(06-23-2023, 07:44 PM)BodhisattvaStyle Wrote: I lived on the St. John's river growing up. We knew back then not to swim in that water (that ran all through the city of Jacksonville). It was said to be the most polluted river in the country. FYI, there were 4 military bases there at that time as well. There are 3 now. Most people know not to eat anything you pull out of that river. It's even more disgusting these days.
I lived in DeLand for 8 years. Then we moved up by Astor. I guess that far south it wasn't all that bad. (for everyone else: The St. John's is one of those rivers that runs south to north)
On well water where I live now. It's probably clean enough to drink right out of the tap, but ...
The good:
I've got a Berkey in every building fitted with both filter types. The dog prefers water from the Berkey and he gets that last word in comparing drinking sources. The utter difference when it comes to using filtered water for cooking versus tap ... is why I'm an advocate ... and why I highly recommend using the white filters too. When we were on chlorinated city water, the Berkey made it all better.
I replaced the taps with spigots in the barns (6 filters). That one difference in usability is huge, because you can fill a gallon jug (or just empty the reservoir) in seconds versus minutes. Mine are set on barstools. Saves countertop space and I can move them from here to there if that need arises.
If you set it up out of reach of the sink's sprayer ... or you can't get a hose to it, filling one up is a minor chore. Cleaning one up can be a PITA the first couple of times ... and that probably needs to be done every week at least. Use baby shampoo and a non-abrasive rag (my wife crochets these things out of some synthetic fiber that doesn't soak up a lot of water). Plan on getting a little wet.
I'll add, what comes off the tap isn't distilled water, but the indoor plants won't thrive on it ... so consider supplementing your diet with a multivitamin. We water all the growing things straight off the well pump. And, I can say the dog goes to both the salt licks and the mineral licks out in the pasture. Note to self: get a goldfish and see how it does in Berkey water.
The bad:
I started with a Big Berkey and two black filters. This one is where the capacity for four filters start in their product line. I could almost immediately tell I'd need to fill all four filter slots to get enough flow to use the thing on-demand. You don't really need to though if you're able to schedule adding and removing water. I've occasionally wondered if you could get creative and save money by using just three, but I never really put a plan on paper. My son has the Big Berkey now and it's never been out of service.
The ugly:
You have to be careful setting up the filters or the expense will become a loss. Gotta prime the filters just right and I strongly recommend the dye test until you're an expert (I don't let my wife fuss with this at all). You also need to completely fill the top reservoir once (or even twice) a day to keep the system running right. And, it's okay to fill the filter chamber back up from the storage chamber to keep those filters wet all the time.
You should have done the math in your head by now. Once the up-fronts are paid for, you'll be glad of the investment. But, getting started comes at a cost. I bought once ... cried once ... and I'm a bit relieved I didn't go for a fly-by-night that just left me feeling ripped-off.