DIY Big Berkey Style Water Filter System with 5 Gallon Buckets (for 1/4 the cost)
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 28 июл 2024
- Berkey water filters such as the Big Berkey have become the standard in free-standing, home water filtration systems. But with a price tag of $300, I wanted something that was a lot less expensive. So using (BPA-free, food-grade) buckets and the same type of filter elements that the Berkey systems use, I was able to build my own high-capacity water filtering system for 75% less than the Big Berkey costs.
--------------------------------------
Here are the materials I used:
Waterdrop BB9-2 Filter Elements
amzn.to/360yJ9v
Water Cooler Spigot
amzn.to/3qCULH9
Berkey manual priming tool (for priming filter elements without running water):
amzn.to/3I6aw2D
5-Gallon Food-Grade Buckets
www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plast...
Bucket Lids
www.lowes.com/pd/Encore-Plast...
--------------------------------------
00:00 - Intro
01:20 - Big Berkey Components
02:26 - DIY Price Comparison
04:18 - Building the Filtration System
06:11 - Priming the Filters
06:42 - Test & Demonstration
--------------------------------------
The Great Lakes Prepping and Great Lakes Kitchen Channel shares our knowledge and experiences relating to all things prepping, cooking, outdoors, and everything DIY. Be sure to check out our original weekly videos and other online content. Please note that we sometimes share links to products or services for which we may earn a small commission, though this does not affect any prices on your end.
Check out our website and social media:
Website: www.greatlakesprepping.com
Facebook: / greatlakesprepping
Instagram: / greatlakesprepping
Twitter: / greatprepping
Reddit: / greatlakesprepping 
Хобби
For decades, we've built our filters in 3 layers - small washed river stones, coarse washed sand, & charcoal, each in its own container, stacked in order with charcoal on the bottom. When the charcoal needs cleaning, we remove its container, back flush it, heat to 400F in oven, & replace. Water tastes great & no one has ever gotten sick. Ancient tech works great.
I'd like to see a video of what you did with your three stage system. Nice
@@kolobkolobkolobkolob Ok. Thanks. I'll get to it.. Basically, it's 3 water-safe wooden boxes or stainless soup pots, all the same size. Also something to catch the filtered water.
Make holes all over the bottoms of each, then lay copper or stainless (window screen, if you're desperate) inside to cover the bottom of each. Carefully fill the bottom one to 2-3" from the top with charcoal (from a fire that had no painted or stained wood in it is fine). Set the middle one on/in that & fill it carefully to 2-3" from top with washed coarse sand (builder's supply). Set the top one on/in & fill it carefully with small washed river stones (they're about 1-1.5" across).
It's ready. Pour in your water & let it run thru into your catch unit. Good drinking!
If you have concerns about bacteria, put bleach in the water before you pour it thru.
@@pahinhwinh3936 please do a video, I need visuals, thanks in advance!
@@shamachelon Ok. Thanks!
@@pahinhwinh3936 thank you , your instructions are clear enough without a video.
I would also suggest putting some Shungite rocks in the container that the filtered water is stored in
Very good idea and model. I would like to bring an engineering problem to your attention that will fix your flow rate and also the filtration rate. The bottom container when starting has only air in it. As it fills with water, the air is pushed upwards, and has only one area to escape from, and that is back through the two water filters. The filters are not able to displace the air in proportion to the water flow out of them, and this causes the filters to slow down, and eventually stop. What needs to be done is another hole needs to be put in the system, and a food grade safe ventilation tube needs to be installed. It would need to have a threaded system similar to the filters, and a clear tube that would reach about 1 1/2" short of the top of the water chamber when filled. This will allow air to vent from the bottom chamber receiving water, to the top chamber losing water, which would regulate it. Your filtration rate would increase to its maximum capacity, and the dispensing rate would be equalized by the infusion of air from the top, preventing vapor lock.
Overall, great idea, and a easy way to filter bulk water. Alexapure filters rate much higher than the Berkey filters. Keep in mind that whereas Berkey are tall and lean, the Alexapure are fat and shorter. If you use Alexapure, you need to space accordingly.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this video.
