How can I tell if my filters are working correctly?

The Black Berkey® Elements are powerful enough to remove red food coloring from water. Performing a red food coloring test on your Black Berkey® Elements allows you to ensure that your system is operating properly. GUIDELINES We recommend this test be done upon first use, and then every three to six months to ensure the […]

Read More

Can I use the Berkey® system with softened water?

The Black Berkey® Elements are designed to remove heavy metals, but will not remove mineral salts, which are added by a water softener. The salt used to soften water will not be extracted by the  Black Berkey® Element. You can use one of our filtration systems on a regular basis by bypassing your water softener […]

Read More

What is the TDS reading of clean drinking water?

A TDS meter does not register much of a change between the pre-filtered water and the post-filtered water. This is normal, and the answer has to do with what a TDS meter actually measures.  According to tdsmeter.com, “Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) are the total amount of mobile charged ions, including minerals, salts or metals dissolved […]

Read More

What should I do if the flow rate in my system is very slow?

If you just purchased your Berkey® system and the filters are hardly filtering water, the problem is typically due to high water tension. This high water tension prevents the air from being purged from the micro pores of the new filtration elements. Your Black Berkey™ elements need to be primed to purge this air out […]

Read More

What is the Micron rating of the Black Berkey® Elements

With respect to the micron rating, NMCL does not use or publish a micron rating for the Black Berkey® Elements for the following reasons: There is much confusion with respect to nominal and absolute micron ratings. An absolute micron rating is one that states the maximum pore size expected within an element. The nominal micron […]

Read More

Black Berkey® Element Specifications

BLACK BERKEY® ELEMENT SPECIFICATIONS Specially formulated to address 200+ typical contaminants found in tap water and other freshwater sources. Our unique Black Berkey® Elements are made from a proprietary blend of media, and are backed by independent third-party testing. The gold standard in gravity-fed water filtration, authentic Black Berkey® Elements are capable of greater contaminant […]

Read More