I've been looking at the Berkey water filters for an in-place family filtering solution. The only problem has been the price. The Imperial Berkey, with 4.5 gallons of water storage, runs about $300. Even the 2.5 gallon Berkey Light runs more than $200.
So ... I came up with my own DIY version for just the cost of the Berkey filers ($107.00) and a spigot ($10.00). While that's still not "cheap" it's half the cost and mine holds 4 gallons.
Materials Needed:
2 Black Berkey Filter Elements: $107.00
1 Berkey Light Spigot: $10.00
2 Four-gallon Food-grade Plastic Buckets (free at Sam's Club)
Tools Needed:
Drill
3/8" Drill Bit
5/8" Drill Bit
Step 1: Stack the buckets and drill two 3/8" holes through the bottom of the top bucket and the lid of the bottom bucket
Step 2: Insert the threaded tubes of the filter elements through the bottom of the top bucket and the lid of the bottom bucket. Screw the keeper nuts onto the filters and tighten them to finger-tight (do not over-tighten). The included washer should be on the filter tube inside the top bucket.
At this point your buckets should look like this:
Step 3: Drill a 5/8" hole in the side of the bottom bucket near the bottom. Make sure you leave enough room for the spigot's nozzle below the hole. Slide the threaded spigot tube through the hole and tighten down the keeper nut. There should be a washer on either side of the bucket.
Your finished filter will look like this.
