When we moved to the island, Kirk had picked up a Big Berkey to run our water through. We had good well water there, and once we had the house’s water redone, the Berkey wasn’t needed. It ended up sitting in its box, unopened, for 6 to 7 years. We moved it with us to West Virginia. Our well water here isn’t great. It is extremely hard. We knew that moving here, we’d need to remodel the water system in the house. We do NOT drink the tap water here. It’s been tested, and while in theory it is “safe” for consumption, too many people locally warn about drinking it straight, blaming chronic kidney stone issues on it (though that is up for discussion if that causes them). So we don’t even give it to our dogs. You can see the hardness of the water even in cold water; it leaves a heavy bloom on pots and glassware, especially when canning. My black kettle was white after the first run.
We are saving for the remodel of the water system, and once done, it should be great. But until then, bottled water is our answer. Buying it, though, isn’t cheap, and with the water so hard locally, most people buy water to drink. By Sunday every weekend, many stores are fully sold out of the 5-gallon carboys. It leaves me nervous as well, for if we can’t get water, what do we do? I had already had one weekend where I went to three stores to find water.
The average price is $15 for the bottle the first time, and approximately $8 for each refill when you return your empty bottle. I am unable to lift the full bottles due to my arm injury from last year, so one of the boys must accompany me to load them into a shopping cart, into the car, and then into our house.
That alone was enough to get me off my rear and find the Berkey Filter box.
After blowing off the dust, I opened it up.
The current model hasn’t changed much. You can buy a stainless steel spigot, however. That is nice to have less plastic. I might upgrade it.
The directions are IKEA-level in terms of complexity, but I eventually figured it out. It came with four filters, but you could opt to use only two at a time, and use two plugs. I decided to try this way first. The filters supposedly treat about 6,000 gallons of water, an average four-person family that is about 2 years. We shall see.
I added the first fill of cold tap water. At first, it barely drips through. I left it overnight, and the water had gone through nicely.
I drained it as instructed and refilled it. We went and ran errands, came home to it having drained, so it was much faster the second time.
I decided to purge it a third time, just to be sure. It’s no different than using any filter; you need to rinse it, essentially, before using the water.
Then, with it ready, we proceeded to test and compare the water. A basic science experiment, if you will.
I ordered a water testing kit. We tested three times: Well, Berkey, and as a test control, bottled water.
Our water had been tested twice before, by plumbers, but I wanted to do it myself, as I hadn’t seen the results in person – just what I was told.
The strips are very easy to use; lining up the colors can be interesting, and you might second-guess yourself at first. It gets easier, though.
Well Versus Filtered:
What I wanted to know was: What is in our water, and does the Berky improve it?
The Results:
Our issue lies in the hardness of the water. All three samples came back with 0 for Free Chlorine, Iron, Mercury, Total Chlorine, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Manganese, QAC, Flouride, Sodium Chloride, and Hydrogen Sulfide.
- Hardness: 250, 150, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
- Total Alkalinity: 240, 180, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
- Carbonate: 240, 240, and 0 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
- PH: 9,6, and 5 (Well, Berkey, bottled water)
So yes, the Berkey did help with the hardness in general. While it can’t compare to the bottled water, it does help. I will test it again in a week to see if it lowers further as the filters are used. I have no issues giving our dogs this water and using it to cook with, make ice, and so on. The water comes out clear of the Berkey visually. Not Carbonate clouding the water, until it settles.
The test kit also tested beyond the basics:
It’s reassuring to know that your water, straight from the well, is free of nitrates and nitrites.
No Tin or Nickel as well.
Sulfates are something the Berkey doesn’t affect, and even our bottled water had the same reading, so I am choosing to ignore it. It doesn’t seem to be considered a huge issue, that the most significant risk is getting GI issues if not used to it.
I feel safe using the Berkey for now, which helps with our water consumption, and I also feel a lot better about our well water in general. I don’t fear drinking it now, though it is brutal on appliances. Once we have a water system in place, I will feel better about that.
And my hair will undoubtedly feel better. That is probably what I hate most about the water here – my hair never feels clean due to the hardness.
~Sarah