Big Berkey w/ 2 Black Berkey

by Berkey

Product Features

• 2.25 Gallon holding Volume
• Height = 19.25" ; Diameter = 8.5"
• Purifies 3.5 Gallons / Hour
• High Grade 304 Stainless Steel
• 2 Black Berkeys good for 6000 Gallons

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 19.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B001CJHZRE
• Item model number: bk4x2
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,557 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #27 in Home & Garden > Kitchen & Dining > Water Coolers & Filters > Under-Sink Filters

Product Description

The versatile Big Berkey system is the ideal system for use at home with small or medium sized families, travel, outdoor activities or during unexpected emergencies. This powerful system purifies both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best. Perfect for everyday use, outdoor activities and a must in hostile environments where electricity, water pressure or treated water may not be available. The Big Berkey system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces nitrates, nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance. Constructed of highly polished 304 stainless steel, the system comes complete with two purification elements and utilizes the latest technological advances. This system has a storage capacity of about 2.25 gallons (8.5 liters) and when in use it stands 19.25" in height with a diameter of 8.5". The upper chamber nests within the lower chamber for transport and stands only 13" in height. Configured with two Black Berkey purification elements the system will purify up to 3 1/2 Gallons (13.3 liters) per hour.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I did alot of research before buying the Big Berkey, August 7, 2010

By 

D. Ho (San Mateo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Big Berkey w/ 2 Black Berkey

I decided against distillation, since there are many cons with that process: it produces acidic water (I used to buy distilled water from the store until I started noticing my gums were getting itchy from it), and recaptures chemicals with lower boiling points than water. This was unacceptable to me since California's municipal water sources are heavily chlorinated. It's so nasty, you can smell the chlorine coming out of the taps. I can't stand the taste or smell of it. I decided against reverse osmosis because of its costs and the amount of waste water it produces. After much research, I settled on a gravity based microfilter, and Big Berkey came with lots of recommendations.

So far, after nearly filtering 200 gallons, the Big Berkey is pulling all free chlorine out of the water. Here is a pic that demonstrates:

[...]

The water on the right is tap water mixed with a chlorine/bromine indicator solution. The color indicates that the tap water in Monterey, CA has more chlorine than a healthy swimming pool. YUCK! The water on the right is from the Big Berkey. The indicator solution shows there is no detectable chlorine! SWEET!

62 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Best filter for flouride removal - my journey, December 8, 2010

By 

myreddoor "myreddoor" (philadelphia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Berkey w/ 2 Black Berkey

I searched for the best water purification technique available primarily because I was shocked at the state of our drinking water and I couldn't just go on blindly dumping chemicals into my body. My criterion was to remove all added chemicals from my drinking water including Fluoride and as an Engineer with a scientific background I needed scientific backing.

Note: The usage of Fluoride in our water systems is controversial, but Ninety-seven percent of western Europe has eliminated fluoride from drinking water. goggle "Fluorosis" and "fluoride side effects", read the article on "about dot com" on "fluoride removal". Read the article on "livestrong dot com" on "side effects of fluoride ingestion". I quote, "Fluoride ingestion has been associated with adverse health effects such as IQ deficits in children, depression, weight gain and heart disease. The "Journal of Applied Clinical Pediatrics" reports that "high fluoride intake has a damaging effect on intellectual ability," and human studies from China, India, Iran and Mexico found that elevated levels of fluoride in children resulted in reduced performance and impaired development of intelligence. The U.S. National Research Council has also found that fluoride affects normal endocrine function, which may contribute to hypothyroidism, or reduced activity of the thyroid gland. Hypothyroidism can lead to fatigue, depression, weight gain, hair loss, muscle pains and heart disease.

I started off with on a friends recommendation the Nikken Pi-Mag which i soon rejected because they independent lab results were not available, fluorine was not removed from the water and I could not trust a MLM companies claims' that were not scientifically verifiable.

I looked at Aquasana and Multipure's product line but I became obvious that the life expectancy was about a year and I would deal with leaks, and defective housing. The reviews for the New Wave were 10Stage Filter were promising on amazon and I bought it right away, but soon grew suspicious of their claims as there were no results posted on their website either. I called New Wave customer service which I must add was great and friendly and asked for the independent lab results, which they emailed. After analyzing the results I was disappointed to see that a company that makes water filters provided results from a lab called, Truesdale lab but back in 1995 (15yrs ago!). Surely they can get this tested recently since both regulations and water quality have changed since then and made this readily available to their customers via their website. Anyway the results they provided showed that it was tested for Cyst Removal (based on the 1988 NSF standard), Lead, Choloform and Lindane removal. Fluorine was not removed which for me was not good enough.

I returned the New Wave Environ and finally found the Berkey filter system which has an additinal fluoride filter as well. Although more expensive (about 250 inclusive of a set of flouride filters), the Berkey filters would be cheaper in the long run as they last between 3,400 gallons to 19,500 gallons depending on water quality, unlike the New Wave Filter's 1500 gallons. Furthermore I liked openness and readily accessible lab results by independent labs such as the University of Arizona, LSU and Spectrum labs (google Berkey lab results). Furthermore they are used by emergency organizations like the Redcross and Unicef.

I must add that there is no perfect system, the fluoride filters usually use an activated alumina filter media and Aluminia has been associated with Alzheimers. I was concerned about any aluminum dust residue left in the water and a little more research revealed the residue to me negligible.

Here is a comparison:

Water boiled in an Aluminium pan for 5mins had: 2.791 ppm aluminum
Colgate toothpaste: 52.878 ppm aluminum.
The Berkey flouride filter after 10 cycles had .037 ppm aluminum and after 20 Cycles: .029 ppm aluminum which in my opinion was negligible and safe.

I hope this helps you and saves you time!


*****update 6 months into using it - a filter cartilage just broke! i emailed the company for a replacement and am waiting to hear back! if you can get a RO machine. Dropping the product from 4stars to 3stars.

40 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the water filter of my dreams (and I'm PICKY)....!, October 28, 2008

By 

Avocadess (Austin, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Big Berkey w/ 2 Black Berkey

I L O V E T H I S W A T E R F I L T E R . . . ! Gravity makes it work (no electrical cost and works during power outages), two black Berkey filters lasts a year if you purify 3 gallons a day. CHEAP! I have two PF-2 filters added to mine to filter out the fluoride added to our city tap water (and any arsenic).

I have a sense of peace and satisfaction I have never gotten from another product other than maybe my first car. (I have mostly retired my car do the cost.)

Buy one of these babies SOON because there is and is no doubt going to be a run on good water filters. You'll be glad you did. (And NO I don't sell them nor do I know anyone who does -- though I sure would like to sell them).