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Water is essential for life. Unfortunately, not all water is safe and can cause serious health issues.
Whether camping, hiking, or road-tripping across the country in an RV, it’s essential to have access to clean and safe drinking water. The Travel Berkey has come to the rescue for many RVers, and it might be an excellent option for you.
Today, let’s learn why RVers obsess over the Travel Berkey. Is it a gimmick, or is it really as good as they say?
Let’s see!
What Is the Travel Berkey?
The Travel Berkey is a compact and portable gravity-fed water filtration system created by the Berkey Water Filter company. It’s a popular product among outdoor enthusiasts, travelers, and anyone who values having clean and safe drinking water.
It can remove contaminants from freshwater sources, including bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals. The user fills the top chamber of the Travel Berkey with untreated water from any freshwater source, such as a kitchen sink or a river.
The water then passes through charcoal filters inside the top chamber. After passing through the filters, the water stores in the bottom chamber.
The process results in clean and safe drinking water that exceeds the standards set by the EPA and WHO.
How Long Does the Travel Berkey Take to Filter Water?
The Travel Berkey reservoir can hold a maximum of 1.5 gallons of water. It can filter water at a rate of 2.75 gallons per hour, which is incredibly fast. Unfortunately, the actual time to filter water will depend on several factors.
First, you must consider the water quality. Pond water will take significantly longer to filter than standard water from a tap. However, it’s not just the water’s condition you must consider.
The second factor is the filters’ condition. The Berkey filters can process approximately 3,000 gallons of water.
However, a Travel Berkey uses two water filters, meaning you should change them after 6,000 gallons. The closer the filters get to the end of their usable life, the longer it will take to get clean water.
The Travel Berkey is not a high-volume water filtration system. This may not be the Berkey for you if you need a large quantity of water. You can choose one of the larger units like the Big Berkey, Crown Berkey, Imperial Berkey, or Royal Berkey.
Why Is Berkey Not Available in California?
Berkey won’t sell or ship any of their water filters to California. This is because California regulations require water treatment systems to go through an independent, third-party testing agency to receive certification. The process for certification is costly, plus an ongoing fee to maintain the certification.
Instead of battling through red tape and increasing their expenses, Berkey chose to pull their filters from the Golden State. Currently, California is the only state where their filters are an issue.
What Does Berkey Not Remove from Water?
Berkey filters do a fantastic job of removing many things from water, but they’re not perfect. For instance, Berkey filters don’t remove minerals, including salt, from water.
This can become an issue for those individuals who use a water softener. The drinking water can end up tasting somewhat salty after going through the filtration process.
According to Berkey’s website, their filters remove 99.99% of the fluoride in your water, but only briefly. If you want to remove fluoride from your water, you’ll need to choose a Berkey that’s compatible with the Berkey Fluoride Reduction Filters. These will reduce the fluoride in your water by 97% for a maximum of 1,000 gallons.
While Berkey filters may not remove every substance from your water, it’s still highly effective. It can help filter harmful substances from your water that could cause various health conditions.
Reasons RVers Love the Travel Berkey Water Filter
RVers love the Travel Berkey water filter for several reasons. Whether you RV full-time or enjoy weekend adventures, this is one product you should consider. Let’s examine why it’s become so popular in the RV community.
Portability
The Travel Berkey is compact and easy to move around wherever needed. It doesn’t require electricity or to connect to the water source to do its job. This means you can have clean and safe drinking water in remote areas or during emergencies without power.
RVers, especially those who move frequently, need a system compatible with their lifestyle. Its portability is a very appealing feature. RVers can easily move it outside during hot days to ensure everyone stays hydrated or keep it indoors.
Its compact size makes it easy to fit just about anywhere. Additionally, it weighs only 6 pounds when empty and 18.5 pounds when the lower chamber is full.
It Pays for Itself
Most RVers avoid drinking water from their camper’s water system out of fear of health issues. Instead, they’ll purchase gallons or bottles of drinking water.