Brother Levi Matthews
You are correct. I noticed that I had to place a small paper clip to break the seal between the two Berkey filters to break the pressure build up due to the hydraulic effect of the water filling up the bottom chamber and pressurizing it, so that the remaining flow from the top chamber became impeded.
This is a very helpful suggestion and one that I will likely be adding to my build of this model. Thanks Levi!
I’m thinking you could use a wine making air lock to enable the escape of air from the bottom bucket.
Most excellent idea on both . I will have to add this to my stock and supplies
You could also open the lid on the lower bucket, periodically, to let the air out.
To me, the best part of the design is that other than the filter prep, this can all be built, disassembled and stored. Nest the buckets, put all the materials inside and nest the lids. Ready to deploy when needed.
My husband built this for me thank you 😊 We now have water without all the nasty stuff.
That's great!
Being a disabled Veteran my budget is small so I can't afford a Berkey but I have enough buckets that I can do this. Thank you
Thank you for showing this very good idea. I live in Australia and a Berkey filter here costs $800 and close to a thousand for a spare filter and stand. America is showing the way for the future preppers! Thank you.
No, Im here and I get 2 for $200. Did it twice.
Oh wow !!
I’m also in Oz and just got my berkey two filters and two white filters spent nearly 1000. Going to get more filters next.
I don't normally rush out and build everything that I see on RUclips, but I am so making a couple of these. Absolutely AMAZING!!!!!! Greetings from Australia 🇦🇺 😀
Thank you!
Same here, but from the U.K, been looking for something like this for a while now and this is by far the best and easiest I've seen, many thanks,👍
Ty so much for this! & those in the comments as well! Its soon to be upon us HEAVY. When u stay ready u don't have to get ready. Blessings to all who value freedom over safety ❤
Genius!! I love this!! For anyone concerned about the look, consider building a cute "cabinet" around it or some type of attractive enclosure that matches your existing cabinetry.
PLEASE SPARE US "cute"!!
I wish all vids on RUclips were this well done, straight to the point.. no filler, you get my thumbs up and subscribe! 👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you Big Al, I appreciate that!
This plan has been around for a long time. I built one about 10 years ago from an internet design and have used it with success since in my off-grid cabin. The bottom bucket needs a very small hole in its lid to relieve air pressure in the bottom bucket as the filters work. One problem is that when the system is disassembled for cleaning of the filters, the bottom lid releases with a jar or sudden pop. This has the potential of breaking the filter candles at their base. Judicial trimming of the bottom lid will alleviate this problem. Filters should be carefully dried between periodic uses to avoid mold growth. Also dry filters need to be "primed" prior to use by gently pressuring water retrograde with a faucet or squeezed plastic water bottle. This removes air locks from the filter pores and increases filter flow rate when the filter is used.
Thank for your input! What filters did you use?
I made myself a Berkey system just like this but used the actual Berkey filters. With the money saved by making my own system I was able to buy a replacement set of the Berkey filters. So far I've been very pleased with the results.
food grade buckets taste like plastic??
@@RealityAudits Not from my experience.
My Berkey came with a white and black filter? I don't know the difference in the black and white but I know this making one only show the black ones? I got the smallest Berkey because of the price. But I need to make one with the buckets. Should I get the white and black or the two black ones. Sorry I'm concerned that there may be a difference between the white and black so therefore need the white one too.? 😁
@@flowergirl8375 White ones are to remove fluoride from the water.
@@averagejoesmiling456 thank you very much I will definitely be using the white as well as the Black! Cuz right now I purify my tap water. But if we ever lose water I will have to purify the pond water I have. And or rainwater. Thanks for your time very much appreciate it
I love this! We have thousands of gallons of water stored on our property for emergency use if we loose “city” water. But none of it is ready to use. It would need to be filtered and or boiled first. This gives us an affordable way to make our water safe for humans! Thanks man!
Thanks Kris. I definitely like the higher capacity of this DIY version. Fill it up at night, wake up to 4-5 gallons of filtered water!
