As stated porcelain/ ceramic.
Stainless steel, glass and other metals{copper, real tin and others]
As stated porcelain/ ceramic.
Stainless steel, glass and other metals{copper, real tin and others]
Just a caveat about Berkey filters:
They refuse to undergo testing by the NSF and ANSI. Theyâve been dodging it for decades, in fact.
Instead, they use âindependent third-partyâ analysis, which really just means a private lab that they have an exclusive relationship with. In other words, âwe tested it ourselves, just trust usâ is their way of verifying their filters.
So, when you see their claims that their filters are clean and safe, and that they produce the cleanest water on the market, take it with a very large grain of salt. There have been many who independently tested Berkey against NSF/ANSI standards, and found that they come up short every time for various concerning tests, such as soluble lead and PFAS (which really only RO membranes or distillation can remove).
They have an incredible marketing team that popularized their filters on Youtube and among prepper types, but sadly for the money, youâre just not getting the performance/value that they advertise, especially considering the more budget-friendly alternatives (which are NSF/ANSI certified).
BTW if youâre concerned about milk in coffee, you could try using oat milk instead. Donât know if anyone suggested it to you, but itâs quite good, and I actually prefer it over regular milk now. However, Iâm unsure how it affects coffee/tea compared to regular milk, and I havenât seen any studies regarding that. I would assume itâs fine since it lacks all the binding proteins/enzymes at fault in regular milk.
Starbucks offers oat milk as a vegan alternative, so you might not have to give them up
They do roast the F out of their beans, thoughâŚ
I use glycine and collagen. They taste like sugar and cream and are actually quite similar.
Except theyâre healthy.
I see âcertified filtersâ on Amazon that are cheap and get low ratings, making me wonder if they are actually certified or if they attached the certification image to their listing without actually going through the process.
Hereâs a portion of what Berkey says about their tests:
The Black Berkey filters have been tested by several EPA-accredited laboratories including the Department of Toxicology and Environmental Science at Louisiana University, Spectrum Labs, and the University of Phoenix. This extensive testing confirmed that the Black Berkey Purification Elements far exceed EPA and ANSI/NSF (Std. 53) protocol.
The Black Berkey filters have been tested and confirmed to remove or greatly reduce the contaminants listed below.
Contaminants Removed
Yeah, that sounds a lot healthier. Many of the oat milks I see have quite a bit of sugar and other questionable additives (unfortunate since Iâm lactose intolerant and trying to find decent alternatives). I guess, like usual, this is one of those things thatâs best to make yourself.
Yes, your hunch is correct. A lot of Amazon sellers have cheap Chinese filters which do not meet NSF/ANSI standards. The trick is that they can get certain parts of the filters certified (like a gasket ir faucet head, lmao) and then advertise the certification as if the whole unit is certified.
This is why itâs best to stick to US companies with that are more transparent about their certifications.
Best way is to check whatever you find on Amazon or elsewhere here:
https://info.nsf.org/certified/dwtu/
Itâs a catalogue of all certified filter systems tested by the NSF. Notice here that Berkey does not show up on the NSF database, because they actively prevent the NSF from testing their systems.
Also, that source you state is from Berkey themselves, so it isnât exactly unbiased. One of the most dishonest things they do with those reports is skew the baselines.
For instance, it removes 99.9% of contaminant X, but what was the initial load? There is a big difference between removing 99.9% of a 1000 ppm contaminant, as opposed to a 10 ppm contaminant, especially in regard to heavy metals.
Nowhere does Berkey clarify this. Nowhere do they actually link the source data or studies. Not even when contacting them directly, in which case they just parroted to me the same thing on their website.
Also, many of those contaminants removed are just particulate matter or microbes, which other carbon filters can remove just as easily. Thatâs all a Berkey filter is, really: carbon filters. That also gives it the same limitations as carbon filters, meaning that they struggle with small-molecule carcinogens like PFAS.
Note they make no claim about PFAS filtration anywhere in their claims, because they donât filter PFAS. Only distillation or reverse osmosis can filter PFAS.
Sure, they have a long list of other things they filter, but again, most of it is redundant. What matters isnât how many things are filtered, but rather what is filtered and the amounts that remain. Percent of contaminant removed is a dishonest skewing of statistics. You should look at ppm of contaminant in the output. % tells you nothing aside from being an easily marketable number.
