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(More customer reviews)Not to be a buzz kill, but I spend DAYS researching these berkey filters. I even tracked down a gentleman who claimed to be one of the heads of the Toxicology Department, Dr. Portier, at LSU. He said that LSU did infact do ONE water sample on the Black Berkey over 8 YEARS ago and that neither he or LSU endorses their product. He also said that while the test did take place, that not Himself or LSU authorized a document to be placed on the internet. He said the reason that he was so quick to call me back is because he has had nearly 20 different inquires in the past 8 years asking about this "so called" lab analysis document that Berkey puts on their website. He also went on to say, that SOMEONE had to of manufactured the "LSU document" because he did not provide ANYONE with that document. So, even if LSU did do a sample, and if everything went alright, then why did New Millennium Concepts have to manufacture a LSU lab analysis report? Then I got to thinking, if New Millennium Concept (the company the main distributor for Black Berkey filters) is soooooooooooo confident in their product, then
Why don't they have any Quality Assurance procedures put into place?
Why don't they have their filters annually tested?
Why don't they get an NSF (National Sanitation Foundation) certification.
Why don't they have a Micron Rating for their filter...Nominal or Absolute?
There I spoke with Valarie who was also very nice, she spend nearly 30 minutes talking to me on the phone about my questions. However, even though she was nice, she wasn't able to provide any logical explanations on why New Millennium Concepts did not provide any quality assurance testing on their filters, or why they do NOT recertify their filters annually to ensure that they are still working properly. When I pressed her on this issue, she explained that the tests were several hundred dollars apiece and that's why they did not do them frequently. Furthermore, her testament as to the quality of the Berkey Filters was that, "no one had ever gotten sick from using our Black Berkey filters". She went on to say that New Millennium Concepts has been in business since 1997 and they do a lot of business. She said that they sold over 350,000 dollars of product in December 2010 alone.
In conclusion, if New Millennium Concepts has been around as long as they say they have, and if they are selling over a quarter of a million dollars a month; then there is NO acceptable reason why they have not obtained an NSF certification, fail to conduct quality assurance on their products, or subject their filters to annual independent lab tests. These three steps would ensure the quality of their filters beyond doubt. Simply saying, "that no one has ever gotten sick using a Berkey Filter" is impossible to prove and meaningless. I have been drinking tap water for 30 years with all the fluoride, chlorine, and bacteria, and I have never gotten sick either. The problem is that unless the quality of water that you are drinking is SEVERELY contaminated, you won't get sick right away. Instead, it will be a slow cumulative effect on the body. That fact that Berkey or someone else manufactured lab analysis reports from LSU also scares me!!!
Bottom line is that the Berkey filters make some pretty awesome claims, but do very little to PROVE this to their consumers. History shows us that when a company makes great and unusual claims about their products, they NORMALLY back it up with proof; Berkey has failed to do that. As for Spectrum labs and the University of Arizona... I have yet to hear back from them.
This review is not meant to be negative in any way, it is solely to spread information and get to the bottom of this.
From what I can tell for sure, the best part about the filter is that the water collects in a 304 polished stainless steel basin, which is far superior to plastic! For this reason alone this filter might be worth buying? The Berkey filter will remove "some stuff", and in a survival situation this is definitely better than nothing. However, I am not able to use this filter for my EVERYDAY drinking water needs as several prominent Natural Health and Survival Personalities are endorsing!
If you want more info on how to contact New Millennium Concepts, or University of Arizona, or LSU toxicology department....feel free to contact me at wcoy79@yahoo.com and put "Berkey Water Filter" in subject line.
