FAQ – FILTER ELEMENT STORAGE LIFE
HOW SHOULD I STORE MY BLACK BERKEY® PURIFICATION ELEMENTS AND HOW LONG IS THEIR SHELF-LIFE?
It is best to empty both chambers before storing your Berkey® system because anytime water is still it becomes stagnant, which means it could produce bacteria. We recommend washing your Berkey® system with soapy water before leaving it to dry. If you have used your elements, you should fully dry them before storing. We offer a tool to assist in both priming and purging. This tool is called a Black Berkey Primer™. The benefit to purging the Black Berkey® Purification Elements is that they are dried very quickly. Another option for drying your elements is to leave them on a window sill for one to three day and allow them to air-dry. The key is to ensure they are bone-dry before storing them, to prevent any bacterial growth.
For long term storage, we recommend sealing the purification elements. This can be done with a storage bag such as a large sealable sandwich bag. The elements are extremely powerful and can absorb odors and smoke from the air. By sealing them in a storage bag, they should not absorb any odors from the air. When you are ready to use your elements, clean them by scrubbing the outside with a Scotch-Brite® pad or stiff brush. Then re-prime the elements before being putting them back in the system. In theory, the shelf life of the Black Berkey® elements is indefinite.
FAQ – BLACK BERKEY® PURIFICATION ELEMENT SPECIFICATIONS
BLACK BERKEY®PURIFICATION ELEMENTS
FILTRATION SPECIFICATIONS
Black Berkey® Purification Elements are more powerful than any other gravity filter element currently available. The Elements have a unique purification capability that is due to their unique structure. The micro- pores within the Black Berkey® Elements are so small that viruses and pathogenic bacteria are simply not able to pass through them.
Many water filters on the market may claim to be a water purifier, but do not meet the performance specifications required for this classification. In order to be classified as a water purifier, a water treatment device must remove at least 99.9999% of pathogenic bacteria and reduce viruses by 99.99%. The Black Berkey® Purification Elements can be classified as water purifiers because they remove 99.9999999% of pathogenic bacteria and 99.999% of viruses, which greatly exceeds the standard. The Black Berkey®Purification Element formulation has been tested by State and EPA accredited laboratories to exceed NSF/ANSI Standard 53.
Minor visible chips or dents on the top end of Black Berkey Purification Element is normal in the manufacturing process and this does not in any way affect the performance of the filter.
The Black Berkey® Purification Elements have been tested and confirmed to remove or greatly reduce the contaminants listed below:
VIRUSES >99.999%
Exceeds Purification Standard (Log 4):
MS2 Coliphage – Fr Coliphage
PATHOGENIC BACTERIA SURROGATE >99.9999%
Exceeds Purification Standard (Log 6): Raoultella terrigena
TRIHALOMETHANES – Removed to >99.8%
(Below Lab Detectable Limits):
Bromodichloromethane – Bromoform – Chloroform – Dibromochloromethane
INORGANIC MINERALS
Removed to below Lab Detectable Limits: Chlorine Residual (Total Residual Chlorine)
| Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Removed to below Lab detectable limits |
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| 1,1,1,2-Tetrachloroethane 1,1,1-Trichloroethane (TCA) 1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane 1,1,2-Trichloroethane 1,1,2-Trichlorotrifluoroethane 1,1-Dichloroethane (1,1-DCA) 1,1-Dichloroethylene (1,1-DCE) 1,1-Dichloropropene 1,2,3-Trichlorobenzene 1,2,3-Trichloropropane 1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene 1,2-Dibromo-3-chloropropane (DBCP) 1,2-Dibromoethane 1,2-Dichloro-1,1,2-trifluoroethane (CFC 123a) 1,2-Dichlorobenzene 1,2-Dichlorobenzene-d4 1,2-Dichloroethane 1,2-Dichloropropane 1,3,5-Trimethylbenzene 1,3-Dichlorobenzene 1,3-Dichloropropene 1,4-Dichlorobenzene 2,2-Dichloropropane 2,4,5-T 2,4,5-TP (Silver) 2,4-D 2,4-DB 2-Butanone (MEK) 2-Chlorotoluene 2-Hexanone 2-Methyl-2-propanol 3,5-Dichlorobenzoic Acid 3-Hydroxycarbofuran 4-Bromofluorobenzene 4-Chlorotoluene 4-Isopropyltoluene 4-Methyl-2-pentanone 4-Nitrophenol 5-Hydroxydicamba Acetone Acifluorfen Alachlor Aldicarb Aldicarb Sulfone Aldicarb Sulfoxide Aldrin alpha-Chlorodane Ametryn Aroclor (1016, 1221, 1232, 1242, 1248, 1254, 1260) Atraton Atrazine Baygon Bentazon Benzene Bromacil Bromoacetic Acid Bromobenzene Bromochloromethane Bromodichloromethane Bromomethane Bromoform Butachlor Butylate Carbaryl Carbofuran Carbon Tetrachloride Carboxin Chloramben Chlordane Chloroacetic Acid Chlorobenzene Chloroethane Chloroform Chloromethane Chlorpropham cis-1,2-Dichloroethylene cis-1,3-Dichloropropene cis-Nonachlor Cycloate Dacthal Acid Dalapon Diazinona Dibromoacetic Acid Dibromochloropropane (DBCP) Dibromomethane Dicamba |
Dichloroacetic Acid Dichlorodifluoromethane (CFC 12) Dichloromethane Dichlorvos Diclorprop Dieldrin Dinoseb Diphenamid Disulfoton Disulfoton Sulfone Disulfoton Sulfoxidea Endrin EPTC Ethoprop Ethylbenzene Ethylene Dibromide (EDB) Fenamiphos Fenarimol Fluorobenzene Fluridone gamma-Chlorodane Glyphosate Halo acidic Acids (HAA5) Heptachlor Heptachlor Epoxide Hexachlorobenzene Hexachlorobutadiene (CCC) Hexachlorocyclopentadiene Hexazinone Isopropylbenzene (Cumene) Lindane (Gamma-BHC) Merphos Methiocarb Methomyl Methoxychlor Methyl Paraoxon Methyl tert-Butyl Ether (MTBE) Metolachlor Metribuzin Mevinphos MGK 264 Molinate Monochlorobenzene m-Xylenes Naphthalene Napropamide n-Butylbenzene Norflurazon n-Propylbenzene Oxamyl o-Xylene Pebulate Pentachlorophenol Picloram Prometon Prometryn Pronamidea Propazine p-Xylenes sec-Butylbenzene Simazine Simetryn Stirofos Styrene Tebuthiuron Terbacil Terbufos Terbutryn tert-Butylbenzene Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) Tetrahydrofuran (THF) Thiobencarb Toluene Toxaphene trans-1,2-Dichloroethylene trans-1,3-Dichloropropene trans-Nonachlor Triademefon Tribromoacetic Acid Trichloroacetic Acid Trichloroethene (TCE) Trichloroethylene Trichlorofluoromethane (CFC 11) Tricyclazole Vernolate Vinyl Chloride |