For three decades Berkey has been producing high-quality gravity filters that fit the needs of all types of households.
If you’ve already researched gravity filters, you’ll agree that a long filter life-span is one of the main calling cards of Berkey systems, along with the fact that they can neutralize over 200 contaminants in tap water.
In most of its products, Berkey uses two filters: Black Berkey Water Filters and Fluoride Berkey Filters. The Berkey Shower Filter and the Sport Berkey Water Bottle use similar technology but different Berkey filters exclusive to those models.
In this article, I’ll tell you how to calculate the life-span of each Berkey filter, make them last longer, and identify when they need a replacement.
Let’s get into it.
Black Berkey Filters
Berkey’s most successful invention is the Black Berkey Filter (also known as Black Berkey Elements or BF2s), which has one of the longest life-spans among gravity filters.
The reason behind its durability is the carefully designed filter media, including high-performing coconut shell, activated carbon, and a proprietary blend of five other filter media.
While Black Berkey Filters boast unparalleled longevity, they can also neutralize over 200 pollutants in tap water, including the most common toxins like trihalomethanes, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), herbicides, pesticides, inorganics, chemicals, and even radiological pollutants.
The best part is you can find test reports for the removal of every contaminant on Berkey’s website. It doesn’t camouflage anything in footnotes or fine prints.
How long do Black Berkey Filters last?
According to the website, one Black Berkey Filter can filter about 3,000 gallons of water. An average person consumes eight cups of water a day, which is almost half a gallon a day. Do a bit of grad-school math, and you’ll find out that this equals 182.5 gallons a year.
If you live alone (you can also include your pet dog in this calculation), one Black Berkey Filter can last you both almost 16 years! Of course, with regular maintenance and cleaning.
I’ll save you some time and do the math based on the Big Berkey Water Filtration System—which comes with two Black Berkey Filters—users with a family:
- Two to three people: Over 6,000 gallons, or eight years
- Three to five people: Up to five and a half years
- Five to eight people: About four years
If you want to jack up your filtration capacity even further, Berkey allows you to outfit Royal, Imperial, and Crown Berkey Water Filter Systems with four or even eight Black Berkey Filters. This arrangement suits a big family with kids and pets or someone who holds a lot of grand parties at home.
Fluoride Berkey Filters
Berkey’s Fluoride Filter is certified to neutralize 97% of fluoride and 100% of arsenic III and arsenic V in your tap water. These filters work as post-filters to Black Berkey Filters and are screwed on top of them.
Berkey’s proprietary fluoride reduction media has an extremely high surface area with a uniform pore distribution and low silica content, making it super effective against fluoridated city water.
How long do Fluoride Berkey Filters last?
One Fluoride Filter can last up to 500 gallons. Since these are sold in pairs, you’ll get 1,000 gallons of life.
Unlike Black Berkey Filters, Fluoride Filters will need replacement after one year even if you haven’t reached the 1,000 gallons mark. In other words, one year is the expiration date for Fluoride Filters.
They are easy to keep track of. If your yearly water consumption doesn’t exceed 1,000 gallons, you can mark your calendars or set a reminder for 365 days.
If you own a Big Berkey and filter about four gallons of water daily, Berkey Fluoride Filters will last about 250 days or eight months.
The Berkey Fluoride Filter’s life also depends on the concentration of competing contaminants in your tap water. A high level of iron, arsenic, fluoride, and other heavy metals can cut down your filter’s life.
How to Calculate Berkey Filter Life-span?
Every household has different water needs. To make your life easier, here’s a simple equation that you can use to figure out when you’d need to swap your Berkey Filters with new ones.
All you need is the total gallons of filtered water used in your house every day and the number of Berkey Filter cartridges in your unit.
Black Berkey Filter:
(Number of filters x 3,000) ÷ gallons used per day = filter life in days
Berkey Fluoride filter:
(Number of filters x 500) ÷ gallons used per day = filter life in days
How Long Do Other Berkey Filters Last?
Berkey’s Shower Filters and Sport Water Bottles use their own special filters rather than the Black Berkey or Fluoride Filter. Here’s how long you can expect them to last.
Berkey Shower Filters
Berkey Shower Filters have a special blend of zinc, calcium, and copper to convert chlorine and chlorine by-products into harmless compounds. This reduces the formation of toxic chlorine vapors produced during hot showers.
Berkey Shower Filters are made to last 20,000 gallons of water, or one year, whichever comes first.
Sport Berkey Filters
Sport Berkey Water Bottles use the same Black Berkey purification element as the Black Berkey Filter—ionic adsorption micro-filtration—to trap chlorine, heavy metals, pesticides, semi-volatile compounds, and pharmaceuticals on the go.
These bottles have an average life of 160 refills if you treat water from lakes, ponds, and sketchy faucets in your hotel room.