Its smart having bulk supply, when i bought my place was a part of my plan i have 5000 g system well, and live on a 200 acre lake,, can't see going thirsty lol, i like his filter too, good insurance if i need go into lake water
@ Kris Nicholas - I have stored water also that will need to be cleaned before running it through this system. Curious how you would do that? I was thinking of running it through swimming pool type filters first, to remove large particles, disinfectaning it with bleach (6 drops per gallon of water at 8.25% bleach strength) then running it through the filters as the last step. I recall a video I saw where a Berkey rep stated that if a person used barrels of water that ran off the roof, they should use bleach first in case bird droppings were in the water. Please let me know your thoughts if you are willing to share. I also think boiling the water would be just as good before running it thru the filters.
@@plaguevendor6705 You could possibly run it through a solar heating element like in this video ruclips.net/video/7w4rg3UcsgI/видео.html . At that point like the video you could also us it to cool your house and only add in then siphon off enough for drinking when needed.
Is boiling the filtered rain water necessary before its healthy to drink
I spent $63 for these filters a week ago and built this. I have been brewing beer for nearly 2 decades (not as much recently) and have several 7 gallon fermentation buckets and spigots. I have had these for quite some time, are food grade as well. Works quite well.
Thank you, thank you. Finished this project today for both my elderly parents and my family. This was my last major prep I really needed to get done. This is really cool and self satisfying.
That's great! Thanks for your comment.
I'm 66 and plan in doing mine too, thanks for video!
I did this exact same thing years ago. Take it to the next level: get a couple 5 gallon water cooler bottles and a water cooler. You can find used cheap. The you can have filter ice cold (and filtered hot water with the right cooler) water on tap 24/7. My toddler kids love it. They get water on demand.
I did this several years ago for a fishing trip in the boundry waters. Had to portage so limited space and couldn't really hall enough water to last. This was a good solution. I used 3 of the smaller dome style filters and we filtered and drank lake water all week (6 grown males). Warning: These filters are good for MANY gallons, BUT they will get slimey filtering lake water and need to have their surface cleaned every couple days or so. Also, I believe these style (maybe all) filters list an enourmous amount of water that can be filtered OR 1 year. So I used them for a week and then had to replace the filters each year. The filters are around $10 each, so it is economical. $12 in buckets, $3 for a sealed spigot and $30 for filters = very affordable peace of mind. I keep 6 filters on hand just in case. Take the spigot off and you can nest the buckets together to make them very storeable and portable as well.
I built mine about a year ago.. 2 Home Depot 5 gallon buckets 3 ceramic candle stick filters and a water valve...$90.. works great
Thanks for the video. I don't know why I never thought of this a long time ago. I have had a big Berkey filtering system for myself for about seven years. I never thought of making one for my friend who drinks rainwater that runs off her roof and doesn't filter it at all. Sometimes it looks yellow. I'm definitely going to make one of these for her.
Your friend is not thinking her water source through. Bird droppings on the roof, air pollution, chemicals in shingles (if asphalt roof). Your kindness should keep her from getting ill.
@@spockmcoyissmart961 that is very sweet of you!
Excellent video, thank you for being clear, concise,& short with exanation. I'm building this today.
Brilliant idea. Thanks for putting in the time to build and share this.
Thank you for the idea. I went ahead and built my own. I did some research and made sure to get water filters that had good reviews. In total it cost me $107, and took maybe 5 minutes to build. I was able to filter about 10 gallons of water in 4 hours, so 2.5 gallons an hour is not bad. Since this is so easy to assemble and disassemble, I think this is going to go with me on all of my car camping trips so I can save the backpacking filters for backpacking. Thanks again.
That's great! Thanks Greg
Can you link to the filters you used?
@@willm59 Hi Will, the link is in the video description.
The camping filters are by far, the best there is, lasting 100X longer…. so much better then the Berkeley system. They used a camping-type filter for missionaries when they went to other countries. The only problem is that it doesn’t remove chlorine, that’s why I added a Activated Carbon Fiber on top of the other one …… ; )
One of those Christmas tree looking step drills work even better making holes in plastic. The $5ish three pack from Harbor Freight is sufficient for pretty much any plastic job.
I made exactly this a year ago with the same thoughts and motive. I ordered the Berkey filters off of Amazon and utilized some 6 gallon beer brewing buckets that I laying around.
