Big Berkey Water Filter-2 Black Filters and 2 Pf-2 Fluoride Filters Save 9% Off

• Complete stainless steel water purification system
• Can filter up to 3.5 gallons per hour
• 2 Black Berkey Purification Filters
• Holds approximately 2.25 gallons of filtered water
• 2 PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements

I want to love my Berkey. I know people who love theirs. And it certainly is attractive. Unfortunately, we had to replace the filters 3 times in the first 6 months. The first time we noticed the chlorine taste returning to our water. After that, we just spot checked periodically with the red dye. Sometimes we could flush the filter and it would take care of the problem, other times not. Then we would call the company, who would very nicely send out another filter set (FREE, please note that we weren''t charged for new filters each time). One time the filter caps fell right off (the company said it was a bad batch).

So now I''m paranoid. If we don''t test every batch of water, how do we know the filters are actually working? Most of the time, we couldn''t tell by taste that they were failing; it was only the presence of red dye in the water when we tested that alerted us. I wouldn''t feel comfortable at ALL trusting these filters if my health depended on it, like in a disaster or third world country. It makes me wonder how often everybody else is red dye testing their water. Probably not very often, if my experience is anywhere near typical.

On top of that, I gave up completely on the fluoride filters, which were one of my main reasons for purchasing the Berkey. No amount of flushing could get rid of the taste.

Now the plastic spigot handle has broken off (two pieces of plastic 1/16" in size at most were holding it on, one of them broke). It''ll only cost $19 to replace it. My husband stuck a key ring in the hole and we''re getting by until I throw the whole thing out the window or breakdown and buy the part. I''m shopping for alternatives if anybody can recommend a better filter.

They do get points for good customer service, though the company could never explain WHY the filters kept failing. I appreciated them sending the replacements out right away, but it gets pretty annoying to have to wait to use it till new filters arrive and then wonder how long until those ones go bad. Which reminds me, I need to go dye my water. Fingers crossed...

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My husband and I have been using Brita style water filters for years -not only does our area (Metro DC) have atrocious bleachy water, but our condo building shuts off the water for monthly repairs and it always runs cloudy white and silty brown afterwards. (You should see the muddy-metallic buildup in the toilet cisterns.)

But we use so much water between us for tea and coffee and the home carbonation system, that poor little filter jug would get filled countless times per day, and that''s without using it for cooking water. What I hadn''t noticed was I had eventually stopped drinking water, at all. I had grown to hate water so much that I was disguising it with herbal teas and juice. That''s not right. As soon as I drank my first glass of Berkey water, I could not believe how sweet and light it was. Pretty much exactly what water should be! Gone was the dreaded heavy flatness of the old filter water. It has now become a sought after beverage -we still have to work on developing the habit, but it''s quite a pleasure.

The 4 filters take up a lot of space in top and bottom reservoirs, but there''s still a ton of water on tap; we don''t even fill it daily now, so I am sure we will have a full year of use before cleaning and changing the filters out.

My next purchase will be the glass sight spigot, since it''s cumbersome to lift the top section to check on the lower levels, and I don''t really have the grip for it when full either.

The instructions are quite involved, but I figured it all out quickly enough. They tell you to put the conical white washer inside, narrow end to hole, and the flat black one outside, but it leaked with a slow drip. No matter how I tightened it or how many tricks I learned on the manufacturer/distributor websites, it still leaked into the sink after the first tightening, then seeped slowly into the rubber base liner after the second tightening. It spent the first few weeks hanging over the kitchen sink and getting in the way of everything, until I switched the washers. The white washer doesn''t look great outside, but the leak has been sealed tight, and I''ve been able to move the ensemble to a safer place.

Bottom line, this is the best investment we have made all year. I spent months researching water purification methods and briefly considered the white ceramic candles, but figured if there were ever a municipal water issue, this would be the way to go. It filters out everything except the minerals. Water being so important to survival and health, I figured it was about time we took the leap and got one (in November), and we do not regret it.

