If you are looking to buy the best gravity water filter, there’s a good chance you’ve narrowed down your search to Berkey and Propur. They look and cost pretty much the same, but if you look close enough, there are some fundamental differences that you might not want to miss.
First off, deciding to filter your water at home has a lot of benefits for your family both from a health and financial point of view. When you filter water, it will cleanse the water, eliminate pollutants, enhance its taste, and basically make it safe for human consumption.
WHAT ARE GRAVITY FILTERS?
Berkey and Propur filters are sometimes called gravity filters because it works with the help of gravity.
They come in two chambers, one stacked on top of the other. You filter the water by pouring it on the top chamber where the filters are attached. The water is pulled down by gravity to the bottom chamber through the filters.
There microscopic holes in the filters, allowing the water to pass through. These holes block out the contaminants and sediment, giving clean drinking water.
You can access the purified water through the spigot attached in the lower chamber.
A little backstory…
BERKEY: The Berkey filters have been providing water filters to customers since the late 1990s. It started as a small family business in Colorado and then went on to expand into a wide collection of models and unique water filters. It is manufactured by a company called New Millennium Concepts, Ltd. in Arlington, Texas. They manufacture their black Berkey filters in the US and imports the stainless steel housing parts. The parts are assembled in the US. Our Big Berkey Water Filter Review is available to read here.
PROPUR: Propur started as a small Michigan company in 2011. Today the Company distributes its filters worldwide. They manufacture their filter elements in England and assemble their “imported and domestic components” in the US.
PROPUR Vs BERKEY 2 GALLON WATER FILTERS
For an in-depth Berkey vs. Propur Water Filters review, I’m going to be doing a side by side comparison of the Big Berkey 3.25 Gallon System Bundle Water Filter and Propur Big 2 ProOne G2.0. I have put together a lot of information showing you how they work, how they compare and how effectively they filter out contaminants from your drinking water.
There’s a comparison table for you to look at and a pretty long list of the contaminants each filter can remove. You won’t find every single one of the contaminants in this list because there are just too many to fit into a readable review!
I must also point out that I’m a consumer, just like you. With needs, just like you.
Whatever is written in this review is my take on what I have experienced and observed, not some scientific conclusion drawn from some elaborate lab test.
BIG BERKEY 3.25 GALLON SYSTEM BUNDLE WATER FILTER
Berkey is by far one of the most dearly loved household names among gravity filters. This is the brand that my family has been using ever since we had our first kid. Now we are down to our third kid, and it’s still our #1 choice.
Their major selling point is the ability to remove fluoride. It is notoriously difficult to remove fluoride in significant quantities, and their PF-2 filters do an amazing job.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS:
- BB9 (Black Berkey Purification Elements) to purify water.
- PF-2 (Fluoride and Arsenic Filters) to absorb Arsenic, Flouride and heavy metal ions present in the water.
- Sturdy AISI 304 highly polished stainless steel housing.
- BPA free stainless steel water bottle with Rubber Grips. Holds 3.25 gallons.
PROS:
- Removes all types of contaminants effectively.
- Removes fluoride with PF-2 filters.
- Purifies any kind of water except salt.
- Long lasting filter life (3-5 years.)
- Simple installation process.
- Portable.
- Better tasting water.
- Easy maintenance.
- Attractive design with stainless steel housing.
CONS:
- Filters need priming before use.
- Spigot is made of plastic (stainless steel replacement available for purchase.)
- Difficult to manually top up system with water.
The Propur Big 2 ProOne G2.0 comes from a relatively younger brand. Despite this, their product quality has quickly stacked up with some of the biggest players in the market, making them a popular gravity filter choice.
With this one, you get two filter elements. The outer layer has a silver infused ceramic, and the inside is a granular activated carbon base. This out-of-the-box construct gives the filters a solid performance without any need for an additional filter to remove fluoride unlike the Berkey filters.
Propur is exceptionally popular for removing lead – a major topic in the news lately. If you take a look at the contamination reduction table, you will see that it is pretty good at removing contaminants. Sadly, it does not perform so well at removing radioactive substances.
FEATURE HIGHLIGHTS:
- Includes 2 all-in-one ProOne G2.0 filter elements (maximum 3 filters.)
- Sturdy 304 stainless steel spigot and a non-slip pad.
- High quality 304 polished stainless steel housing for attractive appearance and durability.
- 872 refills with 2.75-gallon capacity.
PROS:
- Removes most contaminants, including fluoride.
- Filter elements do not need to be primed.
- Solid stainless steel housing and spigot.