Berki is not the standard. They look nice but they choose to not allow any certification. Lab testing even shows inconsistency in what they say their results are. So this solution is perfect. Like you said, you can only go on the companies word. I will be building these to take camping, can't wait.
I still use the one I made 9 years ago…still going strong & works great!
That's awesome!
I have had that container for eight years love it.
I built my system today. Only I used some 3 gallon buckets I had laying around that I use to make beer with. Thanks for the video, it saved me a lot of money. 👍
I have been considering a water filtration system and yours looks fine with me,.I like your keep it simple thinking..
Awesome video! Thank you so much! I use a countertop Pur water filter for my drinking water but will definitely add this project to my to-do prepping list :) :)
I find these filters fascinating. My children have these. I have been treating dring water for 31 years. Always read anything on water purification. These work extremely well.
Thank you - you’re helping a lot of people survive - thank you!
I'm giving DIY Berky sets to my sons for Christmas. Thank you for making this much more affordable
Great idea for gifts!
Update from my guys:
"Awesome! Pepper gear AND a craft project!" 😆
THIS is the type of stuff I want to see on pepper sites!!! Cheap, easy ways to deal with real possible problems. Thank you and.... I'm gonna now subscribe to your channel... 🤗
Thank you Karen! I'm happy you enjoy the channel.
Great idea. I set one of these up to use my old Berky filters to pre filter after SHTF.
Awesome. Simple, cheap and functional. Can't beat that....
I put one together for my RV. It takes up a fair amount of space but works really well
It’s interesting to me the price difference in 8 months. I decided to build my own because of the cost of a Berkey. Searched and yours was the first to come up. Thank you for the instructions.
Thanks Wanda, I'm glad the video helped!
I plan to add a water harvesting unit to my rain gutters and this would make a great addition to the system. Thank you this was very informative.
Great idea, make sure you put your rainwater through other filters first such as sand to filter out all the debris that will come in with the rain
This a great idea and very well put together video, easy to follow and concise. I will try this at home, thanks for sharing.
For the filtered water, you can also use an Igloo cooler bucket with a spigot built in ( I have one) and it holds at least 3 gallons.
Brilliant
How do you do this? Separate it into two parts?
Built mine with a 10 gallon igloo cooler. 👍
Great video.
Gonna do the same with 3.5 gallon buckets and Berkeley filters for SHTF only.
Berkeley stainless makes since for daily use.
Thorough comprehensive work.
Thanks a lot.
I have a filter system from about 8 years ago that never filtered all the water from the top. Can't remember the brand. I kept it just in case, and now there are alternative filters that look like they'll fit!! Yes!!
AWESOME! I was srsly considering Buying a Berkey for the travel trailer, but this seems like a much cheaper / better solution. thanks for the great vid!
I built this same set up 3 years ago, works very well !
Is it still working as well as it did 3 years ago? How often do you use it?
@@Kittieslovetacos The Alexapure filter gets rid of fluoride and lasts for 5,000 gallons
I built one of these months ago. It works pretty well. Aftermarket filters do have some sediment/dust they let off the first 10-15 gallons or so. I also have hard water so it doesn't really help with that, but for having good clean drinking water, this works quite well. My build is identical with the exception that I used a gamma lid on top, and a metal spigot. I think if I have some spare cash in the future I'll definitely add 2 more filters because like you said it DOES slow down significantly after the water level goes below the tops of the filters.
Thank you! I have been tempted to buy the berkey, but the hold up has been the price.Now there is a way to get one.
Berkeley did a revised test and I believe it filters out 90% . This is an affordable option. I’m not a fan of food grade plastic but this is great to have for emergencies, thanks!
The fact I cannot give more than a single thumb up need to change.
Thanks for this really interesting video
You are a great teacher thank you for this video. Exciting news I will be building one tomorrow. How crazy to be excited about this but this day and age it's a must-have. Thank you again and God bless you for helping all of us
Thank you, I appreciate your comment. Good luck and happy building!
It's an awesome setup. Thanks for posting this
I appreciate your ingenuity. Thanks for the video.
Thanks Abigail!
Wow !! BRILLIANT IDEA!! I sure wish that I had seen this video just 6 months ago before I bought four Big Burkeys for myself and my siblings. I’m NOT going to calculate how much $ I could have saved. Instead I will just remember this and going forward I will always know how to do it. Thank you.
