Good water fillter?

Right now I have a berkey water filter system. Its ok but I think I want to try something else. It claims to take out allot


Alachlor
Atrazine
Benzene
Carbofuran
Carbon Tetrachloride
Chlorine
Chlorobenzene
Chloroform
2,4-D
DBCP
p-Dichlorobenzene
o-Dichlorobenzene
1, 1-Dichloroethane
1, 2-Dichloroethane
1, 1-Dichloroethylene
cis-1, 2-Dichloroethylene
Trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene
1, 2-Dichloropropane
cis-l,3-Dichloropropylene
Dinoseb
Endrin
Ethylbenzene
Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)
Heptachlor
Heptachlor Epoxide
Hexachlorobutodiene
Hexachlorocyclopentadiene
Lindane, Methoxychlor
MTBE
Pentachlorophenol
Simazine
Styrene
1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene
1,1,1-trichloroethane
1,1,2-trichloroethane
Trichloroethylene
o-Xylene
m-Xylene
p-Xylene
Mercury
copper
lead
aluminum
Cadmium
Chromium

I am note sure how trust worthy they are.... Any ways I am looking for a good filter system. It must take out fluoride, it can be counter top or under the sink. I am on a budget so try to keep it under 300

What is that you don't like about the berkey? We have thought about getting one..but would like to talk with people that have actually owned one.

I will keep an eye on this thread..I would like to hear what others have to say.

Originally posted by Neopan100
What is that you don't like about the berkey? We have thought about getting one..but would like to talk with people that have actually owned one.

I will keep an eye on this thread..I would like to hear what others have to say.

I think its good for a survival filter but I think I can get something better for the price. I got a berkey 3 years ago. The first 2 years I used them I had to send them in to get replaced every couple of months because the filter wear leaking. The filters are glued on to a plastic cap. They USED to come lose from the cap now they do not because they have fixed that problem. But when this happened you could taste glue in the water. They use hot glue and I am pretty sure the stuff is toxic. It would not be filtered threw because its inside the filter, so their might be a small amount of glue in the water. Another problem I have with them is that their is no effective way to clean them. The only thing you can do is brush them with a tooth brush and thats not going to clean deep inside the filter. So you end up with a bunch of build up inside the filter that will probably eventually get into the water. I got the plastic version and the bottom is cracked, its cheap plastic. They want $200 for some cheap plastic. I would like to try something new. Possibly a under the counter reverse osmosis system because it flushes most of the crap down the drain instead of building it up in a filter.

C ulligan water filter

Best thing I've ever purchased. The water is so clean and crisp. I bought it because our area the water was tasting like algae and was quite horrible to drink. Since I installed this bad boy the algae taste disappeared.

Solar still, or boil and condense the steam. Run it through a filter after that if you need to.

Anything with a carbon filter is going to work just fine.

BTW, a lot of those things they list, don't happen very often. The benzens, MTBE and such are gasoline by-products.

Originally posted by Neopan100
What is that you don't like about the berkey? We have thought about getting one..but would like to talk with people that have actually owned one.

I will keep an eye on this thread..I would like to hear what others have to say.

We love ours. We've had it for years - possibly 6? I forget how long ago we got it. But it is perfect for us. However, you do need to buy another specific filter for fluoride that attaches in the lower tank.


Ours is one of those stainless steel ones. The only problem we had with it was once the tap went bad, and we ordered a replacement.

There are two types of filters they offer. The old school ones are white ceramic. They are easy to clean - just use a green scrubby once in a while. These are the filters my husband remembers his father having in England during WWII. They are long lasting (10,000 gallons?) and work brilliantly. The newer, even more effective ones are called "Black Berkeys". They seem to be softer, so I'm not certain how they are cleaned. They also don't last as long, but this is relative because it's still like 6,000 gallons of filtering life.

I love this filter because it's passive (no electricity needed), it's easy to use, it filters all the AWFUL tasting stuff out of our municipal water, and it tastes wonderful.

If we had to buy one again, I'd go with this type but I'd get a larger one. We probably filter and use 3-4 gallons most days, and sometimes our smallish one needs time to catch up, but it doesn't take long.

EDIT to add: They claim you can filter untreated pond water through this one and not have to worry about drinking it without boiling. I don't know that I'd want to try this, but wouldn't it be a boon if there was a disruption in water supplies to be able to drink what was available? The British Berkefield website has a lot of info. I'd check there for the specs.