of 5.5 - 6.5 and generally don't work well if the water is neutral (pH = 7) or more alkaline (higher pH). So if you want to be sure that your filter will work to filter out fluoride you could test the ph of your tap water first

From my research this is the best thing you can get for the freshest water and at a very low price. I ended up using the black Berkey filters along with the Flouride filters knowing that our city adds flouride to the city water. This slows down the rate of filtering but I have never needed water faster than this produces it. To me I have not tasted a difference from using my refridgerators filtered water and I did a test of setting a cup of filtered/unfiltered water for days and the only difference I noticed was the extreme amount of bubbles that occured on the unfiltered glass sides. Pouring the two glasses I could see no difference however after a the first night the entire sides of the unfiltered was covered with bubbles. I'm not sure what caused this but I am pretty certain that it should not happen with a clean source. My wife says her coffee tastes better using the filtered water as well. We are happy and will continue to use this as long as we dont encounter and other better solution. Keep in mind that alot of bottles water is not as clean and water that comes from this system. Also, that a reverse osmosis system removes needed components from water. I have also read that long term use of a reverse osmosis system can create heart burn and I already fight with that so that was out.

So happy with my Berkey . I filtered my already filtered water and noticed a remarkable difference the Berkey provides water that quenched my thirst. The water from the Berkey is smoother and way better tasting. Love it .

Nickel! Nous avons comparés beaucoup de marques différentes et avons opté pour celui-ci. Nous l’utilisons depuis plus de 6 mois et en sommes extrêmement satisfait ! Facile à utiliser, assez complet et filtre parfaitement

I was given the wrong size at first, but customer service were amazing and replaced it to the correct order within days. The item itself runs well and tastes good.

Unfortunately mine wasn’t good? Not sure why the filtered water from it was as bad as our chlorinated and fluoridated tap water. Followed instructions re the filters. Wouldn’t have known if I didn’t test the filtered water. I felt very disappointed and a refund is pending via Amazon.

Parfait je n'achète plus de bouteille.par contre pour les instructions il faut vraiment être bilingue même les vidéos explicatives sont en anglais