$880. You could have saved $880.
@@wotmuddingtrolloc savage ;)
That was so nice of you to purchase such an amazing gift for your siblings! They are blessed to have you!
Thanks for the great video. I immediately went out to order the Waterdrop filters and saw the full setup for sale for $140. I figured I'd go for it and then they took $40 off when it was in my cart!
Excellent tutorial straight to the point Cheers from Pennsylvania Blessings 👍👍👍🙏🙏🙏🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🎚🎚🎚
Awesome video! Thank you for sharing.
Great tutorial and very informative. 👍
Great idea! We got a Big Berkey a year or so ago and immediately put it in he stash (over my mild protestations). DH has always insisted on drinking bottled water. 😂 I'm not that fancy. 🤷♀️ We have an in-house filtration system because of high iron content, so I just used tap water. He finally got tired of buying water and had the bright idea to use our fancy filter. You should totally USE yours. The filters last a very long time and the water is excellent. We bought extra filters.
I did it! I made on of these water filter buckets! I love it! Thank you!
I made the same thing with stainless steel stock pots and a stainless steel spigot. I made sure I got the real Berkey filters.
@Anonymoussilurian Anonymoussilurian I am Canadian and I ordered everything from amazon. The stock pots were about $30 each and the spigot was about $15. I had to get a step drill bit which makes the hole bigger the more you drill. I kept drilling until the tip of the filter would fit through the hole. You also need tin snips to cut the middle out of the bottom lid.
@Anonymoussilurian Anonymoussilurian yes, they stack perfectly, but the lid of the bottom pot has to have a big hole cut out of it so that the tips of the filters, which are in the top pot, can drip into the bottom pot.
@Anonymoussilurian Anonymoussilurian I found the video of the exact same water filter I made. The youtube channel is called 'Off grid homesteading with the boss of the swamp' and the video is called 'how to make your own Berkey style water purifier'. I didn't do the part where he puts tape on the lid to hold it together because it stacks very securely.
@Anonymoussilurian Anonymoussilurian I think I said I used a step drill. You need the lid on the bottom pot because it isn't stable enough to have the top pot sitting in the bottom pot when you fill the top pot with water and the bottom pot is empty. So you cut out the middle of the lid for the bottom pot and just leave a ring that the top pot sits on.
@@HeatherRose_ how big are the stock pots because if they're not bigger than the Berkey you might as well have spent the money on 1
What a great DIY project!!!
This is going on my bucket list!🙄
FYI: Grocery store bakeries are usually good about giving away their 5 gal buckets and lids. Just ask!
Omg thank you for that tip !!!
@@alexismondolfi7452 You're very welcome! They're great for fermenting "things," food storage, & growing things like potatoes!
Haha bucket list.
@@jaycarr1790 Thank you! I was waiting for that!😂🤣
Very, very cool idea. The simple ingenuity and design is great. Heading to a big DIY store today here in Tokyo to source materials.
Those white filters that you said don’t improve filtration are what removes fluoride from the water. Great DIY.
Love this, can't afford the cost of berkey or it's competitors.
Excellent tutorial.
Good basic info on how to make it happen. Thanks for posting!
Awesome vid, thank's for your time and help. As i speak to you I'm in the Nevada High Desert and there is a controlled water system by account by the county. However the water has a lot of minerals in it. Again thank you and for the links you provided.
Great Great Great Great 👍 Information!! You did your thing!
Thank you Chawncy
Plastic bucket $4.00
Lid. $7 to $8
Stainless pot and lid at Wal-Mart $10 for 12 or 16 qt
Same drill bit. Easier to clean.
More filter has replacement for 48 buck and they work pretty good. Good video this is really all we need in a emergency or any day use for all that matters 🙂
Thanks 👍I made it with 4 filters. Appreciate the part where you explained how to prime the filter 👍
Good one. Thanks , Paul J.