While this may not be a big deal for those who use their RV a couple of times each year, the more you go camping, the more cost-effective the Travel Berkey becomes.
This water filter typically costs around $350. However, the filters generally last for around 6,000 gallons of water. If a typical gallon of drinking water costs about $1 per gallon, you will save approximately $5,650 over the life of the filters. Thus, it can pay for itself in months if you drink a lot of water.
Keep in Mind: Not only does Berkey have water filters, they also have shower filters! Here’s Everything You Need to Know About the Berkey Shower Filter
- POTABLE WATER IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS- Black Berkey Elements remove or dramatically reduce over 200+ typical contaminants...
- ENJOY GREAT-TASTING TAP WATER EVERY DAY- The Travel Berkey System can be used at the campground, RV park, off-grid...
Versatility
Versatile and multi-functional products work best when RVing. The Travel Berkey’s portability makes it one of the most versatile water filters on the market. It’s great for RV adventures, inside your home, or hiking. There’s just about nowhere you can’t use it.
You don’t have to worry about having clean, safe drinking water no matter where your adventures take you. It’s one less thing you’ll need to worry about, which means you can enjoy your experiences even more.
Removes Impurities
The Travel Berkey removes impurities and contaminants from the water. This helps ensure you have clean, safe drinking water without any odors. It can remove bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals, heavy metals, and sediment from any water you put through it.
Whether the water came from a lake, river, or kitchen faucet doesn’t matter. The final result is great-tasting water that will quench your thirst. Your tastebuds and immune system will thank you!
Easy to Use
While some complex and hard-to-use filtration systems exist, the Travel Berkey is not one of them.
Once assembled and primed, you must fill the top chamber with water and let gravity do the work. The force of gravity sends the water through the filters and down into the lower chamber, and you’ll have clean water in no time.
Since the Travel Berkey doesn’t require electricity, it’s easy to use anywhere. Being easy to use means younger campers can use it.
Durable
The Travel Berkey is a durable and long lasting product built to withstand rough handling and exposure to the elements. Its stainless steel construction makes it tough and resistant to damage and corrosion.
While significant impacts will cause damage, it easily withstands RVing’s daily bumps and vibrations. Luckily, if you do end up with a dent or two in your unit, it doesn’t affect its ability to filter water.
Keep in Mind: During travel days, it’s important you keep your items secured! Keep your food from spilling in your fridge by Keeping Your RV Fridge Secured
Low Maintenance
Once you set it up, maintenance on a Travel Berkey is very low. You’ll want to peek inside the upper chamber and clean it at least once a month.
To do this, remove the water filters and the spigot and hand wash the upper and lower chambers with dish soap. You can also place the stainless steel components in the dishwasher.
If you filter out harmful contaminants, using a bleach-water mixture is a good idea. However, you must thoroughly wash and rinse the chambers if you use bleach on them. Let the parts air dry before reassembly.
Each water filter is good for around 3,000 gallons, meaning the Travel Berkey can provide approximately 6,000 gallons of clean, safe drinking water. This means you’ll likely need to replace the filters every year or two, depending on how much water you use.
Should You Consider Buying a Travel Berkey?
If you’re an RVer, the Travel Berkey is an excellent option. It’s the perfect size for anyone concerned about wasting space in their rig.
Additionally, it’s easy to store and carry to and from your adventures. Many find that it perfectly fits their lifestyle and allows them to worry less about health concerns from contaminated water. You can have clean and safe water that tastes good too.
How do you keep safe water on hand while RVing?
Last update on 2024-12-22 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
After the water goes through the carbon filters in the upper reservoir, it goes down into a second filter system that filters out chlorine and arsenic and then into the lower reservoir. The secondary filter explanation was left out of the authors original post so I thought it should be included here. We use the travel Berkey in the camper and the larger one at home and really like how well they work for safe great tasting water.