Carrying out twelve two-liter bottles of water out of the supermarket apart from your other groceries is good exercise, but not ideal. Running water from the tap is a very practical luxury. Yet, not every tiny house is connected to the waterworks, and it might be challenging to obtain clean drinking water, other than buying it from the store. Since we all need drinking water in order to survive and to keep us healthy, it is of great importance to have this at home. Water filtration systems are therefore a great solution if you don’t have running water at home. My name is Ids and today I am reviewing the Crown Berkey Water Filter.
Summary
In this article the Crown Berkey Water Filter is being reviewed. This water purifier is made of stainless steel. It has a size of 31 inches with a diameter of 11 inches, so it won’t take up much space in your home. In the top chamber you can pour in undrinkable water and thanks to the two advanced Berkey Black Filters it filters out 99.99% of all contaminants and produces good-tasting water.
Clean water is naturally very important, and this filtration system might be a really good and practical choice for your home, if you don’t receive drinking water from the tap. The lower container can contain six gallons of clean drinking water, which is enough water to provide for a big family. In this review you can read why this filtering system might be a new thing on top of your shopping list.
What is this filter?
Berkey Filters are specialized in water filter systems (what’s in the name?). They have a big assortment of different filtering products. The Crown filter is their most extensive and largest purifying model with a capacity of six gallons of clean water (22.71 liters), which is great for large families. It can purify raw, untreated water and produces good-tasting clean water. Because of its big capacity, the Crown filter is also used by aid workers such as the Red Cross in areas with scarce water supply.
This model comes with two Black Filters that are installed in the top chamber. With two Black Filters the system is good for daily use of large families of more than six people. Nevertheless, the top chamber has space for up to eight filters, which makes it able to provide drinking water for more than twenty people. If you want more than filters than the two that come with this system, you will have to purchase them separately. A set of two Black Filters cost $166.
This model has a height of 31 inches (79 centimeters) and a diameter of 11 inches (28 centimeters) and only weighs 10 lbs (4.5 kilograms) when it’s empty. The height of the upper container was increased for this model. This increase has been made to increase the pressure which allows higher volumes of water to be pushed through the filters. The product is made of stainless steel, which is naturally a good choice for a water container.
How does it work?
Obviously, the Crown Berkey Water Filter purifies dirty water into clean water. It has two compartments: the top chamber where you put the water in and the lower tank where the clean water comes in. At the bottom of the lower tank there is a Spigot where you can tap the water from. The filters filter out 99.99% of unwanted substances out of the water. These include contaminants like inorganic minerals, heavy metals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides, perfluorinated chemicals, etc. The entire list of contaminants can be found on the website of Berkey Filters under the page ‘Berkey Filter Test Results’.
The actual filters are thus called Black Filters. They mechanically extract waterborne pathogens. These Black Filters were independently tested by EPA approved laboratories to take out never-seen-before amounts of pathogens. These filters can remove food coloring without removing any beneficial minerals. Two of these Black Filters are by default installed in the system. Depending on how much water you need, you can also purchase more of these filters, in sets of two. The maximum amount of filters that can be installed in one system is eight. With eight filters it can produce up to 26 gallons per hour, which is nearly hundred liters. Therefore this system can also be used in emergency areas, churches, orphanages and schools. Personally, I try to drink two liters of water a day, so you can imagine how many people can benefit from this.
Next to the Black Filters, you can also decide to purchase an extra Berkey Fluoride Reduction Filter. These filters remove up to 97% of fluoride for up to a thousand gallons. Most public tap water is fluorinated, in order to improve dental health. Nevertheless it can be harmful for your bones and joints. Therefore you might want to filter this out with the fluoride filter. This is mostly applicable for households that already have running water.
To check if your Black Filters are still working properly, you can run the Red Dye test. With this test you can check if your filters are failing or not. This is not for the fluoride filters but just the Black Filters. To perform this test you should mix up water and red dye in a separate glass or jug, not in the upper chamber. Then pour this mix between the filters and make sure the filters are fully submerged. The water that comes through the filters should not be pink or red at all. If this is the case, then you should take a look whether you installed the filters right and otherwise you might want to call Berkey Filters for advice.
The Black Filters have a life span up to 6000 gallons of water in a two-filter system. This is less than two cents per gallon. It may require maintenance sooner, but this is naturally dependent on the quality of the water that is being filtered. Every stainless steel Berkey System has a lifetime warranty. You don’t have to register for this, all you need is your order number, so keep this safe if you are planning on buying one.
Features
- Made of stainless steel.
- Lifetime warranty.
- 99,99% of the contaminants are filtered out.
- Compact size.
- Can provide as much water as you need.
- Nice design.
Pro’s and Cons
Pro’s:
- Lifetime warranty.
- Compact size.
- Doesn’t rust.
- Filters 99.99% contaminants.
- Can provide 6 gallons an hour with only two filters.
Cons:
- Has to be cleaned once a month.
- Not yet available everywhere.
Alternatives
Berkey produces many filtering systems and they have quite some other models. It really depends on how much water you need for what model will suit your tiny home the best. There is the Travel Berkey for instance that produces water for one to two people and is therefore significantly smaller.
I recommend to take a look on the website of Berkey Filters so you can judge for yourself which product might be ideal for you. I do recommend to buy your filtration system at Berkey’s. I believe it is the most practical option because of the big water tank that is attached. Most other filtering systems can be placed in a jug and provide only a couple of glasses of water.
More buying guides
Best water filters for van life and road trips
What PFAS are and how to filter them out of your water
Crown Berkey water filter review
In this article, the Crown Berkey Water Filter has been reviewed. It was a very positive review as I am impressed by how efficient this product is. It filters out 99.99% of all contaminants and produces good-tasting water with the Berkey Black Filters that have shown never-seen-before filtering results. It can provide up to six gallons per hour which should be more than enough for your tiny home. With its stainless steel design, it looks very good in my opinion and also has a lifetime warranty because of its high quality. Berkey has a couple more water filtering systems so you can choose which one suits your tiny home the best!
Interested in the Crown Berkey Water Filter? You can read more on this product on this official reseller store.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Crown Berkey filter lead?
Yes, it takes out 99,9% of lead as well. The filters have been independently tested to filter out more than 200 contaminants.
Do Berkey Filters change the pH level of the water?
Yes, the filtering process typically causes the pH level to rise with 0.5-1.0. This gives the water a slight more sweet taste. This is not ‘bad’ for your health.
How often and how should I clean my Berkey System?
Berkey recommends to clean both chambers with soap about once a month. First remove the filters and the Spigot (the tap). If the water you use contains any harmful contaminants, add about 16 drops of household bleach to each gallon. You can just wash them manually with warm water and some mild dish soap. If you wash with bleach, make sure to wash it another time with dish soap. The easiest way to dry it is to let it air dry. The Black Filters should be given attention every six months or when the filtering speed slows.
