Imperial Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter System with 2 Black Berkey Elements - Clean Drinking Water for Home, Camping, RV, Emergency Preparedness & Off-Grid Living | Portable Water Purification Solution

I truly don't understand why this company doesn't include the flouride filters in all the kits. You know that is a MAIN reason for homeowners to get this and we have to add it to the cart!? Come on, you have recouped ALL of your R&D cost, you can start adding them to all intro kits without loosing money.A British company established (by a royal) in 1901(!!!!!) and then setup a distribution center in the US in 1998 (!!!!!) has more than recouped invention, shipping, material cost, and you're not inventing anything new, so just include the freaking filters as a standard in all kits.Stop being stupid greedy, and be smart greedy.Just set it up yesterday and went through the steps, overall very easy, I had a challenging time priming the filters, until I watched a youtube vid and then went easy and fast. I am not a water snob :) but love the idea that you can take any fresh water source (especially in an emergence situation) and it will filter for human consumption. And that two filters will last 6,000 gallons, that to me is impressive, though the filters are rather spendy, that is worth it to me. It was larger then I was imagining, and does use up counter space, if you don't already have a designated space.Outstanding!Very important survival item for the upcoming collapseAfter seeing one in action (and tasting the excellent filtered water) at a friends house, we purchased this Berkey filter system. After doing a lot of research on current brands of water filtration systems it was obvious that Berkey was the best for our needs. We drink a lot of water in our house (2 adults and 2 kids active in sports) and it was always a chore to refill the small, old filtered water pitcher repeatedly throughout the day. Now, we fill the Berkey at night and have pure water for all of the next day. It’s really easy to set up and maintain but the greatest feature besides the water taste is the cost savings in “pitcher filters” that we no longer have to buy. The chrome finish looks great in our kitchen too.The only issue I found is that the filters can be a little hard to prime before use on a pull-down style of water faucet. However, Berkey has a free easy prime attachment (available on their website) that fits most faucets and makes it way easier.A bit pricey but then again for health I tend to pay. I did find a good deal here and what I paid seemed to be better than most.The water is excellent and it filters must faster than I thought it would if you fill the top container at least half way. Since its gravity fed less water will equal slower filtering. I only have two black filters and so far so good for a base family of 3 with visitors ever day. I fill up the top container at least twice a day and i always have water. I was worried it wud be a pain to up keep but it's super simple.The set up is super easy. I did only have it for several months so I'm not sure how hard cleaning will be but so far so goodOur household was using a Brita for years, then we graduated to this.This, the larger size, is kind of difficult to lift up and see how much water is the holding area, but other than that, we like it because it cuts out a lot of impurities and chemical taste from tap water and makes great drinking water. Does take up a bit of counter space, but its chrome surface makes it fit in with kitchen metals and accents.I love the simple tap, also. Doesn't leak.I chose this filter because I needed a unit that would function anywhere and without electricity, needed no "plumbing" (my personal nightmare), have high ratings on filtration of most unwanted particles (heavy metals, etc.), and would be affordable, that is, not have to have frequent filter replacement added to the price tag. The Imperial Berkey meets these requirements very well.Initial set-up was a bit more tricky, since I chose 2 filters and had to plug 4 extra holes with plastic screws (they needed extreme tightening to prevent leakage, which took some messing with), but overall straightforward due to a good instruction sheet. We've been using the water for a couple of weeks now and it's been very good, although our well water was pretty decent already. It gives me peace of mind knowing that now it's really cleaned up, no matter what our well water might do in the future. One suggestion for first-time buyers would be the investment in a water level indicator (I bypassed that and will order one asap), since it's easy to forget to check the water level in the lower container (you have to lift out the top with the filters) and overflow the unit. Once the level indicator is installed, it should be no problem. Overall, I highly recommend this unit as a first-rate and user-friendly filtration system.