AGAIN, HERE ARE SOME "FACTS" TO CONSIDER BEFORE BUYING A BERKEY
1) THEY ARE NOT NSF CERTIFIED
2) THEY DO NOT HAVE ANY "RECENT" LAB TESTS ON THEIR FITLERS
3) THEY DO NOT PROVIDE A MICRON RATING FOR THEIR ELEMENTS. (YOU CAN READ WHY THEY CHOOSE NOT TO WITHIN THEIR FAQ SECTION ON THEIR WEBSITE, BUT ANYONE WHO KNOWS A GOOD DEAL ABOUT WATER FILTRATION WILL SEE RIGHT THROUGH THIS REASONING)
4) SPECTRUM LABS APPARENTLY WENT OUT OF BUSINESS SO THERE IS NO WAY TO VERIFY THEY DID TESTING FOR BERKEY
5) DR. PORTIER, THE HEAD OF LSU TOXICOLOGY DEPARTMENT BELIEVES THAT SOMEONE HAS MANUFACTURED THE LAB REPORT FROM LSU THAT IS CIRCULATING AROUND THE INTERNET. THIS IS ALSO THE SAME ONE THAT WAS EMAILED TO ME FROM VALARIE AT NEW MILLENIUM CONCEPTS (BERKEY FILTER ELEMENT MANUFACTURER)
6) I USED A POOL TEST KIT TO VERIFY THAT THE FILTERSREDUCES CHLORINE AND FOUND POSITIVE RESULTS. I AM NOT SURE HOW MUCH IT REMOVES, BUT IT DEFINITELY REMOVES SOME CHLORINE. I AM NOT SURE IF IT REMOVES CHLORAMINE THOUGH. HOWEVER, AFTER POURING REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER THROUGHT THE BERKEY FILTERS AND MEASURING THE pH BEFORE AND AFTER IT WENT THROGH THE FITLER ELEMENTS, I SAW THAT THEY pH HAD INCREASED AFTER IT WENT THROUGH THE FILTER. SINCE pH IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE AMOUNT OF PARTICLES/MINERALS CONTAINED WITHIN WATER, I REALIZED THAT THE BLACK BERKEY ELEMENTS ARE "ADDING" SOMETHING TO THE WATER. WHAT THAT IS, I AM NOT SURE, BUT I DEFINITELY DON'T LIKE THAT FACT.
7) THE MANUFACTURER CLAIMS THAT THESE FILTER ELEMENTS CAN BE USED FOR AN INDEFINITE AMOUNT OF TIME SO LONG AS THE FILTER'S GALLON RATING HAS NOT BEEN REACHED. WHILE I CANNOT PROVE THIS, IT IS OBVIOUS THAT THESE ELEMENTS ARE NOT MADE OF CERAMIC AND THAT THEY ARE MADE OF SOME FORM OF ACTIVATED CARBON. CARBON BECMOES A BREEDING GROUND FOR BACTERIA AND VIRUSES IN WET ENVIORNMENTS AFTER AROUND 5-6 MONTHS. FOR THIS REASON ALONE, ALL OTHER CARBON BASED FILTER ELEMENTS RECOMMEND THAT YOU SWITCH OUT YOUR FILTERS AFTER 6 MONTHS EVEN IF YOU HAVE NOT REACHED THAT FILTERS RATED GALLON CAPACITY. THE FACT THE VALARIE FROM NEW MILLENIUM CONCEPTS SAID THAT YOU CAN KEEP THE FITLER FOREVER SO LONG AS YOU DRY IT OUT WHEN NOT USING IT, SOUNDS A BIT FISHY TO ME.
8) THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT IS THAT WHILE ALL THE ABOVE FACTS ARE TRUE, THE MANUFACTURER AND ALL THE DISTRIBUTORS THAT I HAVE SPOKEN WITH OVER THE PHONE AND VIA EMAIL REFUSE TO Acknowledge THEM AS TRUTH. THIS WORRIES ME BECAUSE IT MAKES ME FEEL LIKE THEY ARE TYRING TO HIDE SOMETHING. INSTEAD, THEY JUST PICK AND CHOOSE WHICH FACTS THEY WANT TO ATTACK AND REFUSE TO GIVE LOGICAL EXPLANATIONS REGARDING THE OTHERS STATEMENTS. IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR THE PUREEST WATER YOU CAN GET, TRY DISTILLING YOUR WATER (I KNOW, I KNOW, I AM OBSESSED WITH WATER). BUT IF YOU ARE ONLY LOOKING FOR SOMETHING TO PURIFY WATER IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS OR IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES THAT DON'T HAVE FILTRATION METHODS, THEN THE BERKEY OR SOME OTHER GRAVITY FED SYSTEM WILL WORK FOR YOU.
