*****QUESTION - BIG BERKEY BLACK ELEMENT FILTER*****

I have used one (with the attached flouride filters) for about two years and it hasn't even needed to be cleaned. Specs say 3000 gallons. At 2 gallons a day it should last over 4 years. Probably will do a lot longer. I expect if the SHTF and I use water from natural sources it may not last as long or at least have to be cleaned more often. In this age of polluted public water, the Big Berkey is the best investment (health-wise) I ever made.

I agree with this response 100%.

I love mine and it just keeps on going and going.

EXCELLENT PRODUCT.

over one year never cleaned going strong. well worth it... PUR, Brita, etc i'd have needed to swap those wasteful expensive cartridges 12 times by now..

Love the Big Berkey, and watched a couple of youtube vids to set it up. Person who sold it to me was so helpful and follow-up great. HIGH recommend to Berkey for making me feel part of the urban resistance.

am beyond impressed with the product. if the shtf, i got clean water...

We've been using Big Berkey over a year and only needed to replace the spigot. We love it.

You are supposed to clean your filters periodically when it starts taking longer to filter. My husband cleaned ours with an old toothbrush and it was as good as new.

How to clean a Berkey Filter:

[link to www.berkeyfilters.com]

I've had one for several years, the Big Berkey. I used it for awhile but since I have well water, I thought it best to store my unit for when I really may need it (when the SHTF).

I left the unit out on my covered porch for a while, probably not a wise thing, and when I went to clean it up for storage, all of the black filter elements had separated from the round plastic base that screws into the holes in the bottom of the unit. All of the black elements were just leaning inside the unit. Shit.

So, I ended up cleaning the plastic bases of old sealant and scraped the bottom of each black element and used standard clear silicon sealant, the type used to seal around things in the bathroom, to re-attach/re-seal the black elements to their bases. I don't know about any toxicity issues with the silicon sealant that I used, but I figured that since the sealant is basically on the inside of the unfiltered water tank, that any potentially toxicity from the silicon would be filtered out by the filter elements.

Any comments?....besides I shouldn't have left the unit outside. The weather was moderate at the time, not winter or extreme hot/cold. Don't know why that would have affected the factory sealant.