Hi Hobie,

I've been using a Berkey Light gravity-fed filter system for the past 12 years. It's portable, easy to maintain, and has been a reliable workhorse over that time.

Every couple of years, I purchase and replace the two types of filters (the Black Berkey filters remove general pathogens and bacteria, and separate PF-2 filters remove Fluoride and Arsenic) that it takes in order to keep the system running optimally. While the filters run several hundred dollars if you replace both sets at the same time, it is less expensive than maintaining a Reverse Osmosis system.

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DO BERKEY FILTERS REMOVE MINERALS?
No, and that's a good thing!
https://berkeyhome.com/pages/do-berkey-filters-remove-minerals

The filters in Berkey Water Systems, known as the Black Berkey Filter, removes sedimentary minerals but keeps beneficial (ionic) minerals. This is because the media formation of the filter elements doesn’t attract beneficial minerals. So minerals such as calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium pass through the filter. Sedimentary minerals that are attracted to the filter media such as chloramine and chloride are removed from water along with heavy metals such as aluminum, cadmium, chromium and copper.