Berkey Water Filter Review: Big and Travel Berkey, Phoenix Filters and the EPA Fight

Like our Content? Stay connected via Google

Follow us for the latest health and wellness information.

When Berkey reached out and offered to send me a Big Berkey and a Travel Berkey, I said yes. They’ve been on my radar for a while since they use stainless steel for the bulk of the unit, possibly lowering the risk of PFAS . Both units are on their way to me now. This Berkey water filter review is the research half of the story: what changed with Berkey’s filters, what the certifications on the box do and don’t cover, what Berkey’s own lab reports show, where the EPA fight landed and what peer-reviewed research says about carbon filters and PFAS. I haven’t used either unit yet, so nothing below is a hands-on claim. When they arrive, the Big Berkey goes on my counter next to the reverse osmosis system I already use and the Travel Berkey comes to Utah with us this winter. I’ll update this review with both.

The story starts in a Utah ski rental. Every winter we rent a place there to snowboard and every winter I end up improvising our drinking water. After seeing reports on what’s in municipal drinking water, it’s hard for me to go without a filter. One year that meant a secondhand countertop reverse osmosis unit I found on Facebook Marketplace. The next year it was a Brita, which did the job but left my filtered water sitting in plastic, the one material I spend the rest of the year trying to get out of my kitchen.

Disclaimer: Links may contain affiliate links, which means we may get paid a commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase through this page. Read our full disclosure here.

Berkey sent both systems at no cost. All opinions and research are my own.

What Is a Berkey Water Filter?

A Berkey is a countertop gravity filter. You pour tap water into the top stainless chamber, gravity pulls it through the filter elements hanging from that chamber and filtered water collects in the bottom chamber, which has a spigot. There’s no plumbing, no electricity and no water pressure involved, which is why you see Berkeys in RVs, off-grid cabins and rental kitchens.

Berkey systems come from New Millennium Concepts (NMCL), a Texas company that sells through authorized dealers rather than directly to you. The chambers are AISI 304 stainless steel, and Berkey’s Big Berkey page says they’re assembled in the USA from US and imported parts.

The stainless is the reason I was interested in Berkey long before they emailed me. It isn’t the whole story on plastic, though. The Phoenix filter elements sit on a base made from glass-filled polymer, which Berkey describes as BPA free and food-contact compliant. So a Berkey puts far less plastic in contact with your water than a pitcher filter does. That said, it isn’t totally plastic-free.

Black Berkey vs Phoenix Filters: What Changed

Most Berkey reviews you’ll find describe the Black Berkey elements, the filters the brand built its reputation on. Those elements are now caught up in the EPA dispute I explain below and NMCL has an official replacement called the Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition element. Berkey’s own site now lists a Big Berkey configured with Phoenix elements, while its Travel Berkey listing still names Black Berkey elements. The authorized dealer I link to sells both models with two Black Berkey elements, and that’s what Berkey is sending me: Black Berkey elements in both systems, plus a set of PF-2 fluoride and arsenic elements for each. So my hands-on testing will be on Black Berkey elements. When those wear out, though, the replacement you can buy through authorized US dealers is Phoenix, which is why this review covers both.

According to Berkey’s Phoenix product page, the new elements are made from coconut shell activated carbon that’s molded and sintered into a dense block. They’re made and assembled in India, they fit every Berkey system and they work with the PF-2 fluoride and arsenic add-on filters.

The trade is easy to see in that table. Phoenix elements carry a third-party certification the Black Berkey never had, but it’s a narrow one, and the new media is carbon rather than Berkey’s original blend. That changes what you should expect them to remove, which is where the certification question comes in.

Is Berkey NSF Certified? What 42 and 372 Cover

Yes, the Phoenix elements are, but only for two standards, and both are narrower than most people assume. Berkey’s Phoenix page says the elements are certified to NSF/ANSI 42 and NSF/ANSI/CAN 372.