9) THE FLUORIDE ELEMENTS THAT BERKEY SELLS ARE FROM A THIRD PARTY MANUFACTURER AND HAVE NOT BEEN PROVEN TO REMOVE ANY SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF FLUORIDE. DISTILLING IS THE ONLY FOR SURE METHOD TO REMOVE FLUORIDE FROM WHAT I CAN GATHER.BOTTOM LINE, THESE FILTERS ARE PROBABLY GOOD FOR EMERGENCY SITUATIONS AND EMERGENCY SITUATIONS ONLY. I HIGHLY DOUBT THAT THEY WILL REMOVE ANYTHING THAT THE CITY WATER HASN'T ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF, WHICH THE EXCEPTION OF CHLORINE.****UPDATE***** MARCH 13TH 2011
please forgive the ALL CAPS, I don't feel like retyping this ;(
I WAS ABLE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH DR. GERBA FROM UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA VIA EMAIL. HE CONFIRMED THAT THEY DID ONE TEST AS WELL WHICH CONFIRMED THE FOLLOWING "Three Black Berkey Filter Formulation Water Purification Units were evaluated for their ability to remove Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) oocysts, and Escherichia coli (E. coli). The average oocysts removal by both units tested exceeded >99.99999"
SO, THAT MAKES 2 ACCOUNTED FOR LAB ANALYSIS REPORTS(LSU & UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA) WITH ONLY ONE OUTSTANDING (SPECTRUM LABS). KNOWING THIS MAKES ME FEEL BETTER ABOUT OWNING A BERKEY....I SUPPOSE. UNFORTUNATELY, THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE LAB ANALYSIS WAS DONE BY SPECTRUM LABS. I SAY THIS IS UNFORTUNATE BECAUSE AFTER SPEAKING WITH A BERKEY DISTRIBUTOR VIA EMAIL, HE INFORMED ME THAT THE PARTICULAR SPECTRUM LAB THAT DID THE WATER ANALYSIS ON THEIR FILTERS WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. I DO NOT HOLD THIS AGAINST NEW MILLENNIUM CONCEPTS OR THEIR FILTERS, UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES HAPPEN SO I UNDERSTAND. HOWEVER, SINCE THIS PARTICULAR SPECTRUM LABS WENT OUT OF BUSINESS THEIR WATER ANALYSIS CANNOT BE SUBSTANTIATED. LIKE I MENTIONED EARLIER, THEIRS WAS THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE OF THE THREE.
AS FAR AS THINGS STAND RIGHT NOW, I AM STILL RECOMMENDING THE BERKEY FILTER FOR LAST DITCH EFFORTS IN AN EMERGENCY. I UNDERSTAND THAT THE CONVENIENCE OF THEIR "GRAVITY FED" SYSTEM COMES IN HANDY WHEN THE ELECTRICITY GOES OUT, NOT TO MENTION THEIR HIGH QUALITY 403 STAINLESS STEEL OUTER HOUSING; BUT I STILL NEED TO SEE MORE RECENT AND UP TO DATE TESTING ALONG WITH SOME QUALITY ASSURANCE ON THEIR END TO ENSURE THAT EACH FILTER MEETS THE SPECIFICATIONS THAT THEY CLAIM. COME ON PEOPLE, THIS IS JUST COMMON SENSE STUFF HERE. I AM NOT PENALIZING BERKEY FILTERS FOR CHOOSING NOT TO PURCHASE THE NSF...Read more›
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Royal Berkey Water Filter System With 2 Black Berkey FiltersThe versatile Royal Berkey system is the ideal system for use at home with large families, travel, outdoor activities or during unexpected emergencies.This powerful system purifies both treated water and untreated raw water from such sources as remote lakes, streams, stagnant ponds and water supplies in foreign countries, where regulations may be substandard at best. Perfect for outdoor activities and a must in hostile environments where electricity, water pressure or treated water may not be available.The Royal Berkey system removes pathogenic bacteria, cysts and parasites entirely and extracts harmful chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, VOCs, organic solvents, radon 222 and trihalomethanes. It also reduces nitrates, nitrites and unhealthy minerals such as lead and mercury. This system is so powerful it can remove red food coloring from water without removing the beneficial minerals your body needs. Virtually no other system can duplicate this performance.Constructed of highly polished 304 stainless steel, the system comes complete with two purification elements and utilizes the latest technological advances. This system has a storage capacity of about 3.25 gallons (12.3 liters) and when in use it stands 23" in height with a diameter of 9.5". The upper chamber nests within the lower chamber for transport and stands only 15.25" in height.Configured with two Black Berkey purification elements the system will purify up to 4 Gallons (15.1 liters) per hour. This system can be expanded to use four purification elements and is capable of purifying up to 8 Gallons (30.3 liters) per hour.
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