Need Help with Water Purification
 

I've been looking at the Berkey and Aqua Rain systems, based on reading these threads. Couple questions :signs14:

1. Which is considered best ?
2. Is there a better system out there ?
3. Where is best place to buy ? eBay, ???

With regards to Berkey System.....

1. What is best for a me and just the wife ?
2. What is best for say 4-6 folks ?
3. What is difference between 2 x 2 or 4 x 4 ?

TIA,
RK

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

I know very little but I will try to help.

1. AquaRain is considered just as good if not better than Berkey in filtration ability capacity. Aquarain cartrages come with a membrane thickness gauge that lets you know when the ceramic membrane is needing replacement. I like that.

2. unlikely.

3. someone else can probably answer that.

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

I have a auquarain 4 filter setup.

VERY good setup, made in America.

The 2x2 and 4x4 usually refers to the number of filters. The more the better.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either. Some will debate you on which one is better.


The best one: THE ONE YOU HAVE.

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

What's a good place to buy aquarain filters? TIA

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

Has anyone bought from this place before? http://www.homestead-products.com/aquarain.htm They offer a 4% postal money order discount. Good package deal, too.

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

The different brands are basically the same thing. Ceramic filters stuck in two buckets with a lid and a nozzle. I don't think you'll go wrong with either.

I personally got a Berkey because it was stainless steel and looked ok sitting in a main room of my house. I think the plastic ones are a bit ugly. If looks don't matter, then go for the best deal.

I ordered from the new millenium website. Ebay might be better, but I didn't think it was worth the hassle. Got another filter (Aquarain, I think... it was over a year ago) as a backup off nitropak. Might cost a few bucks more to order straight from the bigger companies, but everything is sent the next day and there's no BS.

The differences between the Berkeys are size, number of filters, and the casing.
I liked the steel case, for looks, as I mentioned. As for number of filters... well, I'm running 1 at the moment. Some systems will have room for 4 filters, or just two. If there is room for 4, the usually send you some plugs so you can just run two.

The "system" is just a bucket with a nozzle, and on top of that another bucket with a lid. The top bucket has a couple holes that you can stick the end of the filter in. Nothing complex. If you're remotely handy then you can turn a 2 filter system into a 4 filter system. Or you can build your own housing for the filter elements. The filter elements are really the only part of that that do something.

That being said, my Berkey has room for 4 filter elements, but I'm running 1. I've plugged up the other 3 holes. The reason is that it's just for me and I don't drink a huge amount of water. I like having the other element as a backup in case the S does HTF and I want the peace of mind of everything going through a fresh filter element, with fresh carbon. Of course you can just order extra filters and not use them if you want to run 2 or 4 and still have backups.

If it is just you and your wife then I doubt you would need 4 filters in your system. That can put out a lot of water. Of course, alwasy better to have too many than two few. The filtering will slow down if you are using actually dirty water (lake or river) rather than filtering tap water or rain water, so you might want to consider your source.

It's recommended that when you first setup your system, you filter some water that includes food coloring. If you haven't put in your filter elements correctly, or if one is defective, the food coloring will come through.

I made the mistake, the first time I did this test, of doing it after I had attached PF2 elements (secondary filters that take out fluoride.) None of the food coloring came through.... but one of my filters had been defective! I only realized this after when I cut open the PF2's out of curiosity, and found one of them had absorbed a lot of green. I had used green food coloring when I did the test.

My procedure now is to do the food coloring test, with no secondary filters attached, whenever I put in a new filter element or clean one of the filter elements.

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

Wow, thanks to y'all for the information.

Are you able to clean the filters?

How do you actually 'know' when the filter goes bad and actually needs to be replaced?

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

Cleaning the filters is really easy. You just scrub them off gently. Only the tiniest depth on the surface actually gets clogged, so the challenge is to clean them off without overcleaning them (which would reduce their lifespan). It takes very little time or effort to clean the filters.

If you are filtering water that is basically clean already (tap or rain), the filters will go a long time without needing a cleaning. Like, several months long.

The filters usually have activated carbon in the core (although when I cut open my defective one I found nothing inside). For this reason, they recommend you replace them every so many gallons. You can just figure how much water you use and do the math on that.

Without the core, the porous ceramic will still do it's job of removing cysts, bacteria, and anything gritty and bigger than a virus. The ceramic core is for improved taste and removal of chemicals. How important this is to you, is up to you. I'd personally feel ok running rainwater (off a metal roof, not shingles) through the filters and drinking it, even without the carbon core.

If you don't care about the core, then do the food coloring test after every cleaning and clean them over and over. I think unless your water is really dirty, you won't wear the filters down any time soon. The black berkey element I chopped in half is 12mm thick (and it's been cleaned a few times). I guess if you want a system for figuring out how close you are to the end of it, you could measure the diameter of the filter when it's new and then make sure it never gets close to being 24 mm smaller. Some handheld filters have an indicator to tell you that you've worn them down too much. The big ones don't, unfortunately. You can keep it simple and have some extra filter elements. Replace them based on your comfort level (go with the manufacturers recommendations for more peace of mind.)

It's like an oil change. They say every 3000km, but it's a rather arbitrary number. 95% of people probably don't need it that much, and 5% of people need it more. It's your water, your budget, your comfort level. There's no right answer.

If I was in a SHTF situation and relying on these thing for drinking water, I'd let the diameter drop 1cm and then I'd stick in a new one. A 1cm drop (5mm off the 12mm surface would represent a lot of water filtered, and would mean the filter element was still fairly sturdy and the majority of ceramic was intact. I know this is like replacing your tires when they're still at 60% tread, but risking bad water in a bad situation isn't something I feel ok about. That's assuming a true SHTF where I expect these things to keep me alive for years and I can't go on the internet and order more. Otherwise I'd just replace them according to the book.

As I mentioned above, the filter won't filter a virus. It's too small. So, if you suspect your water supply is that bad, you can add some chlorine or iodine before filtering. It will kill any virus present and then the filter will take out the bad taste (I don't mind the taste of iodine but some people do.)

Apparently leaving water in a clear bottle outside in the direct sunlight for a day will kill anything that might be living in it. I wouldn't try it myself unless I had run out of other options, however.

Anyway I think these filters are definitely one of the first things anyone should get if prepping. It could be an absolute lifesaver. They are inexpensive and portable (as compared to storing water), plus it doesn't take much skill or effort for anyone to be able to get drinkable water from one of these. Hell, leave it in the box until you need it. You just order one of these things and stick it in a closet, then if crap happens you are way ahead of the game. No solution is perfect but if you live near a lake or stream or if it normally rains every few days then this is a no brainer for your drinking water needs.

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

Check out Watts Premier- WWW.wattspremier.com

Re: Need Help with Water Purification
 

Already have something similar, but I'm thinking if they cut off the city water, or I can't pay the bill. How can I go about using rain, or lake water for drinking.....

Thanks,
RK