Crown Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter with 2 Black Berkey Elements and 2 Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements for Everyday Home Use

Las Vegas tap water is hard and nasty tasting. I've used a couple different pitcher based systems but I go through too much water in a day to make those worth the time and until recently, figured I just had to live with the fluoride in my water. Because the Berkey addresses fluoride with optional filters (while a bit pricey) and had a huge tank, I decided to give it a try.The unit arrived in excellent condition and with clear instructions, though I did have to google for tips on how to keep the spigot from leaking. Set up took 20 minutes, mostly due to having to prime the filters with some pressurized water running through them for about 5 minutes each. I filled the tank before I went to bed and by morning when I got up all of the water in the fill tank had been filtered. Water was flat out yummy, and the coffee I brewed never tasted so good.But I wondered if I wasn't imagining things so I did a little experiment. Using 3 sources of water (faucet tap, fridge tap, and Berkey) I labeled and filled 3 clear bottles to 2/3 level each. After they were frozen I could see a visible difference in the ice; tap water ice was completely opaque and milky, the fridge's tap wasn't as bad but still fairly cloudy. The Berkey water was almost crystal clear except for a slender streak in the very center. So why do this?Without getting too technical, ice is cloudy when it's either frozen quickly or is heavy with dissolved solids and gas. Home freezers typically don't freeze water that fast, so dissolved sediment is usually what's going on. My simple experiment was to see how much gas and sediment I could see with the naked eye. Then I let all 6 bottles thaw completely and poured their contents into separate glasses. The Berkey water was completely clear, while the melted tap water had gross amounts of visible sediment floating in the glass; the water from the fridge's tap contained less sediment than tap but still had enough to be unappealing. So it wasn't just my imagination, the water really was a lot clearer which did affect its taste.The taste alone makes it worth it for me, but from a cost savings and convenience view, it makes even more sense. I don't have to schlep heavy water bottles or cases from store to home, and it costs a lot less than buying bottled water. The black filters last a long time, even longer if you give them a light scrubbing with some Scotchbrite pads every few months. And while I'm filtering tap water one never knows if disaster of some sort won't hit. With my Berkey I can use just about any water source, give it some time, and have fresh water to drink. That's something that grants me peace of mind.

The way we're bottling water right now, you'd think we were filming an episode of Moonshiners. This water is THAT good.This Berkey isn't just a point-of-use water filter, removing bad taste & odor. This system purifies, and that feature is one of the primary reasons we choose the Berkey. We live in hurricane country and have had our water supply compromised. This unit takes care of that problem. Even if our municipal water goes down, we can source water from a pond or creek or even a puddle. We won't be thirsty.We had been schlepping filtered water, 10 gallons at a time, from the grocery store. They were .30 cents a gallon. Our ROI based on our consumption is right at 14 months. So while the initial investment may have seemed high, in just over a year we end up with a system that provides our daily water needs and also takes care of water in an emergency situation. And we end up with great tasting water.Assembly is a snap, follow the instructions, maybe watch a Youtube video on priming the filters and you're good to go. There's a reason Berkey has a happy, loyal customer base. It's a great product. It does what it's supposed to do, it does it very well and you get pure water. It is looks great and is well built. It's worth every penny.Do yourself and your family a favor. Get a Berkey. Invest in your family. It's worth it and so is your family.

My only regret is that we didn’t get this sooner. We have a well, so we’ve been drinking bottled water through a water delivery service for a few years now. I’ve had our well water tested and it passed all the EPA standards, but I still didn’t feel comfortable filling up a glass of water from my sink and drinking it 🥴 Also, bottled water service every month is EXPENSIVE!! So we decided on a Berkey and I never realized clean water tasted so different! I will never go back to bottled water, city water or well water without filtering it through this first. It’s worth every penny!!