This is profoundly helpful! Thank you for taking the time to reply
Since you clearly know your stuff on this subject, may I ask what brand or brands of water filters you would most highly recommend? Since I do have the Berkey system, I am considering replacing their filters with others that would fit the device and potentially work better.
I have no particular brand loyalty, but some decent reverse osmosis (RO) brands are APEC, iSpring, and Waterdrop. Iâm sure there are more out there, but they will perform about the same provided that they pass the NSF/ANSI tests.
Personally I use an under-sink RO system, which happens to be APEC since they use standard filters. A lot of brands use proprietary ones that force you to use their own filters, which I dislike.
I am not familiar with any alternative filters for Berkeys since I donât own one, but I think ProPur/ProOne makes some that will fit. They have a NSF certification, being one of the few gravity filters to have one.
However, none of this matters unless you test your own water. Verify, donât trust. Whatever route you end up going, itâs always good to test the output water in order to see how well the filtration is working.
Depending on your water, you may be fine continuing to use Berkey. I personally use RO because it is the best you can get in regard to purifying anything and everything from water, particularly PFAS which is everywhere now, even in the damn rain. Gravity carbon filtration cannot achieve this alone, so you would need to add a pressurized RO system after your Berkey water if you want that, at which point you might as well just get a dedicated RO system.
It sucks that we live in such a polluted world. TBH I think longevity nowadays is becoming more about what you can avoid, as opposed to what you can take.
I hope you donât mind that I keep replying, but Iâm very interested in the topic of clean water as I live in an industrial area with a long history of spills and disregard.
I see that some under-the-sink reverse osmosis systems use 3-stage filtering, others 4 or 5. A few look like 6-stage and I think I saw an 8-stage system although I may have imagined that.
Also, I like your suggestion that people should test their own water. I tried to find help on how to do this, but the quantity of available information is overwhelming. Test strips, electronic devices, free kits from your water system, hardware store kitsâŚ
Many thanks!
Yikes, living near industrial waste is quite hairy. I hope youâre not referring to the recent Ohio vinyl chloride spill. That whole watershed area might be compromised for years!
If you want the TL;DR: 6 stage, with a catalytic carbon filter in the 3rd stage if water has chloramine and an optional remineralizing 6th stage for taste and/or tolerance.
Keep in mind that, while this will be very detailed, there are still more details that I havenât gone over because they are rather technical and, IMO, not really that important. If you want to deep-dive into this, you can check out r/WaterTreatment.
1. In regard to the filter stages: 6 is about the max Iâd go (and what I have). Using more than that is very situational. To explain the differences, generally the order of the stages goes like this:
1st Stage: Sediment Filter
Removes solid/fine particulates. This is important to preserve the life of the downstream filters, because otherwise the pores would get clogged quite quickly and reduce flow/efficiency.
Service life 6-12 months
2nd Stage: Carbon Block
This is just like your Berkeyâs filters. This stage reduces the amount of volatiles, heavy metals, etc. Anything that your current filters remove. Also reduces the load for downstream filters.
Service life 6-12 months
3rd Stage: Another Carbon Block (or catalytic carbon)
Usually another carbon block is added to further purify the water before the RO filter. These three stages so far are really to protect the RO membrane, since itâs the most imoportant step. Otherwise your membrane would be spent very quickly.
Important note: Carbon block is different from catalytic carbon. Itâs a bit confusing - activated carbon isnât the same as catalytic, which is more reactive and can filter out more difficult organic molecules that traditional carbon cannot. If your water has chloramine in it, you need a catalytic filter in your 3rd stage (right before the RO membrane). Municipalities have been switching from adding chlorine to chloramine in tap water because it lasts longer. However, it is an irritant to some people, and just tastes plain foul if they overdo it. Most importantly, chloramine will eat away your RO membrane, so if your water test comes back with a relatively high level of chloramine, catalytic carbon will be a must.
Service life 6-12 months
4th Stage: RO membrane
This, as the name implies, purifies water via reverse osmosis. Water after this stage should be near-pure. However, keep in mind that this will produce waste water. A portion of the water (gray water) is sent to your drain, containing all of the rejected contaminants. This water is mostly unusable for anything aside from flushing your toilet, so donât use it to water plants (they will die).
