Berkey water system

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Berkey water system

Postby tkayinnc » Tue Apr 22, 2014 3:35 pm

Just wondering if anyone use a Berkey water system in their teardrop?

Thanks,
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby GuitarPhotog » Tue Apr 22, 2014 6:51 pm

That's a little pricy for my taste, but I'm putting an under-sink filter in-line with my city water supply. I normally drink bottled water or beer and use city water only for washing anyway.

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Re: Berkey water system

Postby twinight » Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:05 pm

No water filtration from the storage tank, since it will be filled with tap water.
But I do have a couple of sawyer inline filters that could be spliced in if the need arose.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby S. Heisley » Tue Apr 22, 2014 7:15 pm

...LOVE it!!! Both I and my dog prefer it over any other water or water system. I currently have the Berkey 'Travel' water filtration system in my home. Ironically to your posting, I just ordered the Berkey 'Go' set this morning for my trailer! Supposedly, the 'Go' system produces 1 quart of clean, fresh, pure water in about 15 minutes. I will use the included blue water bottle for both camping and airplane travel. If you call, be certain to ask for the discount. Right now, you will pay 20% less and no shipping fees. (I didn't see the discount on-line.)
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby Shadow Catcher » Tue Apr 22, 2014 8:47 pm

I am just a bit paranoid about water, comes from wilderness camping. All of the water going into Compass Rose goes through one two or three filters depending on where it is coming from, three if I am pulling from a stream or lake one if it is from a faucet including the one at home. The final filter is a General Ecology NBC nuclear, biological and chemical filter.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby working on it » Tue Apr 22, 2014 9:34 pm

I looked at a thread from 2012 about keeping water tank/containers fresh http://www.tnttt.com/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=43261&hilit=+water+filter, where I stated that I use a Brita filter. I found that it was a mediocre performer, and determined to find a better one. Never did a thing about it, though. We seemed to has avoided our annual "water supply line break/boil water warning" cycle last year, so it slipped off my radar. This thread has reminded me of that thread, so here I am again. In the meantime, I had learned about Lifestraw Family filter, which I asked my wife to get before our next water crisis. She forgot; so did I. For $75, I don't expect it to be as capable as the Berkey or General Ecology filter systems, but for the occasional camper, or a couple with a usually annually contaminated water supply, would it be enough for a stand-by system? Better than a Brita at least?
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby GerryS » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:06 am

I have a propur system at home, it does improve the taste of our city water, even without the carbon filters. For camping, I carry a Katadyn pocket filter. The one problem with berkey and propur is that they both take a lot of space....both on the counter and traveling.

The one thing I have found more than anything when it comes to teardrops is that everything has to be compact, and if possible to perform multiple tasks.

At least the Katadyn fits in a smaller space AND is faster.....a liter of water in just a couple seconds.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby MtnDon » Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:02 am

This may be a no brainer but one thing to remember when storing in freezing places is that filters, if wet, may be damaged by freezing.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby tkayinnc » Wed Apr 23, 2014 9:23 am

I have a travel Berkey at home and was thinking it may be too big to go with me. I haven't finished my teardrop as of yet (just started actually), so wasn't sure about space in the galley. But knowing that it will block out some much harmful "stuff" and also make my water taste so good, hate to go without it. Sharon, I was am considering the Go Berkey, but was wondering if it would be sufficient, looks small, let me know what you think and thanks about letting me know about the discount!
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby GerryS » Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:30 pm

Absolutely true! The ceramic type filters used in my pocket filter, or in the berky types will break if frozen or dropped. They are remarkably fragile.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby MtnDon » Wed Apr 23, 2014 3:21 pm

When we winterize our cabin systems I haul the cartridges home and keep them warm, but in the fridge, in distilled water. When we snowshoe in, in the winter the filters are one of the things I backpack.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby Shadow Catcher » Wed Apr 23, 2014 5:02 pm

The first filter I use is the Camco RV Tast PURE CX90 Ceramic Water Filter 40671 Camper Trailer RV
This cartridge is the heart of the CX09 Ceramic Water Filter. Unlike other filters, this system uses a ceramic barrier that is washable. When the cartridge becomes discolored simply scrub the outside with an abrasive pad (Included). This removes the outermost layer of ceramic material, leaving a fresh filter surface. CX90 ceramic filter mechanically removes contaminants down to .9 microns. The core media includes granular activated carbon (GAC) for organic compound removal and KDF for bacteria control.
Available from http://www.homedepot.com/p/Camco-CX90-C ... /202245507 as well as other places
They are a bit fragile, but I only broke one. This is the first filter.
Image
The second filter is a Camco Taste pure when I am confident of water source (most of the time)
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This one if I am really concerned i.e. pulling water from a lake or stream
http://generalecology.com/category/port ... r_canister
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby S. Heisley » Mon Apr 28, 2014 7:44 pm

tkayinnc wrote:I have a travel Berkey at home and was thinking it may be too big to go with me. I haven't finished my teardrop as of yet (just started actually), so wasn't sure about space in the galley. But knowing that it will block out some much harmful "stuff" and also make my water taste so good, hate to go without it. Sharon, I was am considering the Go Berkey, but was wondering if it would be sufficient, looks small, let me know what you think and thanks about letting me know about the discount!