• NSF/ANSI 42 covers aesthetic effects: chlorine, chloramines and particulates that change how water tastes and smells. Berkey’s own description calls these non-health-related contaminants.
• NSF/ANSI/CAN 372 is about the filter’s materials. It confirms the parts that touch your water meet lead-free requirements. It does not mean the filter removes lead from water.

Neither one covers health-related contaminants like lead or PFAS. The EPA’s fact sheet on home filters tells you to look for NSF/ANSI 53 or NSF/ANSI 58 if you’re buying a filter to reduce PFAS and to check the certifier’s online directory if you’re unsure. Phoenix elements don’t carry either one.

Berkey’s position is that its elements have been tested by accredited third-party labs using EPA guidelines and NSF protocols. Testing to a protocol and being certified under it aren’t the same thing. Certification means an independent body ran the test and lists the product publicly, where you can look it up yourself. Lab reports a brand commissions can still be useful, but you’re trusting the brand to show you the whole picture.

Berkey Lab Test Results: Phoenix vs Black Berkey

Since certification doesn’t answer the PFAS and lead questions, I read the lab reports Berkey publishes instead: all five Phoenix reports and the Black Berkey reports for PFOA and lead. NMCL commissioned every one of them. Here’s what they show side by side.

The early numbers are strong across the board. The Phoenix reports also cover dozens of pesticides, VOCs, disinfection byproducts and pharmaceuticals, nearly all reported below the lab’s reporting limit. What the reports leave out matters just as much to me:

• Most of each element’s life is untested. The longest PFAS run, in the RAYNU PFOA and PFOS report, stops at 1,500 liters and says testing is continuing. The RAYNU heavy metals and PFAS report describes its results as the initial stage of testing.
• The PFAS reporting limit sits above the EPA’s. Phoenix results are reported as below 5 parts per trillion, and the EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS is 4. So these reports can’t tell you whether filtered water lands under the federal limit, which is the number I care about with PFOS at 11.6 in my own tap water.
• Capacity shows up in the one long lead test. In the Black Berkey lead report, lead in the filtered water started climbing after 160 gallons. The challenge water held roughly 1,000 micrograms per liter, far more than most tap water, so a household filter would load much more slowly. Still, it’s the clearest sign in the set that a gallon rating isn’t a lead rating.
• The Black Berkey PFAS data is thin. The Black Berkey PFOA report ran 25 gallons and estimated every other PFAS from the PFOA result.

The dealer I link to publishes its own Phoenix vs Black Berkey comparison and says that the two weren’t tested side by side under one protocol, so the percentages shouldn’t be read as a winner. I agree. What the reports support is that both elements reduce PFAS and lead well when new, under each lab’s conditions. They don’t show how either performs near the end of its rating, and that’s the part I’d want before trusting one for lead.

The important thing is that these numbers are far better than drinking water straight from the tap. For context, this is the EWG data for water in my city (you can follow that link to look for your zip code too) that made me start filtering water back in 2020. Once you see numbers like this, you start to realize the importance of figuring out some kind of solution for your drinking water.

The Berkey Lawsuit and EPA Stop-Sale, Explained

The short version: the EPA decided the silver in Black Berkey elements made them a pesticide product that needed registration, ordered sellers to stop selling them and Berkey’s legal challenges have not undone that so far. Here’s the sequence, drawn from the court records rather than from either side’s press releases.

• The silver question. Black Berkey elements contain silver. Under the federal pesticide law (FIFRA), the EPA treats a product that uses silver to control bacteria as a pesticide that has to be registered. According to the federal court opinion in Texas, the EPA issued Stop Sale, Use or Removal Orders on Berkey products between December 2022 and March 2023.
• NMCL sued and lost on standing. NMCL and the trust that owns the Berkey brand sued the EPA in 2023. The court dismissed the case because neither of them had received a stop-sale order, so they couldn’t show the injury a lawsuit requires. The Fifth Circuit affirmed that dismissal on August 9, 2024.
• The manufacturer filed its own case. Berkey International, the company that makes Berkey products and did receive a stop-sale order, sued the EPA in federal court in Puerto Rico in March 2024. When I researched this in October 2026, I could not find a final ruling in that case.
• A separate consumer case. A consumer class action alleged that Black Berkey elements don’t perform as advertised. Green Matters, citing a statement from NMCL, reported that the plaintiffs did not allege any physical harm.