- Purifies all kinds of water except salt water.
CONS:
- Difficult to install knob on the lid.
- Does not effectively remove radioactive contaminants.
- Longevity of just 1 year.
BERKEY Vs. PROPUR WATER FILTERS COMPARISON TABLE
COMPANY | NMCL | PROPUR |
MODEL | Big Berkey | Pro Big |
FILTER ELEMENT COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE | USA | England |
ELEMENT COMPOSITION | Proprietary formulation of Carbon and 5 other types of media | Silver infused ceramic and granular activated carbon |
BASE DAILY OUTPUT (GPD) | 84 | 9 |
MAX DAILY OUTPUT(GPD) | 168 | 18.5 |
SPIGOT MATERIAL | Plastic | Stainless Steel |
HEIGHT | 23.00” | 21.5” |
DIAMETER | 9.5” | 9.25” |
FILTER LIFE | 3-5 years | 1 year |
APPROX. PEOPLE SERVED | 42 | 4 |
STORAGE TANK CAPACITY | 3.25 gallons | 2.75 gallons |
MAX GALLONS PER FILTER | 3000 | 1500 |
FILTERS PRIMING | Yes | No |
FOOD COLOR TEST | Pass | Pass |
TURBIDITY FLOW RATE TEST | Pass | Pass |
TEST RESULTS AVAILABLE | Yes | No |
TESTED TO NSF STANDARDS | Yes | Yes |
NSF CERTIFIED CLAIMED | No | Yes |
GUARANTEE | 6 Mo./2 Yr | 2 Year |
SYSTEM PRODUCTION | Plasma welded | Deep drawn |
FLUORIDE REMOVAL | 99.9% with fluoride filter | 96.3% |
ELECTRICITY REQUIRED | No | No |
PLUMBING REQUIRED | No | No |
DRY WEIGHT | 6 lbs | 5 lbs |
CONTAMINANT % REDUCTION OF Propur Vs Berkey Water Filters
CONTAMINANT | BERKEY | PROPUR |
NITRATE | 95% | 100% |
ALUMINUM | 99.10% | 98% |
ANTIMONY | 99.90% | 100% |
ARSENIC | 99.90% | 99.70% |
LEAD | 99.90% | 100% |
BARIUM | 95% | 99% |
CHROMIUM VI | 99.80% | 98.70% |
MERCURY | 99.90% | 98.40% |
CHLORAMINES | 99.90% | 99.90% |
FREE CHLORINE | 99.90% | 99.90% |
CHLORIDE | 99.60% | 99.90% |
FLUORIDE | 99.90% | N/A |
SODIUM FLUORIDE | N/A | 97.50% |
HEXAFLUOROSILICATE | N/A | 94% |
FLUOROSILICIC ACID | N/A | 96.30% |
TURBIDITY | 97.80% | N/A |
BENZEZE | 99.80% | 99.90% |
TOLUENE | 99.80% | 99.80% |
STYRENE | 99.80% | 99.90% |
MTBE | 99.60% | 96.30% |
GLYPHOSATE | 75% | 100% |
ATRAZINE | 99.90% | 99% |
DDT | 99.90% | 99.80% |
CAFFEINE | 99.90% | 95.50% |
PETROLEUM CONTAMINANTS | 99.90% | N/A |
MS-2 BACTERIOPHAGE (VIRUS) | 99.90% | N/A |
TERRIGENA (BACTERIA) RAOULTELLA (KLEBSIELLA) | 99.90% | 99.99% |
GIARDIA LAMBLIA (CYST) | N/A | 99.90% |
GROSS BETA (RADIOACTIVITY) | 95.30% | 84.10% |
GROSS ALPHA (RADIOACTIVITY) | 98.70% | 81.60% |
Source: theberkey.com, propurusa.com
BIG BERKEY VS PROPUR CONCLUSION
Both these gravity water filters will give you great tasting water. That’s a given.
You just really can’t go wrong with either of these two in terms of structural integrity and providing pure drinking water.
Berkey is an older brand and has a stronger reputation. It also filters a lot faster than Propur, and the stainless steel finish is to-die-for. But it requires a lot of upkeep with more filter swaps than Propur.
Propur, on the other hand, will give you the convenience of filter replacements once a year without keeping track of the gallons. Their 304 lifetime warranty is also pretty impressive.
Having said that, Berkey has an edge over Propur. It is a classified water purifier because of the significant number of contaminants that it can filter out. If you want to keep out the harmful radioactive substances and other contaminants more effectively, the Berkey gravity filter is your pick.
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