My opinion/review of the smaller Berkey water filtration systems:

In the country and when camping, much of the water may be from ground wells that may not be tested for long periods of time. During a drought, the ratio of health-hazards to fresh water may become greater. I have even seen some camp spigots with signs, saying that the water is not potable. In some cities, city water may be supplemented with well water. My city has 5 wells and two of these are known to contain more arsenic than what is federally allowed. While they only use these two wells when there is a drought and they mix it with other water, it still makes me very nervous; thus, my initial purchase of the Travel Berkey water filtration system, which removes both pollution and pathogens. I have been so pleased with it that I decided to get the Go Berkey for my trailer. I now have three Berkey water filtration system products, as the Go Berkey comes with one Sport Berkey personal water bottle. As requested, I am giving a review of these products. (Part of this review may seem like Goldilocks review of the three bears’ porridge. HaHa!) Below is a picture of the three Berkeys, (three bears?) standing together:

Image
From left to right, Sport Berkey, Go Berkey, and Travel Berkey

The Travel Berkey is perfect for a home of two people. Its top reservoir holds approximately 1.5 gallons of water for gravity filtration. It is quick and easy to use. It has a well fitting lid with a knob in the center for easy handling, and a water spigot for convenient filling of glasses, cups, pans, etc. Because the volume of water is large enough, careful monitoring and water refill ensures never running out of good, clean water. It contains two black filters and will filter up to 6,000 gallons of water before needing filter replacement. While perfect for a home kitchen or possibly a large motor home, at 18” tall and 7” wide plus a protruding 2.5” spigot, this unit takes up too much space for our teardrops and tiny travel trailers.

The Go Berkey is the best bet for our smaller trailers. Even though its 3.5” width seems too narrow for its 14” height, it isn’t. It is obvious that it has been well engineered to be very stable as it sits in the galley. Its top reservoir holds 1 quart (4 cups) of water for gravity filtration and its one black filter will filter up to 3,000 gallons. Because of its smaller size and portability, it does not come with a water spigot and its lid does not have a knob built into it.

Image

Another plus, the Go Berkey comes with its own travel case and with one Sport Berkey (review follows). The travel case has three sections, a larger one for the Go Berkey and two smaller, padded ones that are just the right size to hold a couple of Sport Berkeys. When all is packed away in the travel case, it fits easily into the sink compartment, a drawer, or the car for transport, as shown in the galley sink, below.

Image

While the Go Berkey seems like it might be ideal for campers, its “one-size-fits-all” can make for some problems. It is small enough for back packers; but, seems not quite big enough for small camper units such as ours. The unit nets just 3.5 cups of filtered water from its 1 quart reservoir, which most likely will not be enough to cook a pot of spaghetti or a pot of rice for a potluck. Also, because of its small size, it becomes very easy to misjudge how much water to put into the water filtration reservoir. Over-filling could allow water to spill out, possibly causing water damage to your trailer. The solution is to empty the filtered water into another clean vial whenever refilling the upper reservoir; and, of course, plan ahead for your personal cooking and drinking needs. Further, because gravity filtration is not instantaneous, take advantage of over-night filtration by refilling the reservoir before retiring to bed in the evening.

The Sport Berkey holds 22 ounces of water; and, rather than filtering by gravity, it filters by the water pressure of either squeezing the bottle or sucking on the straw. The straw is attached to the filter. The bottle has an interesting cap that is reminiscent of a miniature observatory roof. The finger ring on the top of the cap allows one to move the lid to an open or closed position. When closing the lid, the straw folds over. Please note, however, that the vessel can leak if laid on its side or upside down. The amount of water that the Sport Berkey filter can be used for depends on the whether the water is city water or undetermined water; therefore, I suggest you read the explanation and description given at this website: http://www.bigberkeywaterfilters.com/sp ... fgodw0gA3g

Things to generally be aware of:

1) Before installing the filter into the tank, you are instructed to put the filter under the tap and allow water to run through the filter at a high pressure. This didn’t work for me. Not only was water spraying everywhere; but also, my water pressure is too low for flushing and opening the filter pores. Alternatively, you can soak the filter in a tub of water overnight. This is what I did.

2) Allow a day or two to flush and break in the filter. This is normal. The first two full tanks of filtered water must be discarded because they may contain particles from the product manufacture. This worked for the Travel Berkey and the Sport Berkey; however, the Go Berkey needed 4 full containers of water filtration before the water looked and tasted clean. This may be the result of the method I used to flush the filter before installing it, I don’t know.

3) In the beginning, water filtration will run through very slowly; but, as the filter gets broken in, it should get faster.

4) The amount of water that each product is said to hold is the amount that the upper reservoir holds. The volume of the filtered water will be slightly less.

5) Be sure to read and follow the instructions that come with your water filtration system.
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Re: Berkey water system

Postby GuitarPhotog » Mon Apr 28, 2014 7:55 pm

Thanks Sharon for the excellent review.

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Re: Berkey water system

Postby S. Heisley » Mon Apr 28, 2014 8:20 pm

Thanks, Charles. See you soon!
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