The Berkey Water Filter assembles in less than 8-12 minutes and with no tools required!
1. Remove the Black Berkey® Purification Element and parts from their protective packaging, checking each item against the diagram. Follow instructions included with Black Berkey® Purification Element to prime the filters and make them ready for use.
2. The number of filter elements supplied will depend on the type of unit ordered:
- Travel Berkey: 2 Black Berkey® Purification Element
- Big Berkey: 2-4 Black Berkey® Purification Element
or Ceramic Filter Elements- Royal Berkey: 2-4 Black Berkey® Purification Element
- Imperial Berkey: 2 – 6 Black Berkey® Purification Element
- Crown Berkey: 2-8 Black Berkey® Purification Element
3. Extreme cleanliness is important. Wash hands before proceeding. Assure that contamination of the components does not take place during assembly.
4. Fit the knob (1) onto the lid (2) by inserting the screw (3) up through the hole in the lid and screwing on the knob. Hand tighten only.
5. After the Black Berkey® Purification Element have been primed, place the large sealing washer (10) over the threaded part of the filter element (5).
6. Place the Black Berkey® Purification Element (5) into the hole in the base of the upper chamber (4).
7. Secure filter elements in the chamber base by screwing on the wing nut (11) onto the threaded mount. Repeat #5 & #6 until all Black Berkey filter elements have been installed. Hand tighten only, no need to over-tighten. You want the filters as snug as possible to create a seal.
8. Place one small washer (8) onto the threaded part of the outlet spigot (7).
9. Insert thread of spigot (7) through hole in the side of the lower chamber (6). Place the second small washer (8) over the thread within the chamber and secure in place with the nut (9). Tighten securely by hand only.
10. Put the upper chamber (4) on top of the lower chamber (6) and place lid (2) in position.
Your Berkey Water Filter system is now ready for use! Go ahead and fill the upper chamber to the top and allow the water to filter into the bottom chamber.
If you are utilizing the PF-2 filters for removing fluoride and arsenic, you will need to prime these filters and screw them onto the stems of the Black Berkey elements. These filters hang in the lower chamber of the system. PF-2 priming instructions are included with the filters.
Berkey Water Filter Troubleshooting Tips:
All Water Not Filtering Through: There will always be about 1” of water left in the upper chamber of the system as not enough water pressure is available to push the remaining water through the filters.
Water Filtration Speed: If you feel as though the water is filtering too slowly, please understand that the water will always filter faster when there’s more water pressure in the upper chamber. Also, priming the Black Berkey filters opens the pores up to allow water in. A priming that has not been fully completed will still have closed pores and thus filter slower. Try re-priming the filters to ensure priming has been fully completed.
Weird Taste to Water: If you’re noticing a chemical taste to the water without the use of PF-2’s, please perform a red food coloring test on the Black Berkey® Purification Element to ensure that all are working to specifications. If any fail, please contact us and we will have the manufacturer send you a replacement. Also, try washing out the lower chamber with soap and water.
If using the Berkey PF-2 filters, make sure the manufacturing dust has been fully flushed out of these PF-2’s as this can cause a cloudiness or oily texture to the filtered water and will leave an unpleasant taste.
Spigot Leaking: If leaking occurs around the washers of the spigot, make sure you have washers on both sides of the stainless steel. Tighten as much as you can and leave the spigot about 90 degrees out of phase. Then, grab onto the nut in the back with a wrench, and turn the spigot itself that last quarter turn using the spigot as leverage to get a tighter turn. If this is ineffective, please soak the washers in olive oil for approximately 1 hour. Sometimes the washers can dry out and get hard over time and the olive oil will soften them up allowing for a good seal.
If water leaks through the hole of the spigot, please contact us as you may need a replacement spigot.
