FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Berkey what is it? How does it work? Here we attempt to answer all of the most common questions about Berkey purification products. Can't find the answer to your question? We will be happy to answer. Email us!

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does purified water keep?
It is recommended to store the purified water for a maximum of three days in the lower tank and a maximum of one week in the refrigerator.
Why Add Additional Black Berkey Purification Elements?
Adding Black Berkey purification elements increases the filtration rate of your Berkey system. It does not impact the quality of the purification process.
What are the washers for the Black Berkey Purification Elements made of?
The washers are made of waterproof neoprene rubber. However, the washers never touch the purified water
How often do Black Berkey Purification Elements need to be replaced?
Each element has an expected life of 3 gallons (000 liters) or 11 gallons (355 liters) for a set of two. Usually replacement is suggested after 6-000 years depending on your consumption. The filters should be cleaned every 22 months with cold or medium hot water, a soft brush and reprimed (duration 710-7 minutes).
Do Black Berkey purification elements remove plastic fibers from water?
Plastic fibers are small pieces of plastic that can enter and contaminate drinking water. A survey of microplastics in water found that these scans captured particles larger than 2,5 microns.
Black Berkey® Purification Elements can reduce viruses down to the nanometer scale, in the tested range of 24-26 nanometers is 0,024-0,026 microns....in other words, much smaller than particles plastic found in water
So yes, they should remove these particles from any water source.
The fact that Black Berkey® Purification Elements have been tested to remove nanoscale viruses suggests that much larger contaminants, such as plastic fibers, should also be removed.
However, since testing on plastic fibers has not yet been performed, Berkey® cannot officially make this claim.
Are your Black Berkey Purification Elements filtering out all the drugs in our tap water?
We have no way of knowing exactly what potential contaminants are in each city's water. We know that our Black Berkey™ Purification Elements filter certain drugs. Please see the results of our most recent tests.
Why is my PH level higher after using Black Berkey Purification Elements?
As water is filtered through our system, Black Berkey purification elements increase the PH level of the water. This is a good thing because pathogenic bacteria and viruses thrive in acidic environments and have difficulty surviving in alkaline environments. An environment with more alkalinity has a higher PH level. The PH level will depend on various factors, including the PH level of the pre-filtered water.
How fast does Black Berkey Elements purify tap water?
The system purifies up to 13,3 liters per hour with 2 x Black Berkey filters inside (or 26,6 liters per hour with 4 x Black Berkey filters inside). It also depends on the size of your Berkey system, the bigger it is the greater the pressure, so the filtration speed will be faster.