Ceramic Water Filtration

I've no experience with it. I use Berkey's and an Aqua Rain with Berkey filters but it looks like it would work just fine. I'm not opposed to the 5 gallon bucket 'DIY' filter idea, it's just that we use ours on a daily basis and my wife wouldn't let me keep 5 gal buckets in double stack on the kitchen counter.

For $29, go for it and report back with your findings.

 

FWIW, I use post filters on the bottom of my Black Berkeys. They strip fluoride and arsenic.


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A Ceramic Filter is only Good for BIG Particles in the Water.... Black Berkies are .5 Micron.... That will get Virus and Bacteria, as well as anything larger. HOWEVER, It does NOTHING for things dissolved in the water, or chemicals that are missable in the water, like MANY Organics, and things like Chlorine, Flordide, Ammonia, and the like. Those are what a Activated Charcoal Filter will remove from the water.... ..... YMMV.....

 

The Black Berkeys do all that most folks are worried about and they do it very well.
They do not remove fluoride or arsenic which is why I added the Amazon.com: Berkey PF-2 Fluoride / Arsenic Filter (Set of 2) - Fits Black Berkey Purifiers Only: Home Improvement which are made by the Berkey folks.

The other method of fluoride removal is to use a filter with KDF media.

Then again, the vast majority of the population does not realize that they might want to read up on fluoride before they consume it. I don't know that arsenic is present in high levels in most municipal water systems.

 

IIRC, the Black Berkeys also have activated charcoal inside.

Here's what they remove:
Black Berkey water filter technical specifications
Viruses

MS2 - Fr Coliphage
Exceeds Purification Standards - 99.999%

Trihalomethanes
Bromodichloromethane,

Bromofore, Chloroform, Dibromochloromethane

Removed to below detectable limits - 99.99999%

Pathogenic Bacteria Parasites and Cysts
E. Coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas,
Aeriginousis, Giardia, Cryptosporidium
Removed to non-detectable levels - 100%

Inorganic Minerals:
Chlorine
Removed to non-detectable levels - greater than 99.9999999%

Heavy Metals
Lead, Mercury, Aluminum, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper
Greater than 95% reduction

Fertilizers and Related Byproducts
Nitrates and Nitrites
Greater than 85% reduction
at 19mg. per liter

Fluoride
With the addition of the Berkey PF-2 fluoride filter you can reduce Fluoride Greater than 95%

Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's)
Removed to below detectable limits - 99.9999999%



Alachlor
Atrazine
Benzene
Carbofuran
Carbon Tetrachloride
Chlorine
Chlorobenzene
Chloroform
2,4-D
dbcp
p-Dichlorobenzene
o-Dichlorobenzene
1, 1-Dichloroethane
1, 2-Dichlorpethane
1, 1-Dichloroethylene
Cis-1, 2-
Dichloroethyiene
Trans-1,2-
Dichloroethylene
1, 2-Dichloropropane
cis-l,3-
Dichloropropylene
Dinoseb
Endrin
Ethylbenzene

Ethylene Dibromide (EDB)
Heptachlor
Heptachlor Epoxide
Hexachlorobutodlene
Hexachloro-
Cyclopentadlene
Lindane
Methoxychlor
MTBE
Pentachlorophenol
Simazine
Styrene
1,1,2,2-
Tetrachloroethane
Tetrachloroethylene
Toluene
2,4,5-TP (Silvex)
1,2,4-trichlorobenzene
1,1,1-trichloroethane
1,1,2-trichloroethane
Trichloroethylene
o-Xylene
m-Xylene

Water filtration is a complex science, we try to use common terms when possible so the explaination is more understandable, if you are interested in the science behind specific water purification methods used by Berkey, please follow the links contained within this page below.

Several well known methods are used to produce the Black Berkey® purification elements. These methods are combined and blended to produce a unique filter process the likes of which the world has never seen. The first line of defence is that the Berkey purification elements are composed of a formulation of more than six different media types, all constructed into a very compact matrix containing millions of microscopic pores. These pores are so minute that they produce what we refer to as a torturous path that pathogenic bacteria, cysts, parasites, sediment and sedimentary minerals must travel through. These paths are so small that these polutants physically cannot pass through them and become trapped eliminating them from your drinking water this is known as microfiltration. Secondly our media formulation uses unique adsorbtion and absorbtion properties. Adsorbtion works to create an ionic barrier similar to surface tension, this barrier is perfectly suited to the micro-pourous water filter because it effectivly allows the tiny pores to block water contaminants that are smaller than the pore size itself. This blocking process is how the Berkey water filter is able to remove submicron viruses that other brands of water filters cannot without the use of obnoxious chemicals like iodine or chlorine. Next, the heavy metals ions (mineral molecules) are extracted from the water through an Ion exchange process where they are attracted to and transformed by electrically bonding to the media. Finally, because of their gravity flow nature, water molecules can take several minutes to pass through the filter elements whereas these water molecules passing through other filtration systems pass through in only fractions of a second. This longer contact time between the water molecules and the filter media, provides much greater removal rates of harmful water contaminates not obtainable through conventional pressurized water filtration methods.

As you can see, the Berkey water purifier incorperates several different scientific methods to produce unmatched drinking water quality. We are able to do all of this and still maintain simplicity. All that you as a Berkey user are required to do is simply pour water into the unit. All of the processes mentioned above will continue to work for you behind the scenes for many years to come. This long filter life allows you to produce purified drinking water for pennies a gallon. To find out more, read our water filter challenge