If you filter treated city water or well water, Berkey sport bottles can last up to 640 refills.
Other Ways to Judge the Berkey Filter Life-span
If you’ve lost track of how long you’ve been using the filters or want to be certain that your Berkey Filters are working properly, you can use the following tips to judge their efficacy.
Slow flow rate
As Berkey filters approach the end of their life-span, you’ll notice a decrease in flow rate. This happens when the filter pores get permanently clogged or damaged over time.
Typically, a pair of Berkey filters takes an hour to filter one gallon of water. With clogged pores of an expired filter, your unit will take ages to produce just one gallon of water, even after cleaning it.
This is your cue to swap your filter immediately.
Red-dye test
Another surefire way to judge the life of Black Berkey filters is to perform the red-dye test.
To perform this test, remove the fluoride filter as chemicals in food color can damage its efficiency, and pour your diluted artificial red color. A perfectly functioning Black Berkey filter will trap all the dye particles and produce crystal-clear water.
If you notice even a tinge of red color in the lower chamber, it’s time to change your filters. You can perform this test any time you want to confirm your filter is efficiently filtering water.
Pro tip: Only use the red coloring included with the system purchases or McCormick’s artificial liquid red food coloring diluted in water. Don’t use gel food colors as they contain harmful chemicals that can damage the Berkey filters.
For detailed instructions, check out Berkey’s website.
How to Prolong Your Berkey Filter’s Life-Span
By maintaining and regularly cleaning your Berkey system, you can make the most of your filter’s life-span.
Depending on the level of contamination in your tap water, Berkey filters need washing every six months or when you notice a decrease in flow rate.
Clean your Berkey container once a month using mild soap. If your water is a concoction of toxins, add a few drops of bleach in your container, wash it with soap, and rinse it with warm water.
If you notice white scale and chalky residue on any of the filter elements or components, you can soak them in a mixture of water and a dash of vinegar for 10–20 minutes and scrub with a clean cloth.
Contaminants in your water may react with carbon in the filter and form a thin orangish layer over the Black Berkey Water Filter, clogging its pores. Use a 3M non-scratch Scotch Brite pad and some water to rinse away the slimy layer. According to Berkey, you can use a vegetable peeler to peel off that thick layer to reveal the fresh carbon layer behind it.
Find all the detailed maintenance instructions here.
Factors That Affect the Berkey Filter Life-span
If your Berkey filter didn’t last as long as you expected it to, don’t give up on your Berkey system just yet. From the quality of your drinking water to your care of the device and its components, quite a few factors can affect the life-span of your Berkey water filter.
Water quality
The types of contaminants and their concentration in drinking water varies region to region. It’s best to get your water tested in a laboratory to understand what’s lurking so you can filter it better.
One thing to keep in mind is that Berkey filters are not water softeners. If your water is hard, it can reduce your filter’s life significantly. Berkey filters can tackle mild and low hardness if you rinse the filter and wash the chambers regularly with a solution of water and mild vinegar.
Similarly, a high iron concentration will require periodic cleaning.
If you filter well water or water from a lake or pond, use a pre-filter or a cloth to filter out solid debris and sediment. This small practice can save your filter from frequent clogging and help maintain the original quality of the filter.
Filtering softened water
Berkey strictly advises not to use softened water in your Berkey filters because softened water carries salts, such as sodium or potassium, that are produced during the softening process. These salts can clog the pores of your water filter.
Using softened water in your Berkey filter might also result in the cancellation of your warranty.
Leaving the filters unattended
If you’re planning to go on a vacation or otherwise not use your Berkey system for any length of time, make sure you store your Berkey filters properly using the detailed guide on Berkey’s website. If you leave your filters unattended and unused in the Berkey chamber for more than three days, the filters will lose their efficacy.
Defective filter
In rare cases, your filter might have some defect that can reduce its life. To figure out the defect, try troubleshooting your filters and contact Berkey’s customer service.
Berkey stands by its products and provides a two-year warranty on the Black Berkey Elements and stainless steel chamber and a six-month warranty on Berkey Fluoride Filters and all the other components and accessories.
How Long Do Berkey Filters Last: Final Thoughts
What makes Berkey gravity filtration the best in its category is its top-notch filtration media that lasts much longer than average gravity filters. The Fluoride Filters last around eight months to a year, and the Black Berkey Filters can last as long as four to eight years!
Keep in mind, though, that if you fail to maintain your filters, you might end up compromising the filter life. This can also result from poor water quality, high water consumption, and defective parts.
To make sure you’re drinking healthy water free of harmful pollutants like VOCs, pharmaceuticals, and heavy metals, it’s important to wash your stainless steel chambers and clean and re-prime your Berkey filter cartridges at least once every six months or when you start noticing a bad taste or slow flow rate.
Here’s to drinking healthy water.
For more information about water filters, read my review of the best water filters available.
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