Thanks, I'm definitely going to make one of these ♥
I ordered two spickets from Walmart app as well as two sets of berry filters and made our own with lowes 5gallon buckets with backup spicket and filter replacement
Went thrifting and saw an Aquapure system, similar to the Birkey. Only needed to replace the tap, whomever had put the tap on wrong with rubber fittings in wrong areas! Brand new filter and all parts were there, complete stainlees steel unit. Just faucet put on wrong. Great purchase at $24.99! Faucet assembly for stainless steel replacement was less than $22 with rubber and metal fittings! :) So e tire cost, less than $50.00!!! :)
Great deal!
Fabulous! Thank you!
I found filters on ebay. 4 for $75. Got my buckets, used once for food from marketplace for $1.50 with lid. Great gift idea. Love the small vent to let air out of bottle. I am sharing with friends.
Awesome. Think I’m going to upgrade to the screw on food grade lids for these buckets on mine.
You nailed it again, great information in a short and understandable format.
Thank you and blessings.
What about putting in the upper bucket, a small air valve and pumping in some air with a small bike type hand pump? Give it about 10-15 small pumps. That should force the water through a little faster. This could help a family that needs water a bit faster. It works for my setup.
Never having seen a Berky(sp?) until I watched a van-life video before, you’ve explained what it is and demonstrated how I don’t need one all in one video. I distil my drinking water but, if ever the lekky goes, I know what to do now. Thank you. PEACE ;]
I also made a water filter system just like yours but made it better by installing an external clear
stand hose to visually see how much water I have in the bottom tank..no guessing how much
water I have available before adding more water to the upper tank..works great!!!
What a great video - thank you!
Thanks!
I got a Berkey ad on this video haha. Will definitely give this a try.
I got the same...lol
Great vid .....i have everything to do this...i will prime my filters today and start using this setup....thanks
My berky cracked so I did this and it works like a charm.
You got a sub for that! Crazy awesome.
Good Job. Thank You.
Thanks very helpful for my limited budget.
Just made this and it works great!! Thanks for the guide!!!
Awesome, thanks Jasmine!
thank you, love it!!!!!!.
Great idea & video! You’ve got to love a DIY solution that’s not only cheaper, but higher performance/capacity.
Of course, I just bought a Berkey before I saw this video. Murphy's Law in action. Lol. I am planning to make your diy system. Your directions are clear and to the point. Thanks.
Of course, isn't that how it always goes! Thanks Dawn.
Thanks for the video! I just built two of these yesterday 10/09/2022. It is a slow process. It took four hours to make 5 gallons of water.
GREAT TURORIAL!! - This is on my list to build!
I'm in Michigan - Home depot has free Water test kits. I am on a good city water source, but I picked up a couple for my off grid project.
Thanks Dokk. I did not know that about Home Depot. I definitely have to look into that. The test kits I've seen for sale aren't especially cheap.
Get your water tested not just for bacteria, but chemicals & pharmaceuticals. We filter all our drinking water because we don’t want Roundup in our water from farms in the area. We have a UV whole-house system because our water had e.coli when we bought it (the seller had to pay for it).
Well Done!!
Wow, that is great, thank you for sharing and demonstrating how to get the same results for less $$..
Excellent presentation. Great build. Thank you thank you thank you.
Thanks Steven!
I had a problem when I built mine with flow. I had to take the big seal out of the lid on the bottom bucket. It flows down and fills the bottom 3 times as fast. The bottom bucket being sealed and filled with air would not let the water filter down until you opened the spout. In other words, the bottom bucket does not need to be air tight. Great video
Thanks Michael. Now that you mention it, I didn't have either lid sealed tight.
@@GreatLakesPrepping I'm having an issue. After first use put in about a gallon and a half to two gallons no issues. Yesterday filled up to the top of the filters and water leaking at the top of bottom lid. Have seal on bottom lid. What could be the problem?
Maybe the holes at the bottom to big? Also: the tool you used to smooth out the holes; what is the name and where can I purchase?
@@shawn78789 Hi Shawn, my first through is to make sure the rubber gasket for each filter is in place correctly and the plastic wingnut is screwed down tightly enough.
As for that tool, I'm actually not sure what it's called. I've had it in my tool box as long as I can remember and I don't even recall where I got it. Really any de-burring tool or even the tip of a sharp knife ought to work.
@@GreatLakesPrepping Thanks, I had a thought that might be the issue.