This is information on the Berkey black filters is here:http://directive21.com/accessories-black-berkey-purification-element.html
The cost has gone up ten dollars since I bought my last set seven months ago or so. The information about its filtering capabilities is also on the page. The gentleman who owns the company is very good and will take your order via the internet. He usually sends out the equipment the very next business day. It comes from California so it could be a week to receive it.
Also the information about the smaller sport drink bottle is here:http://directive21.com/accessories-sport-berkey.html
Each of the black filters is capable of filtering up to 3,000 gallons of water. A pair makes you good for 6,000 gallons and looking at one gallon of clean potable drinking water per person, per day with a house of four is 28 gallons a week. Dividing that into 6,000 is 214.286 weeks, that is over one year of four gallons a day of potable water for four people. The filters can be scrubbed clean on the outer surface by putting in clean water and brushing off the scale with a Tuffy pad or Scotch Brite pad. You can also back flush the filter to clear out the pores if you have pressurized water source. The filters could last for years if properly taken care of. Pre-filtering the water to be cleaned by running through a large coffee filter to catch leaves, grass, small rocks or sand will help prolong the service life of the filters and lessen the frequency of cleaning. The cleaner the supply, the longer the filters will work for you.
If you feel the need to pre-treat your water with bleach before running through the filters that is OK and probably a good idea if you are unfamiliar with the source. The general rule of thumb is one quarter Teaspoon to one gallon of water is prefered. See instructions here (taken from site in Israel)
http://www.newjerusalem.com/PureWater.htm
Shake or stir the water with the bleach and let air out over night, the bleach will dissipate within 24 hours. That is why even the government health sites suggest using household bleach for water purification, it will dissipate within 24 hours and be non-toxic for humans. Also have bleach on hand that has no perfume as it will taint the water with the perfume. Lola and I found a great deal on bleach at Sam's Club, under $8.00 for a case of three large bottles of bleach and each bottle is a gallon and a half. Large coffee filters (commercial maker size) are sold at Staples for $5.19 per package = 250 filters.http://www.staples.com/Bunn-12-Cup-Coffee-Filters-250-Pack/product_851085
Use a large funnel or flour sifter (examples) to support the filter and pour the water on through into a clean container to be bleached then transfer water to filter system. It will take five hours or longer for the water to flow through the filters but then it is sanitized, clean and free from bacteria. Instructions for building your own Berkey water filter system here:http://www.alpharubicon.com/kids/homemadeberkeydaire.htm
My last suggestion is a filter called the Lifesaver, it was developed by a scientist who after seeing the victims of the Tsunami in 2004 built this filter. The best price I have found it for is on Amazon dot com:
http://www.amazon.com/Lifesaver-Bottle-4000-Ultra-Filtration/dp/B001EHF99A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314321214&sr=8-1 As the gentleman says, the poor people were surrounded by water and were dying of thirst, this filter has saved lives.
Please do not let the price scare you away, at least watch the video, it is amazing and someday I will have this one or its big brother which treats up to 6000 liters. The usefulness of this filter is the amount that it can treat (4000) liters or 1056.688204 gallons. It is highly portable, can be carried with a backpack (B.o.B) and is very efficient. Clean water is the difference between life and death, literally.
So there you have it, all I know about water filters and portable systems. There are other filter systems out there that do a great job, I looked for what could do it in the simplest way possible, less moving parts and I can buy replacement filters with relative ease while the markets are still doing well. Remember the saying, "Two is one and one is none." If you have only one of any item that is crucial to your health and well being then you may as well have none because in this life, everything breaks. Gets lost, stolen, forgotten, left behind, add in your own here. If you have more than one of the critical items then you have redundancy and you have sustainability and that leads to better survival.
So there you have it, all I know about water filters and portable systems. There are other filter systems out there that do a great job, I looked for what could do it in the simplest way possible, less moving parts and I can buy replacement filters with relative ease while the markets are still doing well. Remember the saying, "Two is one and one is none." If you have only one of any item that is crucial to your health and well being then you may as well have none because in this life, everything breaks. Gets lost, stolen, forgotten, left behind, add in your own here. If you have more than one of the critical items then you have redundancy and you have sustainability and that leads to better survival.
Prepare, live well and pray always,
Lou.
