Hello...

I am looking for a strictly carbon filter for my tap water. I am not plumbed so I would like it to be of the pour over variety. All the options I've seen on the market (purr, Brita, mavea, etc) use the weak acid softening, which reduces the pH. I am not interested in that and would like only a carbon filter. Do any exist?

I'm not aware of any, but have you thought about a DIY carbon filter? Lots of ideas and plans from a google search.

Other idea if you're not stuck on carbon specifically is one of these:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002RZRJHI
They use ceramic filters and can supposedly be refreshed for a very long time by scrubbing them down, or by sanding them if really needed. The downside is that they are fairly slow to filter and can handle 30 gpd at a maximum.

Reason I got an RO system was I feel like most water filter jugs get you by the replacement filter costs. They generally also have very little charcoal in them requiring replacement often. I know you can also cut open the filter and refresh them yourself, but I'd rather have something with a larger filter on it or with a tank like the RO system so I can fill up kettles or reservoirs from that.

Possibly make your own? A few years back, I used to have an aquarium. It seems like I used carbon in the pump to remove impurities. Buy a box of carbon, put it in a sleeve of sorts, rinse and put it in the pump. Change every so often.

Honestly I am just looking into ways to purify the water to remove chlorine and other impurities in my tap water. Carbon is the one I'm most familiar with but I'm open to other options.

I've heard of the berkey system but have never seen one or know someone that has used one. Therefore, for the steep price I never purchased one. However, if the filter really does last that long it might be a good investment (we use a purr for drinking water so this could replace that as well).

I am also considering using a flojet for my machine. Would it be practical to add a carbon filter using that and how would one go about doing that? Would it be between the flojet and the accumulator (I don't want to restrict flow from the accumulator to the machine)?

The Berkey systems work quite well. The white ceramic filters have a carbon core, so they do a good job of removing chlorine and other chemicals, and they last a long time. There are also various options for plumbing these same filter cartridges straight from your tap or plumbing system. Search for Doulton on amazon and you will find some there. Here's an example:

http://www.amazon.com/Ceramic-Undercoun ... ds=doulton

I put together an economical under sink system using the readily available 10" cartridge pre and carbon filters. The housings and cartridges are widely available and fairly easy to rig. This is hooked to the cold side on the sink, so all drinking and cooking water is filtered. For my two espresso machines(pourover at the moment), I have a valved run to a resin softener with another tap at the end for filling. This supply can also be hooked up to a line for a plumbed in system. Everything is cobbled together with John Guest fittings,

I live in an apartment and can't mess with the plumbing. That's why I was looking for a pour over filter or something I can hook up to a flojet. I was looking at a generic 10 inch housing with a carbon block but not sure of the effectiveness with a flojet

I'd like to focus on a pour over one but not sure I could trust myself to make one.

Like I said, plumbing isn't an option.

I am currently looking into Zen Water System and a Berkey. Anyone have experiences with both as i'm finding it hard to compare them. The zen appears to have an ion exchange system which I tried to avoid but it counterbalances it with the mineral rocks that sit in the bottom? The zen is also about 80$ vs 200$ for the Berkey.