Jerry and I have talked about the need to have a good water filter handy in case we have to get drinking water from the creek. I looked at some on Lehman’s, but they run around $270!!
I was very excited to find in the comments section of their product page a link that somebody had left telling how to make your own home made Berkey water filter out of two 5 gallon buckets with lids, a pair of Berkey filter elements, and a food grade spigot. You can usually find food grade buckets and lids in the bakery department of your grocery store for free. Read the whole ingenious step-by-step on how to make your own water filter for less HERE.
A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
One way to check for dissolved particles in the filtered water is with the Zero water filtering “stick” that comes with the Zero water pitcher/ container. I have purchased 2 of these because we have hard water. I don’t know if Berkey filters can filter out bacteria, but I would probably still boil creek water for 5 minutes even after it’s filtered. I guess that means on a camp fire if the electricity is out.
Kikkoman Soy Sauce comes in 5 gallon buckets. You can talk them out of oriental stores. I find them at Korean markets in the area. Try restaurants and markets with an Asian Deli.
You can get a kit for doing this including the filter for $30 from Cheaper Than Dirt. All you have to do is provide the buckets. http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/CAMP352-1.html The filter elements look different than the Berkeys, but they do the same job. They are used by missionaries in the 3rd world.
We have the Berkey Lite (a little cheaper!) and LOVE it! We got it for our survival stuff, but use it for everyday drinking water because we love it so much!
Thank s for posting this! Hubs was going to get me a Berkey for Valentine’s (you might be a survivalist if…) but maybe we can do this instead and save some money.
Just wanted to throw out another thank you! Your blog is both interesting and very useful. I hope to never “need” to use this but am glad to have the knowledge just in case. Thanks for all you do and all you share with us!
Thank you for this information !! I have been looking through my Lehman’s catalog and dreaming I could afford one of the Berkley water filters …Not happening any time soon !! :\
I have been getting FREE buckets from my local Walmart for our honey, but now they won’t give them out anymore. Now, I can get free buckets from my local Kroger store. That saves a little $$$ right there.
Time to start looking for filters…
Thanks again sweetie !!!
Cathy,
Glad I could help 🙂