What it means for you: the stop-sale orders were about registration under pesticide law. They were not a finding that water from a Berkey is unsafe to drink. The practical effect is supply. Black Berkey production has been disrupted, counterfeits are a known problem (Berkey keeps a buyer beware page on spotting them) and the Phoenix element is NMCL’s answer. Berkey’s Phoenix page describes coconut shell carbon and makes no mention of silver.

Why Black Berkey filters contain silver

Silver is there to protect the filter element, not to disinfect your water. A filter element sits damp between refills and traps organic matter from the water, which gives bacteria a place to grow. Silver is toxic to many bacteria, so manufacturers add it to keep that growth in check inside the element. The Texas court opinion puts it plainly: the EPA learned in 2022 that Berkey systems contain silver for antimicrobial purposes and the EPA has regulated silver in pesticide products since 1954. That’s how a water filter ended up under pesticide law.

Silver’s antimicrobial effect itself is well established and still being studied. A 2026 review in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences describes how silver ions damage bacterial cell membranes, generate reactive oxygen species and interfere with protein synthesis and DNA replication. A 2026 lab study in Chemical Science found silver ions bind the enzymes Staphylococcus aureus uses to build its cell wall, including in drug-resistant MRSA. Bacteria in that study also developed resistance to silver less often than to conventional antibiotics. In people, the strongest recent evidence is on skin, not in water: a 2026 meta-analysis in the British Journal of Surgery pooled 21 randomized trials and found silver wound dressings cut surgical-site infections by 22 percent compared with standard dressings. None of that tells you how silver performs inside a water filter, which is where the evidence gets thinner.

The research on how well silver works in a filter is older and thinner than I’d like. In a 1981 study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, three point-of-use carbon filters on chlorinated city water all grew bacteria: counts in the filtered water rose for three weeks and stayed high through the eight-week study. The filters containing silver held back coliform bacteria but not overall bacterial growth. A 1995 study in the same journal found bacteria climbed in carbon-filtered well water that sat in the filter overnight, then dropped below the incoming water’s levels after a two-minute flush. Neither study tested a Berkey. The takeaway I’d apply to one: use it regularly and keep the chambers clean rather than count on the silver.

On safety, the known risk from swallowing too much silver over a long time is argyria, a permanent blue-gray discoloration of the skin. The CDC’s toxic substances agency calls it a cosmetic problem that may not otherwise harm health. The EPA recommends keeping silver in drinking water below 0.10 milligrams per liter to prevent it. Reviews in the Journal of Clinical Medicine and the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology trace argyria mostly to workplace exposure, medical treatments and long-term drinking of silver solutions. The World Health Organization’s 2022 fact sheet says the data aren’t strong enough to set a health-based limit, uses 0.1 milligrams per liter as a provisional reference for point-of-use devices and says silver is not recommended for disinfecting drinking water, including in those devices.

What I couldn’t find is the number that matters most here: how much silver a Black Berkey element releases into the water. Neither Black Berkey report I read measures it and I haven’t found independent data. If Berkey shares it, I’ll add it here. Phoenix elements, per Berkey’s own page, don’t list silver at all.

What a Berkey Filters Out: PFAS, Lead, Fluoride and More

Black Berkey elements, the ones in my boxes, use a proprietary blend Berkey doesn’t fully disclose. A Berkey with Phoenix elements is a carbon filter, so it should behave like one: good at chlorine, taste and many organic chemicals, limited on dissolved minerals and salts. Here’s how that plays out for the contaminants people ask about most, with what’s certified, what’s claimed and what the research says.

