# Best Prices on Berkey & Doulton and Questions



## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

I just finished searching the archives for help in purchasing a water filter. After tossing the Doulton & Berkey around in my head, I'm still not sure which I want. I am a bit worried about problems reported with the Berkey, but I'd rather not add chlorine to my drinking water either. I've asked the hubby to do the research on filters (as he's more knowledgeable about this kind of thing) but he's just not following through in a timely manner IMHO, so now I'm asking you folks for help.

Money is a major issue, hence the need for a home made version. 

What price & where have you found the best deals on either of these filters?

Is it ok to use only 1 filter or should 2 be used? Or is using 2 filters only to speed up the processing time?

Thanks y'all!


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## oth47 (Jan 11, 2008)

I don't know about the Doulton filters,but I'll never buy another Berkey product.I had another filter fail today.I'll try the Doulton filters when the money becomes available.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I had all 10 of my Berkey filters fail on me. I trust Doulton.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

oth47 said:


> I don't know about the Doulton filters,but I'll never buy another Berkey product.I had another filter fail today.I'll try the Doulton filters when the money becomes available.


Doulton filters will work in your Berkey housing.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

We bought our Doulton's on Amazon for under $30 with free shipping. 
Here's a link to my husband's blog post about making our water filter. One filter DIY Total cost was under $50.

I made a drawstring carry bag out of old blue jeans.

~~ pelenaka ~~


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

OP, I sent you a PM.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

oth47 said:


> I don't know about the Doulton filters,but I'll never buy another Berkey product.I had another filter fail today.I'll try the Doulton filters when the money becomes available.


When did you buy yours?


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

I was looking at some stainless steel pots in one of the dollar stores recently. It wouldn't be hard to use them to make your own "Berkey" like housing and buy the Doulton filters from the cheapest source. One company sells the spigot as a spare part. 

Some here have used plastic buckets to make the housings.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

You could get a spigot from Home Depot and make it work. The ONLY Berkey (New millenium Concepts) 
product I like is the see through spigot. You can see the water level at a glance. Here is an example. https://www.google.com/search?um=1&......1.1.rH3tQEUdRB4#biv=i|14;d|vP0cwCM_W1zZXM:


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Has anyone compared the Doulton vs AquaCera? Looks like the same product to me.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Pam, this link from St. Paul Mercantile shows the difference between Doulton and Aqua Cera filter candles. Aqua Cera filters water to .3 microns, compared to Doulton's .9 microns. http://www.stpaulmercantile.com/store/itemImages/CeramicCandleChart.jpg


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

So the smaller the number, the better the filtration - right? lol I promise I used to be an intelligent person in my younger days.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Yes. The smaller the number, the fewer contaminants enters your drinking water. And the filter candles can be gently cleaned with a green scrubby and reused for quite a while.


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

Thanks Tator - you've been a BIG help! I do wonder why most folks recommend the Doulton rather than the AquaCera. If I'm reading it right, the AC is the better filter and is less expensive.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I never answered your question about using one or two filter candles. The only difference is how fast you will get your clean water. Two filters will work twice as fast as one. How many people are in your household?


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

There are 3 of us (all adults)...not to mention several kitties & a couple dogs. Hopefully the horses & chickens won't mind drinking pond water.


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

Pam in KY said:


> Thanks Tator - you've been a BIG help! I do wonder why most folks recommend the Doulton rather than the AquaCera. If I'm reading it right, the AC is the better filter and is less expensive.


Learn sumting new everyday. Better filtration & less $$$ I'm in. 


~~ pelenaka ~~


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

Pam in KY said:


> Thanks Tator - you've been a BIG help! I do wonder why most folks recommend the Doulton rather than the AquaCera. If I'm reading it right, the AC is the better filter and is less expensive.


1. Doulton is NSF certified. AC is not. Doulton HAS to maintain standards. We found out here what can happen when some other company _that will remain nameless_ quoted questionable reports and did not get or maintain a certification.
2. Doulton has a track record in the 3rd world. AC does not.
.9 is the REQUIRED and guaranteed max filter pore size. Although smaller pores may seem better, they do nothing as far as removing pathogens. All things being equal, a filter with a smaller set of pores will clog faster and require more cleaning. (Basic physics)
3. One illness can cost ten times more than the difference in cost between a certified known filter and one that "claims" to be the same or better. 

A while back, I bought some yellow poly rope at Harbor Freight that was rated at 1000 lbs breaking strength. In pulling a tree, I used SIX lengths of the stuff in parallel, attached to a truck weighing no more than 1500lbs. Max pull in the slow pull was maybe 700lbs. The ropeS broke. 1,000 lb breaking strength? Yeah right. Good thing I wasn't using it to mountain climb on the cheap.

Ever see those little 2 cycle generators advertised at putting out 1,000 watts? I bought one and tested it (I have the equipment) Max real output was about 600 watts with a momentary surge of 800 watts being all that it could handle. _No way_ could it put out 1000 watts. (They have since been de-rated and advertised as 800 watt generators) 

Moral of the story? NEVER trust product claims without independent verification - ESPECIALLY if China is involved. Bonded DE filters are not rocket science to make, so you MAY be safe. Me? I KNOW I am safe, for the added cost of a fast food meal or two.

