Who makes the best gravity feed water filter

[BuickGS]

Looking at gravity feed water filters. Who is the best and why. Seems everyone has a Berkey or Propur. Thanks

 

[shibumiseeker]

Sawyer.
Sawyer Mini Water Filter :: Food and Water :: Emergency Supplies :: eSafety Supplies, Inc.

Why is because they are cheap and effective and very portable.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

We've had a Big Berkey sitting on our counter for several years. Remington has a LOT or iron in the water. I've even run really brackish water out of the creek and it comes out better than bottled water. I buy a case of bottled water, then refill the bottles to put in the fridge. It still has the original (white ceramic) filters that clean pretty easily. I worry about replacing them, as I haven't seen them for sale in a long time, and there have been problems reported with the black filters.

 

[pudly]

Depends on what you want to do with it. I'd say a Berkey for home use and a Sawyer for travel use. The Berkey can easily serve a family (depending on size).

 

[AngryRooster]

We've had a Big Berkey sitting on our counter for several years. Remington has a LOT or iron in the water. I've even run really brackish water out of the creek and it comes out better than bottled water. I buy a case of bottled water, then refill the bottles to put in the fridge. It still has the original (white ceramic) filters that clean pretty easily. I worry about replacing them, as I haven't seen them for sale in a long time, and there have been problems reported with the black filters.

The white filters are British Berkefeld filters. They are on Amazon:
http://smile.amazon.com/Berkey-SSCF...1462408338&sr=8-16&keywords=berkefeld+filters

http://smile.amazon.com/British-Ber...=1462408338&sr=8-1&keywords=berkefeld+filters

The problems with the black filters have supposedly been fixed now. The epoxy they were using to hold the filter to the plastic base was bad. It wasn't holding solid and letting unfiltered water through. We have a set that's just under 2 years old and has been solid the whole time. Ours were made after they figured out the problem. All the new ones should be good to go.

Our black filters are in the actual Berkey. The white ones are in a clone we made. We used some 8 quart square containers and a metal spout. Put the lid on tight on one of the containers and set the second one on top. Drill through the bottom of the second container and the lid at the same time. Remove the lid and drill a small air hole in the corner to prevent a vacuum. Insert the filter and rubber gaskets through both the container and the lid and screw in place. Install the spout on the lower container. Snap the lid in place. Fill and place the other lid on top. You can leave the lid loose or drill a small vent hole in it as well.

When using a smaller set up like this it will take longer for the water to trickle through due to the lower pressure. 5 gallon buckets work much better but are very large for the kitchen, ugly as hell and aren't clear.

 

[Wolfhound]

I have a Katadyn drip filter stored for emergencies. It is supposed to treat up to 40,000 gallons of water and there is someone in the reviews from Mexico who said they have made it last much longer than that. It doesn't have the name recognition like the Berkeys and I am not sure how they compare to be honest.

Katadyn TRK Drip Filter with Ceradyn Element | Backcountry.com

 

[Dorky_D]

How are these white filters compared to the regular Berkey filters?

 

[pudly]

How are these white filters compared to the regular Berkey filters?

The white filters are ceramic. They work well, but the Berkey black filters added some additional filtering capabilities- higher percentage chemical removals, longer life, etc.

[video=youtube_share;DdipTOxgCPw]http://youtu.be/DdipTOxgCPw[/video]

 

[Tactically Fat]

I've even run really brackish water out of the creek...

y'all got a random salt-water creek in Remington???

 

[foszoe]

y'all got a random salt-water creek in Remington???

in line water filter ???

 

[daddyusmaximus]

y'all got a random salt-water creek in Remington???

I guess I used the wrong word there. I was thinking brackish was the word for highly turbid water where it has a high level of particulates, and gets cloudy, opaque, or downright muddy. Carpenter Creek (in my back yard) has a lot of murky sediments, probably from soil runoff of the surrounding farm land.



New technical term: Nasty creek water with a lot of crap in it.


Thanks for the link Angry Rooster.

I see that wolfhound mentioned Katadyn filters. They make good stuff too. I have the Hiker Pro as a back up out in the garage in my BOB.

 

[Tactically Fat]

I guess I used the wrong word there. I was thinking brackish was the word for highly turbid water where it has a high level of particulates, and gets cloudy, opaque, or downright muddy. Carpenter Creek (in my back yard) has a lot of murky sediments, probably from soil runoff of the surrounding farm land.



New technical term: Nasty creek water with a lot of crap in it.

Honestly, I knew what you meant.

 

[danielocean03]

I've got an Alexapure Pro from mypatriotsupply.com.

Very similar to the Berkey filter system from what I can tell.

Nice filter, works well. Gets rid of the "city water" taste.

 

[rhino]

How do the filters do with really hard city water?

 

[pudly]

How do the filters do with really hard city water?

My Berkey works fine. Won't remove minerals and make the water softer, but it does remove chemicals and improves the taste.

 

[Tactically Fat]

As pudly said, they don't remove the minerals that make the water "hard".

 

[rhino]

As pudly said, they don't remove the minerals that make the water "hard".

Correct!

However, sometimes mineral content in the water can affect how a filter performs otherwise.

It would need an ion exchange (i.e. a water softener), reverse osmosis, or distillation to eliminate the unwanted ionic species.

 

[pudly]

I have not seen anything indicating problems from minerals going through these filters. You don't want to drink reverse osmosis or distilled water for any length of time. The lack of minerals in the water can cause medical problems if you drink a lot of it.

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

You don't want to drink reverse osmosis or distilled water for any length of time. The lack of minerals in the water can cause medical problems if you drink a lot of it.

My son put in a RO unit, and added a mineral cartridge after the filter to add back good minerals.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

Honestly, I knew what you meant.

Grammar Nazi...