***Update, May 2, 2012: Six months later and we''re still loving the clean water. I''ve had to scrub out the top reservoir only a couple of times because of sediment buildup (like plastic dust) from our condo water that floats in the water and coats the inside of the reservoir. Then I rinse out the bottom reservoir just for the sake of it. Last night was my first time needing to scrub the black filters because the flow had stopped. Six months is a good run between scrubs! It''s back to flowing perfectly.

Also, I''m even more relieved that I have the PF-2 Fluoride/Arsenic filters because last week I found out that Maryland has some of the most heavily fluoridated water in the nation!

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I posted this elsewhere on Amazon for the Big Berkey and two black filters. This is the same product and actually my purchase came with both the black filters and these two fluoride filters, so I''m re-posting to make sure that buyers beware. The Big Berkey (BB) has been a regular source of frustration and, ultimately, a significant waste of money for me. I would advise everyone to avoid this carelessly designed water purification system. Compared to a Brita or Pur water pitcher, the BB is a significantly bigger up front layout of cash. Doing some research and reading reviews, I was convinced it was worth it, both for superior water filtering and long term savings in water filters. As far as the filtering, I''ll never know. What I can tell you is that the Black Berkey Purification Element design is exceedingly poor. After all this time on the market, you''d think some engineer for Berkey would care enough to have figured out a satisfactory method of securing the filter to the upper chamber. This isn''t the case, however. You have to poke the spindly "threaded mount" onto a washer, then through a hole in the chamber, then secure the element by screwing on a wing nut. Sounds simple enough and it is. Except the wing nuts routinely--and I''ve been through three or so--strip the threads on the stupid filter. Then it doesn''t seal to the upper chamber. Then you have unfiltered water drip into the lower chamber. I bought another expensive set of black purification filter elements, just to get my hands on another wing nut. Same thing happened. And yes, I was very careful. If the wingnuts aren''t tight, unfiltered water seeps into the lower chamber where you expect filtered water. I tried the new filters with the wingnuts. Same thing happened to one of them. The Berkey instructions helpfully advise you to check that there are no leaks by putting food coloring in the upper chamber. I have used all the food coloring in the house, trying time after time to seal the !**#%^! threaded mounts through the upper chamber, tightening the nut just tight enough but not so tight as to strip the threads, then waiting to see if the food coloring comes through. What a horrible little exercise and waste of water as one time after another the colored water seeps around the hole in the upper chamber. It is a pathetic design, really, for fastening a filter to a metal bucket, i.e., the upper chamber. Also, as others have mentioned, the spigot is almost worthless; I upgraded immediately to the glass tubed spigot; otherwise you can''t see how much water is in the lower chamber. So there was that unexpected cost of a new spigot; the cost of another set of filters to try with new wingnuts; and the initial outlay. All added up to a routinely leaky and, therefore, worthless setup. Not to mention the hours wasted messing with the threads and wingnuts and waiting for unfiltered water to seep around the wingnuts into the lower chamber. A complete disaster.

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I was fed up with replacing the filters for my old system every 3 months and decided to buy the Big Berkey water filtering system.

Although it''s much more expensive than my old Pure system, replacing the filters every year will be more cost effective.

The filter worked great for 3 month. Water tasted great, no after taste and I was really happy with my purchase.

3 months later, water started to taste funny. I thought it''s time to clean the system so I took it apart and washed it in the dish washer (as it''s recommended in the manual).

Put the filter back together and water still have a acidic after taste. My wife told me the same thing (before me even telling her about it).

Obviously the filters went bad. It''s just 3 months. There were supposed to last for more than a year! I''m just filtering tap water and refilling the filter 1-2 times/week!.

I''m hugely disappointed in the product. I could have stayed with my old Pure system and changed the filter every 3 month and saved $300!

I think this product is greatly overrated or maybe it used to be good in the past. I don''t recommend it to anyone.

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Warning! Do not handle product horizontally, the black filter element will break off at the screw-in base in less then a year. Trying to get a warranty replacement from Millenium Concepts was impossible, even after they admitted to having a "bad" batch. I do not recommend this product or the distributors.