Go Berkey® water purifier kit

All plastics in the Sport Berkey® filter bottle are food grade, Bisphenol A (BPA) free.

- The bottle is made of low density polyethylene

- The cap is made of high density polyethylene

- The straw is made of polypropylene.

Your Berkey® Sport Bottle Filter has a 50-year shelf life! When not in use for an extended period of time, remove the filter and fill the unit with bleach at a rate of one-quarter teaspoon per 2 liters of water, or a 50/50 mixture of 3% hydrogen peroxide. Rinse. Allow the parts to dry completely with the cap removed. Reassemble the assembly and store if possible in an airtight bag. Do not allow the filter to freeze, do not place it in the microwave, and do not run hot water through it.

To refresh the water in your bottle, you may want to put your Sport Berkey® filtering bottle in the freezer for about 20 minutes. ABSOLUTELY NOT!!!

We formally advise you against letting the filtration elements freeze. We also advise against storing the elements (even unused ones) in very cold climates. Indeed, very cold or frozen water may expand inside the filter and consequently increase the size of the pores, which would make the filtration inoperative. Whether the elements are unused or used and completely dried, a small amount of moisture may still remain inside the filter, especially in predominantly humid climates. This moisture could expand inside the element and render it unusable.

This recommendation applies to ALL of our Berkey® filter elements. Freezing your element and rendering it unusable will void your warranty coverage.

In certain situations, your Sport Berkey® filter bottle can be subjected to high temperatures. This is the case, for example, if it is left in the trunk of your car in the sun...

You should therefore remember that your filtering bottle should not be subjected to temperatures above 46°.

Yes, it is possible to put your Sport Berkey® water bottle in the refrigerator, but under no circumstances should you let it freeze. The expansion of the water in the filter could enlarge the pores and compromise its integrity, rendering it inoperable and voiding the warranty.

The upper chamber, which contains water only momentarily, will need to be cleaned less frequently than the inner chamber, in which water remains for a longer period of time. We recommend cleaning the lower chamber once a month.

Stainless steel chambers can be cleaned with soapy water (dishwashing liquid).

In areas with hard water, lime deposits can build up on the lugs and chambers after prolonged use. To remove it, you can use vinegar pure or in a 50-50% mixture of vinegar and water that you spray on and leave for about 15 minutes. Then wipe with a sponge, then wash with soapy water and rinse.

Yes, it is quite normal to have 1 to 2.5 cm of water remaining in the upper chamber. To be filtered, the water must pass through very fine micropores in the filters. The lower the water level in the upper chamber, the lower the pressure available to force the water through the micropores. You may have noticed that the filtration rate is much faster when the upper chamber is full than when it is half empty. This is because there is more pressure. The only way to remedy this problem would be to enlarge the pores of the filter elements, which would reduce the efficiency of the Berkey purification system. During each cycle, the residual water from the previous cycle mixes with the water from the current cycle and is then purified. There is no need to worry about excess water during normal use. If, however, you stop using your filter for a long time, for example during a vacation, it is best to empty both chambers and let them dry completely.

Concerning the lower chamber, the tap cannot technically be positioned on the bottom of the tank for reasons of watertightness. Don't worry, this is not stagnant water as it will mix again and again during the successive filtrations.

We recommend replacing your filtered water with your Berkey® system after three days if it has not been used. If the water is in a cold environment, the time can be extended to one week. This is a precautionary principle. The reason is that when you filter your water, the chemicals that inhibit the growth of bacteria are removed. In very humid environments, bacterial growth can occur more quickly.

It all depends on the technique used. CO2 or magnetic softeners, for example, produce water that is normally drinkable (to be confirmed by the manufacturer) and is not a problem with Berkey® systems.

But the most commonly used softeners work with ion exchangers that convert calcium and magnesium, which are responsible for the accumulation of limescale, into sodium. Using these softeners produces soft but salty water...

Black Berkey® water filters are designed to remove a very large number of pollutants as specified in test results from an independent laboratory. However, they do not remove the mineral salts initially present in the water and preserve them for the benefit of our body. The salts used to soften the water in your softener, and present in large quantities, will not be filtered by the Black Berkey® filtration element and will end up in your drinking water. Unlike natural mineral salts, they are highly concentrated and should not be consumed.

Therefore, we do not recommend that you use water softened by a water softener to supply your Berkey® purifier.
Note: Some systems are equipped with a bypass to remove water from the system before it goes through the softener. In this case, this water can be used without any problem with the Berkey® water purification systems.

The Black Berkey® water filters used in Berkey® purification systems are fully capable of filtering rainwater.

However, certain precautions must be taken. For example, make sure that there is no contamination by a specific pollutant that would be missing from the test results performed by Berkey®. Also, be careful to minimize contact of the water with any animal feces (birds, squirrels, etc.) or chemicals used on the roof. The water should be pre-filtered before entering the purifier to avoid excessive suspended solids, which would clog the filters more quickly and require frequent cleaning.

Some of our customers have built rainwater filtration systems with a multi-stage collection process (up to 5 for some systems) and equipped with several Black Berkey® filter elements (from 4 to 8). The water is filtered in successive stages and stored in suitable containers.

Even if the Black Berkey® elements are water purifiers, it is nevertheless recommended, in this type of use and if for example a high contamination by E-Coli is suspected, to add a few drops of disinfectant (unscented) based on chlorine, at the first stage of filtration.

See also this topic on filtering water from a source other than the tap.