Does that answer your question?


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Pam in KY said:


> There are 3 of us (all adults)...not to mention several kitties & a couple dogs. Hopefully the horses & chickens won't mind drinking pond water.


I would use at least two, and maybe 4 with that many people.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Harry Chickpea said:


> 1. Doulton is NSF certified. AC is not. Doulton HAS to maintain standards. We found out here what can happen when some other company _that will remain nameless_ quoted questionable reports and did not get or maintain a certification.
> 2. Doulton has a track record in the 3rd world. AC does not.
> .9 is the REQUIRED and guaranteed max filter pore size. Although smaller pores may seem better, they do nothing as far as removing pathogens. All things being equal, a filter with a smaller set of pores will clog faster and require more cleaning. (Basic physics)
> 3. One illness can cost ten times more than the difference in cost between a certified known filter and one that "claims" to be the same or better.
> ...


Welcome back Harry! We missed you!


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## Darren (May 10, 2002)

NSF = National Sanitation Foundation.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

NSF. 

NSF Certified Products - Drinking Water Treatment Units


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## Pam in KY (Jul 26, 2011)

I am now armed with the facts! Thank you folks very much for schooling me about the ins & outs of water filters. 

When SHTF I'll be collecting river & stream water, so should I add bleach to the water after filtering?


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

The filter will remove pathogenic bacteria and cysts. Bleach works against those AND against viruses, which is a bit of overkill in most cases, since the stomach acids make drinking water a poor method of infection. OTOH, if there are high levels of insecticides, bleach can de-potentiate many of them.

Our water is creek water. I batch it to a cistern through a 5 micron filter in about 500 gal slugs, and add chlorine then. It sits and eventually comes to the house. Drinking water is then filtered by the Doulton filters or distilled. About the only time I am concerned is when taking a shower within 12 hours of doing a fill, since the water is an aerosol that can get into the lungs.


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## illinoisguy (Sep 4, 2011)

25 dollars???

http://www.amazon.com/Doulton-Stera...qid=1351477519&sr=8-1&keywords=doulton+filter


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## Harry Chickpea (Dec 19, 2008)

$25 is a fairly reasonable price. The reseller is making a profit, the filter has to be shipped from England, there are manufacturing costs, the certification costs are NOT cheap, and the company has to make a profit. If you buy a $10 Brita filter it might last a couple of months. We have four of these filters that have been in constant use since 2007 and are still going strong. I estimate they have another five or more years of life.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Harry, I have Aqua Cera filter candles in my Berkey stainless steel filter housing. Harry already knows this, but I will NEVER use Berkey filter candles again, for reasons I have already explained in this forum. I had believed Aqua Cera filters were made here in the USA, but the link I provide below says they are made in England. They have a news release on their website, "The CeraCarb&#8482; line of filters are NSF Certified for Standard 42." Ceramic Filters Company - Home 

I queried Aqua Cera at the NSF website, and a number of listings come up, and I would have to go through every listing to find them. I'm not sure what company name they used.

Here is what I have to say about my filter candles, after using them for months and having cleaned them several times. We are using creek water at our ranch. Sometimes it comes out of the tap a bit dirty visibly, sometimes a bit green. I pour it into the top of the unit and what comes out the bottom is clean and good tasting. I was taken aback when I looked in the top chamber after a couple of months of use and saw VERY dirty water about an inch deep. This dirt was what my Aqua Cera filter candles had been filtering out. I hate to think about what other nasties were in there. I cleaned my filter candles because they looked filthy and brown, and because of the dirty water they were standing in, but they didn't clog on me, at all. Now I make a point of looking in the top chamber often. to see when it needs cleaning.

My Aqua Cera filter candles were doing their job. This was when I gave the candles their first cleaning, by gently rubbing them with a green scrubby under running water, being careful not to get any of my tap (creek) water inside. It took very little cleaning to remove the dirty surface and expose clean white filter media.

My Aqua Cera filters are very well made. They feel good and durable. They have not fallen off their bases (unlike those other filters). They have not landed me in the hospital.

I trust Doulton, and I trust Aqua Cera.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Pam in KY said:


> I am now armed with the facts! Thank you folks very much for schooling me about the ins & outs of water filters.
> 
> When SHTF I'll be collecting river & stream water, so should I add bleach to the water after filtering?


If I were to feel the need to bleach my water, it would be before filtering it. I would let it sit for a while to let the bleach kill any pathogens, then get filtered out. I don't currently bleach my water before or after. However if I had cause for concern, I would.


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## kroft (Oct 21, 2012)

I started using nothing but ceracarbs after my last Berkey failure. I looked at every brand of gravity candles and decided they were best for me. The aquacera ceracarbs are both nsf 42 & 53. I have been running them for around 6 months with no issues. It is also nice to not find unglued elements when cleaning the upper chamber.


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