Another option is the tap mounted Doulton products that use the same filter as the Berkey. I am also living in a "no plumbing" situation right now and am using one of these. It easily mounts to the end of the faucet with standard threads. It's also cheaper and faster than the gravity fed Berkey. I'm quite pleased with it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B009EQO9O ... ref=plSrch

If you must have a gravity system, I'd go with the Berkley and put a few pieces of bamboo charcoal in the bottom reservoir for taste. It may be more expensive and a bit slow, but I've heard they stand up to the test of time.

Thanks. I ordered a travel berkey after reading more about how lousy the pur filters are, which is what we currently use for drinking water. Plus the berkey should look good next to my machine I guess.

Interesting about the bamboo charcoal as I can't imagine the taste.

Wasn't happy about the doulton candles after reading this. http://www.waterfilterlabs.com/Doulton- ... sults.html

The berkeys use a propriety black filter. Are you referring to the white ceramic ones that aren't used anymore? at least officially?

Well, that article has made me totally paranoid about my Doulton filter. Unfortunately, the article doesn't say which model of filter they tested (Doulton makes a few different models), so it leaves me wondering.

Anyways, enjoy your travel Berkey, I think you'll like it. Be gentle with the threads on the black filters, they sometimes have a tendency to strip.


EDIT: After some googling I've found that the Doulton Ultracarb filter I'm using in my sink mounted unit does have a carbon core, so it should be significantly better than the purely ceramic one (Sterasyl) that they use in their gravity systems. Feeling relieved now.

brianl wrote:Thanks. I ordered a travel berkey after reading more about how lousy the pur filters are, which is what we currently use for drinking water. Plus the berkey should look good next to my machine I guess.

Interesting about the bamboo charcoal as I can't imagine the taste.

Nice! Congrats I think it will do you well.

Bamboo charcoal is what they use for improving water for Chinese and Japanese tea. It just adds back some nice mineral, absorbs some bad stuff, and gives the water a good sparkling taste. It's mostly the same idea as activated charcoal, but I liked the taste of it a bit better after adding a piece to a jug, vs just filtered.

leon wrote:Well, that article has made me totally paranoid about my Doulton filter. Unfortunately, the article doesn't say which model of filter they tested (Doulton makes a few different models), so it leaves me wondering.

Anyways, enjoy your travel Berkey, I think you'll like it. Be gentle with the threads on the black filters, they sometimes have a tendency to strip.

EDIT: After some googling I've found that the Doulton Ultracarb filter I'm using in my sink mounted unit does have a carbon core, so it should be significantly better than the purely ceramic one (Sterasyl) that they use in their gravity systems. Feeling relieved now.

Yeah, I don't know the difference. I don't know whether carbon filters out those types of heavy metals. I'm sure you're fine, though. I heard about the black filters having issues which is why it took so much convincing. I measured the Zen out and it's just way too large.

The only bad things I've heard about the Berkey are from people in the middle of the wilderness worried that it wont filter every virus out there.

EspressoForge, do you know a place that sells a 'food' safe version as i'm mostly finding bars of soap an deodorizes when looking for a reputable seller.

brianl wrote:
EspressoForge, do you know a place that sells a 'food' safe version as i'm mostly finding bars of soap an deodorizes when looking for a reputable seller.

I bought mine here when buying a bunch of Chinese tea:
http://www.teacuppa.com/Bamboo-Charcoal.asp

I think they also sell on eBay if shipping is too much from there for just that.

Or another tea place, looks like free shipping:
http://www.dragonteahouse.biz/natural-b ... r-filters/

If you're concerned about it being food grade, I think tea places are probably good. But my mind says, bamboo charcoal shouldn't be much different, but maybe they do burn it differently or in a different type of fire pit when it's meant for consumption.

Thanks. I cant find any stateside has.

brianl wrote:Yeah, I don't know the difference. I don't know whether carbon filters out those types of heavy metals. I'm sure you're fine, though. I heard about the black filters having issues which is why it took so much convincing. I measured the Zen out and it's just way too large.

The only bad things I've heard about the Berkey are from people in the middle of the wilderness worried that it wont filter every virus out there.

I lived with a friend for several years in the New Mexico mountains who uses a Berkey to treat river and irrigation ditch water for drinking (and making coffee, of course ). The black filters do a great job, although they do have to be scrubbed down every so often if the water has a lot of suspended sediment/silt. Just be gentle when tightening the nut, check for leaks, and you'll be fine.


For what it's worth, I've ordered stuff from the Dragon Tea House several times in the past. The customer service and product quality was consistently good. The shipping seemingly takes forever, but it's coming on a slow boat from China, so that's to be expected. And it's free, so you can't complain!

Unintended result: The Berkey reduced my TDS from ~170ppm (GH of ~150ppm) to 100PPM. I wonder what it removed since there doesn't appear to be an ion exchange in the filter (will edit later with titration test results for GH). If the GH is below 100 then I might not need to mix with zero water anymore for the espresso machine.

Took a few fill ups to get rid of the fluoride filter dust but I think it's settled in now. Satisfied so far (my SO does pourover and the first one with the Berkey water she said was great).