Royal Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter System 3.25 Gallon with 2 Black Berkey Elements, 2 Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements

My Review of the Royal Berkey with 2 black filters and 2 PF-2 fluoride filters.Everything I drink, especially tea, tastes better after a week or so of using this filter system.Installation was easy for me after I stressed out thinking it would be really difficult. I'm not particularly mechanical and I'm awful at following instructions.Before I ordered the Royal Berkey, I asked my son if he would be willing to put it together for me. I had read reviews of people having problems with leaky spigots and puddles on the floor, etc. He said he would. Good thing, because I had already decided to order it. It turns out that I didn't need any help.On recommendation of some of the reviews, I bought the glass Royal Imperial Berkey Water Filter Water View Spigot to help me know how much water is in the tank. Apparently if you fill it too full, it may leak through where the top (filter) section sits on the water storage canister. I'm very glad I did order the glass spigot. I'm finding it very helpful.While I was waiting for everything to arrive, I read every review of each model. I got some great ideas! I used many of them. I'll share some of the ones that helped me most here.I decided to take it very slowly, step-by-step, and do each step correctly the first time. That's not my normal style, but the slower, cautious approach paid off for me this time. Nothing got broken during the installation.I briefly looked over the instructions that came with the unit and decided to come back to them in a few minutes when I was ready to put the system together.I viewed the YouTube videos of how to PRIME the filters. VERY helpful! Also helpful was one reviewer's comment about how you will get sprayed with water. I thought I could avoid that if I was careful, but I got semi-soaked. It was kind of interesting watching all that dust and debris rush out of those filters and down the drain.After viewing the YouTube video, I went back to the instructions that came with the unit. It was much easier after having seen it done on the video.Installing the canisters was easier than I thought it would be. It was fairly obvious how to install the BLACK canisters, just just stick their little stems through the holes in the bottom of the top stainless steel tank, but I had trouble finding the instructions on how to install the white ones. I somehow missed those instructions or didn't understand them. I Googled YouTube again and had an 'Aha!' moment. Very easy once you know that they hook on below the black canisters. I was thinking they fit in one of those other slots. There are little ARROWS on the canisters that point up, so it's easy to know how to connect them.There are 4 slots for canisters, and only 2 black canisters (with 2 white canisters hanging on to them). That leaves two extra empty slots. Something has to be in those slots or the water will just gush through, defeating the whole purpose.It took me a few minutes to figure that out, the hard way, so I filled the tank with water, which just swooshed right into the containment (storage) tank, without ever touching very much of the filter canisters. The water went through so fast it was obvious that it didn't filter anything. It didn't even make good contact with the filters.Then I remembered the PLUGS I had read about and had tossed aside earlier because I didn't know what to do with them. I took the plugs and plugged them into the slots that didn't have filters attached to them. Then I put water through again. The water didn't drain straight through. It filled the tank as it was supposed to do. THIS time I could hear the water draining through, but very, very slowly. At that rate it would take a couple of hours, or more, for all the 3 gallon or so of water to filter through. That was what I wanted.When I installed the spigot, very carefully so I didn't break it or ruin the threads, I tested it by filling the storage canister with water. I noticed just a smidgen of water around the spigot, so I went back in, unscrewed it, and screwed it back. Apparently I hit the "sweet spot" as another reviewer put it. No water seen around the spigot since then.I'm especially glad I got that "Water View Spigot." It has already been helpful. I can see that it will pay for itself.I moved my filter system around, first on top of a higher 'bar' counter-top, but that means I have to get a step-stool to fill it. Then I put it so it would drain into the sink, 'just in case', but I couldn't fit a container under the spigot very easily. I moved it to the edge, so that the spigot hangs right over the edge of the counter, but I didn't like how it looked. I moved it back on the higher 'bar' counter-top. That works fine for me because it's easy to get the spray faucet and fill it that way or climb up and fill it every couple of days as needed. After using it for a couple of weeks, I've found that I need to fill it every 3-4 days.I hope some of my experience will be helpful to someone. I had fun doing this, and I'm the world's worst at assembling things. If you are like me, an uncoordinated klutz, just plan it out, do it slowly, step-by-step, doing each step correctly as you go. It's really easy, and fun. I'm really pleased with how it filters the water.

Pure Water Peace of MindAccess to clean, great-tasting water is something I used to take for granted. Then I started paying more attention to what might actually be in my tap water – chlorine, fluoride, who knows what else. Bottled water felt wasteful and expensive, and smaller pitcher filters seemed to take forever and didn't address all my concerns. I wanted a reliable, long-term solution that provided truly pure water without relying on electricity or constant filter replacements. Investing in the Royal Berkey Gravity-Fed Water Filter System felt like a significant step, and it has delivered not just clean water, but genuine peace of mind.This system is built like a tank, in the best possible way. The polished stainless steel body is not only durable and looks great on my counter, but it also feels substantial and built to last. The assembly was straightforward – just screw in the filters and the spigot, stack the chambers, and you're ready to go. The gravity-fed process is simple and effective: pour water in the top chamber, and let gravity push it through the powerful filters into the bottom chamber. No pumps, no electricity, just pure physics doing its job.The included filters are what truly sets the Berkey apart. The Black Berkey Elements are legendary for removing a vast array of contaminants, and the added PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Reduction Elements address specific concerns I had about my local water supply. The difference in taste is immediate and dramatic – the water is crisp, clean, and completely free of that tap-water aftertaste.The 3.25-gallon capacity is perfect for my household. I can fill it up, and we have plenty of pure water available throughout the day for drinking, cooking, and even filling pet bowls. It's always ready when we need it, a constant source of hydration without the waste or hassle of bottled water.Beyond the practical benefits, there's a sense of security that comes with knowing I have a reliable source of clean water, even in a power outage or emergency. It's a self-sufficient system that provides a fundamental necessity.If you're serious about the quality of your drinking water, want to reduce your environmental footprint from bottled water, and are looking for a durable, effective, and independent filtration system, the Royal Berkey is an exceptional choice. It's an investment in your health and peace of mind that pays dividends every time you take a sip of truly pure water.

Finally took the plunge years after our friends first told us about their Berkey. I’m so glad I finally purchased this system! I didn’t like constantly drinking from plastic bottles but also refused to drink city water.Our city water tastes crisp and pure once filtered through the Berkey system. I can’t even believe it! This filtration system works so well, I see why our friends told anyone who would listen, for years, about theirs. It amazes me that even though water sits in the tank over night or for a day there is no metallic taste as you’d expect like when it sits in a stainless tumbler. It is made a such high quality stainless steel.Assembly was touch and go for someone who “reads” instructions only not really reading them for real. Once I ACTUALLY read the instructions it was a breeze. Priming the filters was quite difficult but we managed. I’ll definitely purchase a tool to help make that process easier when they need to be replaced.I’ve only had 2 leaks. First because after I washed my clear view spigot I cross threaded the top of the view piece and didn’t realize it wasn’t properly shut. The second time was because my husband overfilled the tank with water. Both avoidable, both human error and none of the tank.I highly recommend Berkey to anyone serious about having quality water for their family readily available. It’s well worth the investment.