Big Berkey Gravity-Fed Stainless Steel Countertop Water Filter System 2.25 Gallon with 2 Authentic Black Berkey Elements BB9-2 Filters

My husband and I decided to purchase a water filter after the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment. We didn't want to go with the typical, mainstream brita water filter or the one that connects to a faucet. We have had those before and the filter has to be changed frequently.We liked that the Berkey filters out forever chemicals, specifically the chemicals spilled during the derailment. It also filters out over 200 contaminants, chemicals and bacteria. Setup was fairly easy, however priming the elements was challenging due to the adapter that fit onto our faucet which was a struggle. The life span of the filters is amazing, as they only need to be changed every 11,000 gallons. Although the filters are pricey, around $170ish for 2, they are worth it in the long run. Using the filter is easy. Once set up, just pour water in the top, put the lid back on and you're good to go. Quality of the materials is unmatched. We purchased a stand off Amazon that elevates the element, which you definitely need. Hoping to get the stainless steel spigot soon to replace the plastic one that came with the product.Lastly, I have to say the water tastes AMAZING. Like water should taste. It rivals the taste of Fiji, our preferred bottled water. Our family initially made fun of us for spending so much money on a water filter, but once they tasted it they plan on purchasing one. I was never a big water drinker before, but now I find myself drinking lots of it. We fill up multiple containers of it whenever we leave the house. Great product, give it a try!

After caving to the pressure of family and friends to order this water filter, I couldn't be more pleased with it and kicking myself for putting it off for too long. It's easy to assemble (be sure to really tighten the tap!), it fits on my kitchen counter well, and the water tastes exactly how clean, fresh water should taste. Being raised in a city with artesian well water, I got spoiled and have not been able to drink tap water in any other city I've lived in. No more lugging gallons of bottled water home every week or two, no more chemical tasting tap water. The only thing I'm second guessing is that I probably could have done just as well with a Travel Berkey rather than the Big Berkey, being a one-person household. Otherwise, I'm very pleased and would encourage ditching the environmentally irresponsible plastic bottles, questionable bottled water quality, and go for a unit that you can trust. In my case it will pay for itself in just over a year. The filters may be costly but they last a very long time. I won't need to replace them for many, many years. I definitely recommend Berkey water filtration systems.

Love this Big Berkey!

The water you will drink from the Berkey WILL taste SO MUCH BETTER than any other filter and especially tap, I guarantee it! If silk had a flavor it would taste like this water. Everyone (including the kids) in my house is drinking more water because it’s so good! It is pricey BUT totally worth it IMO. It filters quickly even with only two of the filters installed so you don’t have to sit around and wait forever for the water to be available. We have 4 people in our household and it’s the perfect size for us. We use it for drinking water and cooking. I was honestly worried that it would look big and bulky on the counter and make everything feel a little cluttered but it’s a lot more sleek than I had pictured and rather like it! The second picture has a 40 ounce tumbler for size reference. It’s very sturdy and the filters are very clearly excellent quality. The quality of the city water where we live is awful, smells like pool water and tastes like it too. I HATED that my kids were drinking it every day so I splurged on this for the sake of their health and I am SO HAPPY I DID!!

I am so glad to finally get my Berkey water filtration system. It was super easy to assemble, and the water tastes clean and odor free. Finally, I’m saying goodbye to plastic water bottles!

This is a well constructed unit. The filters are a bit tough to prime but once that's done you can notice the difference in comparison to the tap water.I ordered the stand so it didnt have to sit at the edge of the sink.

The media could not be loaded. Major problem: Washers are industrial rubber and leaves a rubber smell and taste in the water. They should have been food grade silicone may be. Still don't know how to resolve that issue but I am not able to use the filter as it is because of this issue.Instructions could be much clearer than they were but we found some youtube videos to help. Mostly the unclear instructions were about priming using the priming pump (which we preferred) instead of the faucet method. If you are thinking of using the primer pump to prime the filter elements, we suggest you watch the video under the review section of the primer pump that we uploaded based on our initially struggled experience with it. That video shows how to solve the two problems with the primer pump.Two problems were:1. It came with bare instructions without adequate diagram of the valve placements and it is easy to get it wrong without that.2 The product isn't well designed because the tube insert on the input side is loose enough for air to get in ending up in priming pump not working well.After I struggled with it for 30-40 minutes, both these issues were thankfully solved by my husband so it worked really well and really fast.Two things he had to do:1. Put a tourniquet like contraption on the input side of the "tube & valve overlap" to make the connection tight enough to not let air in so that the pump would work efficiently without sucking in extra air.2. Keep the filter element COMPLETELY submerged under water to make it work without wasting time on pumping air in and out for a long time before water could come out.We thought we'll record it so other people could benefit from our experience. Please watch the video to know what I am talking about and make it easier on yourself to use the priming tool. We recorded 2 videos of different problematic parts but Amazon only lets us upload one video per review.