Hi i'm a mom/grandma with interests in all things children, garden, putting food up, farm, critters (especially chickens, goats and horses - and not every day in that particular order!), and of course, prepping.
Last year i purchased our first Berky with two black filters. Earlier this year i purchased two more of the black filters to add for quicker filtration. Not having used these before i didn't know what to expect. But i was consistently disappointed and could NOT figure out why i was still tasting a product much like tap water. It seemed from all descriptions that they were properly installed - and could not find anyone with a similar problems and so decided to purchase the two new filters from another dealer. Same thing.
Now i was getting weirded out. Then one broke - came apart right where the black carbon cylinder is attached to the unit that holds it upright and in place in the water reservoir. I put in a plug and went with only three in the Berky. The very next day a second black broke in the same place and when i went to replace it with a plug, a third broke when i touched it - same as the others.
Now i was really frustrated and wondering what kind of sh_t is this?! But then i noticed something that is making me wonder. I went to Berky's own website and found a photo of what the Black Berky filters look like. And here's my question (long winded, sorry!): Can anyone tell me if your black Berky filters have a heavy bead of silicone around the base of the filters, where the carbon cylinder itself is attached to the rest of the filter? In the photos on their website the join is seamless, and there is no silicon showing like there is on mine. This is where all three of these filters have come clean off that bottom piece. I'm afraid to touch the last filter - have put the whole Berky away for now. And am thinking these were loose to begin with and is why i never got rid of the chorine taste for the tap water, AND my Berky always "filtered" (not) the water quicker than they said it should - woulda been a clue to the initiated, i guess.
Anyway, i want to love my Berky like all the other users seem to - all help is appreciated.
GrannyBear ... seems there's a lota "bears" on this forum! 🙂
Welcome Grannybear and greetings from Northern Ontario.
Mine do not have a bead of silicone. I have heard others having this problem and it apparently was due to some defect.
I tighten mine from the bottom but never from the filter end. No reason to touch the filter after priming.
Hi grannybear:
I too found out the hard way that my back filters (of which I have 8 by the way) have a bead of silicone around the base.
A couple of mine separated in the bottom container without me even touching them, which Is how I came to know that there is silicone at the base. When I contacted the place where I purchased my Berky (In the good ol’ USA) I was told that the filter problem was all my fault and none of his other customers have ever had any problems. I said I wanted to purchase two more filters and wondered if I could get a bit of a discount on the new ones and he acted as if I wanted his first born child, so I decided to wait and get my filters from someone in Canada and hopefully they will at least be aware of the problem because I believed I was not alone and now reading where you too have had the same issue I know there is a design flaw.
I have pondered getting some food-grade silicone and re-gluing them but have still not made that move. I have the Crown Berky which is the largest one available and it works great with six filters at this point.
I spoke online here at the Canadian Preppers Network with a fellow who owns a store, I believe it’s called Conscious Water out of Orillia, Ontario, and when the time comes I will be using him for the purchase of my next filters. I suggest you contact him and tell him that you heard about him from me on the Canadian Preppers Network and relate your story and see what he has to say.
I would be very interested, as I am sure all of us here are, to know what response you get and depending on how he helps you out it may just prompt me to make my order that much sooner.
I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.
Hello and best of luck from Kelowna, British Columbia.
Noli Illigitimi Carborundum
(Don’t let the bastards wear you down)
Please pardon a potentially stupid question ... but ...
what's inside the filter? activated charcoal? Is this something you could reuse by exchanging the charcoal or whatever is inside and then resealing it?
Anyway, greetings grannybear!
I want to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather, not screaming in terror like his passengers.
I was looking at the picture and it could be that you may be able to fix it with plumbers goo. Its great stuff and totally non toxic. I have used it quit a bit in aquarium equipment and it seems to bond well to all sorts of plastics
It was a bad batch last year. Many have used silicone to fix it themselves. I do not sell the stuff. The frustration is understanding since they come with a $50 price tag.
Outandabout, it feels like a solid item. Nothing loose inside.
Wow! Thank you ALL for your very helpful advice! It is some small consolation that i'm not alone with this problem - although i am sympathetic, Captain Ahab, appreciated your help. The photo looks exactly like my black Bereky filters, Gravlore. Its helpful that you included that. I noticed the photo name includes the word RECALL - interesting. Does anyone know if there was a recall on these filters from Berkey at any time?
I am going to contact the two places i purchased these filters, since i noticed that the N. American reps for http://www.britishberkefeld.com/ , New Millennium Concepts, do NOT sell the black Bereky filters and am wondering if they did at one time? If there was a recall perhaps NO ONE should be selling them?
DaVinci, i am going to try the plumbers' goo thing. Since the black filters are already unusable, i have nothing to loose? Barring that i'll be ordering some of the original ceramic Berkefeld filters.
Blessings to each of you,
GrannyBear
grannybear, make sure that you pull out all the old silicone out just to make sure it all fits together properly
I bought mine a couple months ago and the black filters are fine. From what I heard is it was a bad batch. I wouldnt worry about buying the black now.
Will do, DaVinci - actually my dear hubby said the same thing! 🙂 And thank you all again.