Generally, in most models the wastewater:pure ratio is 3:1 (variable depending on your water pressure/quality), or 3 gallons waste to 1 gallon pure. However, the industry has been making it more efficient recently, and now you can see 2:1 or even 1:1 ratios. The newer all-in-one filters (which supposedly have all stages contained in a single filter) claim ratios of 1:2 or even 1:3, but the significant downside is that youâre locked into their proprietary filter system, which can get pricey. They also are powered units, so yet another electrical appliance that might crap out in a couple years. Personally, this is why I stick to traditional models that operate on water pressure, since I can repair and maintain them myself.
Service life 2-4 years for the average US tap water, but can last even longer with soft water
5th Stage: Carbon Coconut Shell Filter
This stage is mainly for refining the water that comes out of the RO membrane or the storage tank, which can have an off-taste. This is why the all-in-one filters I mentioned before are being marketed, as they eliminate the need for this stage. Due to the purity of RO water, it can and will leach from its containers/pipings. Water after the RO step goes to a storage tank, where it usually sits for a while and accumulates this taste, thus the need to âpolishâ off this water before drinking it. When you turn on your faucet, the RO water passes immediately through this filter to ensure that it is back to being pure.
Youâre probably wondering, why coconut? Well, itâs because coconut shells can achieve porosity even finer than a regular carbon block, which means more surface area to capture and bind stuff. Plus points for being renewable, I guess.
Service life 1 year, or just replace it whenever your replace your RO membrane
6th Stage: Remineralizing Cartridge
This stage is an optional one, but still one that I recommend. Humans are not meant to drink pure water, as it can cause some people to have an upset stomach. Like I mentioned before, pure water can and will leach from its container, and when you drink it⌠well⌠you become the container. This may cause some of your own minerals to be lost to the RO water, but if you have a normal diet you shouldnât experience a mineral deficiency.
What could happen, though, is a lot of stomach trouble. You see, pure water is not pH balanced (usually acidic), and itâs also hypotonic for obvious reasons. This usually gives people upset stomachs if they drink RO without any added salt or minerals, thus why you might want one.
Service life 1 year, or whenever the water starts tasting different
Any more stages than this are just pure marketing. There is, however, a case for a 7th stage if you draw your water from a well. There would then be concern for microbial contamination, in which case a UV 7th stage would be needed. However, you get your water from municipal sources, so this is completely redundant unless your city really Fâs it up.
In a similar vein, make sure to follow the manufacturerâs guidance regarding sanitation. Biofouling is a concern once you get to a year and onward of service. A once-a-year cleaning with hydrogen peroxide should be sufficient beyond that.
2. In regard to testing your water: unfortunately, detailed lab tests are not affordable to most. Usually the lab tests start at around $150 for just the basic stuff. I was fortunate enough to be in a city that provided free testing and kits for certain contaminants. You should check if there are any programs/colleges/labs around your area like that. Just donât get the free testing from vendors or stores, as they will almost always try to find something at fault to sell you their own products.
However, as a basic test, you should look up our zip code on EWGâs database to get an idea of what youâre starting with. Then, get some pH strips and a cheap TDS meter from Amazon (no need for accuracy, just screening) so you can compare your input tap to your output RO water. This will let you see if your RO water has an alkaline pH and sufficiently lowered TDS level, at which point you can assume your system works.
The only unknown is whatever leaches into your water between your cityâs water facility and your house. There is a lot of aging pipe infrastructure, so thereâs really no way to tell unless you do a lab test. Personally, I would just test for things that you are most concerned with, be it lead, chlorine, PFAS. Or in Ohioâs case, dioxane tests because of the polyvinyl chloride. Also a test for chloramine if the EWG report doesnât show it, but you can also just call your municipalityâs water provider to see if they add chloramine (mine does), and then youâll know to get a catalytic carbon filter.
Some more good news for coffee drinkers:
Only just come across. I was using glycine in my coffee but what a brilliant idea about hydrolyzed collagen peptides instead of milk/cream.
Yes, Chrisâ super coffee has been an inspiration. I currently use collagen, trehalose and cocoa powder in my coffee. Will slowly expand the formulation as I get time and enthusiasmâŚ
Trehalose:
For convenience and to save expense, donât bother with glycine capsules and opening them up. Just buy pure glycine powder and add a level teaspoon (about 4-5 g).