Building a DIY "Big Berkey" Water Filter for 1/4 the Cost
The Big Berkey has become sort of beloved in the prepper community, and it's basically "the standard" in free-standing, home water filtration systems. But when you break it all down, the whole thing pretty much just consists of the filter elements, and a handy container/presentation that you put the filter elements in.
So I decided to build my own, and use 5 gallon food-grade buckets instead of stainless steel containers. Right there I was able to save around $150 by using plastic buckets and a cheap spigot. To take it a step further, I shopped around to find a less expensive alternative to the pricey Berkey filter elements. While still not dirt cheap, I found ones with stated specs that are very comparable to the Berkey. This saved an additional $63.
Pics of the completed system
Complete video walk-through, including specific materials list and cost breakdown
I'm quite happy with my final product, and I like that it holds almost twice as much water as the Big Berkey. Even if I went with the true Berkey filter elements, I'd still prefer my bucket system because of the lower cost and higher capacity. Plus, if the thing ever got damaged, another 5 gallon bucket only costs a few bucks.
https://redd.it/m0flbl
@r_preppers
The Big Berkey has become sort of beloved in the prepper community, and it's basically "the standard" in free-standing, home water filtration systems. But when you break it all down, the whole thing pretty much just consists of the filter elements, and a handy container/presentation that you put the filter elements in.
So I decided to build my own, and use 5 gallon food-grade buckets instead of stainless steel containers. Right there I was able to save around $150 by using plastic buckets and a cheap spigot. To take it a step further, I shopped around to find a less expensive alternative to the pricey Berkey filter elements. While still not dirt cheap, I found ones with stated specs that are very comparable to the Berkey. This saved an additional $63.
Pics of the completed system
Complete video walk-through, including specific materials list and cost breakdown
I'm quite happy with my final product, and I like that it holds almost twice as much water as the Big Berkey. Even if I went with the true Berkey filter elements, I'd still prefer my bucket system because of the lower cost and higher capacity. Plus, if the thing ever got damaged, another 5 gallon bucket only costs a few bucks.
https://redd.it/m0flbl
@r_preppers