Hi,
I listened to JWR on yet another interview (making the rounds) and wanted to know if you (or Hugh) would be able to suggest a water filter I could use for my kitchen sink. I live in an apartment. Management informed me that a Water-Filtration System (as in reverse osmosis) is not allowed.
Is there anything, not super duper pricey, that I could attach to my faucet? Thanks! – T.N.
HJL’s Comment:
Many of our readers use a Berkey water filter. You can get these for under $300 from many of our advertisers. The advantage of the berkey type system is that it is gravity fed so you don’t have to have power. On the Latimer homestead, we use a Multipure Aquaversa system which can generally be had for about the same as a Berkey. The Multipure does require pressurized water. It’s a solid carbon block filter. You can mount it on your counter top or under your sink. It provides filtered water on-demand. We also have it attached to the ice maker in the refrigerator.
A word of caution is in order on the Multipure though. Multipure is a multilevel marketing program (MLM). The filter is one of the best made, but you really have to price shop as some vendors charge way over the suggested MSRP. If you really want to save money, you can also build your own from some of the articles presented here on SurvivalBlog such as “Do-It-Yourself Ceramic Water Filter, by The Architect”
I’m trying to understand the point (other than convenience) of this filter. The filter is good for 750 gallons In my case, I fill my Berkey 3 +/- times a week with 2.5 gallons of water. That totals 390 gallons/year. That means I must replace the filter (2 every two years. My Berkey will go 10 years on the same amount of fills per week and you don’t need water pressure to use it.
Yes this would be nice to have in addition to a Berkey, but I can’t see ANY prepper without a “gravity feed” water filter. In fact I have two, the Berkey and the LifeStraw Family as a back up.
I think it really depends on your personal situation. If you have pressurized water based on a gravity system, it sure is nice. But you are right, Base capability should be to have potable water no mater what. The “750 gallon rating” is marketing hype because it is an MLM. If you notice, you can increase that to 1200 gallons by buying their water monitor (which just measures water quantity). The filters themselves will last as long as a Berkey filter. The failure mode is a slow decay of quality (unless the carbon block is broken) and they are about the same size. The only difference is one is pressurized and one is not. If you are a bit of a handyman, you can easily turn the Multipure into a non-pressurized, gravity fed system (without the automatic ice water feature, of course). I consider them about equal to each other and I like the pressure feature.
My Berkey Light is the best investment I’ve ever made for clean water. Owned one for 3 years in Florida – left it with friends when I moved. Purchased another as soon as I arrived in my new home. That was 5 years ago and it’s still going strong – haven’t replaced the filters yet…the water is delicious…..no hardship to fill it. It just is part of my daily routine.
Is there a reason RO is not allowed? They do not have to be plumbed-in. I use one that connects with a simple faucet diverter and some John Guest push-on fittings. Yes, mine is a batch system (I make 3 gallons at a time) and the waste tube empties into the sink drain. It does require water pressure to work where the Berkey filters do not. But I will +1 on the Berkey if you decide to go the filter route. 🙂
it’s up to you, but RO removes EVERYTHING. All the minerals that you need to sustain life, build your bones etc. The Berkey filter does not remove them. You might as well be drinking Distilled water.