How to Build a DIY Water Filter with a Black Berkey Filter Element for $70

If you have never heard of a Black Berkey filter you can look them up on line. They are one of the worlds best water filters because they remove nearly any contamination and germs without stripping the minerals from the water. They are gravity fed and do not require electricity or any other power source making they great for RVs, camping, hunting cabins or off grid homes. They claim to be washable and last up to 3,000 gallons per filter depending on the water quality. Here's some information right from Berkey:

Pathogenic Bacteria and Cysts (E. Coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas Aeruginosa, Giardia, Cryptosporidium, Raoltella Terrigena) - Reduced to 99.9999%

Viruses (MS2 - Fr Coliphage) - Reduced to 99.999%

Parasites - Reduced to 99.9999

Harmful or unwanted chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides Chlorine Removed to Below Detectable Limits

Organic solvents (Trihalomethanes - Bromodichloromethane, Bromoform, Chloroform, Dibromochloromethane) - Removed to Below Detectable Limits

(Methyl tert-Butyl Ehter) Removed to Below Detectable Limits

Other VOC Removed to Below Detectable Limits Sediment

Cloudiness Sediments Radiologicals Radon 222 - Removed to Below Detectable Limits

Nitrates Nitrites Heavy metals - Up to 95%

Iron

Foul tastes and odor

Berkey filters sell for several hundred dollars, but you don't have to spend that much. I have to give credit where it's due. I first got the idea for this from Steve Spence at Green Trust, but his filter is not collapsible because he uses it on a daily basis. Steve has a short video along other off-grid and "green" information on his site.

I have city water, but I wanted to have a portable filter for camping or to use during a water emergency like a broken main or flooding. Water plants could be shut down during an extended power failure. We had a heavy rain in October of 2010. Most of our neighboring county was under an order to boil drinking water for a week because the treatment plant was overwhelmed. Don't forget you'll also need clean water for dishes and washing up. Using bottled water could get expensive if the situation lasts a few days and the supermarkets are sure to run dry quickly.

I have a slide-in pick up truck camper so space is an issue. I made a couple simple changes to Steve's plans to allow the buckets to nest inside each other when the filter is stored. I also added a third bucket with a filter bag to catch large particles and increase the life of the pricey Berkey element. The third bucket and filter bag is only needed if you are forced to filter dirty surface or run off water during an emergency, survival or camping situation. It's not needed for well or city water.

The filter elements come with a threaded fitting, nuts and rubber gaskets. The filter is made by installing the elements in one bucket which hold the dirty water. It sits on top of the clean bucket and the water just drips down. I made the top half of the filter by drilling two 1/2" holes in the bottom of the bucket for the filter elements. You need to drill matching holes through one of your lids to allow the water to drip into the bottom half of the filter. Instead of bolting the lid for the lower bucket to the bottom of the top bucket with the filter elements, I simply secured the elements into the top bucket and allow the threaded fittings to pass through the holes in the lid. This makes it possible to slip the top bucket into the bottom bucket for storage. I drilled a hole in the side of the lower bucket near the bottom of the bucket for a push button dispenser. Be careful not to over tighten the plastic threads on the filters or the water nozzle. Make it hand tight and check for leaks. Snug it up if needed. The filters come with instruction for leak checking the elements. Remember these filters will need some time to clean your water. They won't fill your canteen instantly like a hiker's pump filter so set it up as soon as you make camp. You can fit several filters into a bucket. The more you use, the faster it will work. Using only element per filter will cut the cost down to about $70. The filter we use in our home only has 1 element, but the filter in our camper has more to provide clean water for washing.

The third bucket sits on top of the filter when needed. Just cut a hole in the lid of the bucket a bit smaller than your filter bag allowing the bag to hang inside the bucket. Add a fitting or just drill a hole in the bottom of the bucket to allow the water to drain into the bucket containing the Berkey element. The filter bag will catch most of the large debris and it can be shaken or rinsed out when it gets dirty.

My wife was concerned about our family, especially our son, ingesting chlorine and other chemicals in our city drinking water. She was only allowing him to drink bottled water. I showed her the information on these filters. We set one up in our mud room and she stopped buying the bottled water.

Finding the parts.

Steve Spence is a Berkey dealer. He has the Berkey Black filters available at GreenTrust.Org. They can be found on eBay and many other sites. The filters come in a pack of two for about $100-$120. You can get free food grade buckets from a bakery, deli, diner or just about any other prepared food outlet. New food grade buckets are available online. The dispenser nozzles are also on eBay, but I purchased a couple from a local Ace hardware store. They are replacement nozzles for Igloo coolers and cost about $6. Filter bags are available all over the internet and come in various sizes. I would suggest a 1 micron bag.

Be sure to view all of the photos attached to this article.