Does Berkey remove PFAS?

This is the one I care about most, and it’s personal. The EWG Tap Water Database entry for my water utility shows PFOS at 11.6 parts per trillion. The EPA’s enforceable limit for PFOS, finalized in April 2024, is 4.0 parts per trillion, and utilities have until 2029 to meet it (in May 2026 the EPA proposed letting some systems request two more years). That gap is why I filter at home in the first place, and it’s why I wrote my guide to what PFAS are and how they get into our bodies.

Berkey says the Phoenix elements adsorb PFAS, PFOA and PFOS. They are not certified for it, and the lab reports above show strong results early in each element’s life. So what does independent research say about carbon filters like this one?

• Coconut shell carbon can work, unevenly. A field study published in Science of the Total Environment found that household point-of-use purifiers built on coconut shell activated carbon removed between 21 percent and 99 percent of 14 different PFAS from tap water. How hydrophobic each PFAS was largely decided how well it stuck to the carbon. These were not Berkeys, so this tells you what the material can do, not what a Phoenix element does.
• Real-world evidence is thin. A 2024 review in Science of the Total Environment found that only a handful of peer-reviewed studies have measured PFAS at the tap after home filtration, that not every filter tested worked well (short-chain PFAS were the hardest to catch) and that a poorly maintained carbon filter might even raise PFAS levels in the filtered water.
• Home filters help when the water changes fast. After firefighting foam got into the water system in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, researchers writing in ACS ES&T Water found PFOS above 4 parts per trillion in 5 of 15 homes five months later, with kitchen taps carrying the highest levels. The point-of-use filters they handed out removed specific PFAS effectively.

My read: a carbon gravity filter is a reasonable tool for PFAS, the replacement schedule matters and without an NSF/ANSI 53 or 58 certification you’re relying on the manufacturer’s lab reports for the size of the effect. PFAS also behave like endocrine disruptors, which is why I don’t treat water as a single fix. It’s one exposure source among several.

Lead and heavy metals

Berkey’s lab reports show lead reduced below detection when the elements are new and the one long Black Berkey lead test shows lead coming through after 160 gallons at an extreme challenge level. The only lead-related certification the Phoenix elements hold, NSF/ANSI/CAN 372, is about lead in the filter’s own materials. If lead is your main concern (older homes, older service lines), look for a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for lead reduction, or test your water first so you know what you’re dealing with.

Fluoride

For fluoride, Berkey sells PF-2 elements that attach beneath the main elements in the lower chamber, listed at $103 on Berkey’s site. Berkey also says the Phoenix elements leave total dissolved solids unchanged, yet its Atom Testing Laboratory report shows a Phoenix element alone cutting fluoride from 8 to 1.96 milligrams per liter (75.5 percent) in a high-concentration test. I’d read that as a partial effect, not a reason to skip PF-2. EWG’s data for my utility lists fluoride at 1.14 parts per million, and Berkey is including a set of PF-2 elements with each of my systems. Reverse osmosis reduces fluoride without an add-on.

Microplastics

Berkey’s Phoenix page describes microfiltration that traps silt, sediment, rust and particulates in the block’s pores, but it makes no specific microplastics claim, and the NSF certifications above don’t cover microplastics. I can’t tell you a Berkey removes them.

Bacteria and untreated water

This is where the Berkey story has changed the most. Black Berkey marketing leaned on filtering lake and river water. The Phoenix page describes filters designed for contaminants in municipal drinking water and the Travel Berkey page tells you to pour in water from a treated freshwater source, even though the Big Berkey listing still mentions raw freshwater. Until I see testing for the exact element in the box, I’d use a Berkey on treated tap water only.

Big Berkey vs Travel Berkey

The Big Berkey is the one most people mean when they say “a Berkey,” and it’s the size Berkey recommends for everyday use by 1 to 4 people. It’s also the unit my hands-on Big Berkey review will focus on. The Travel Berkey is smaller and, per Berkey, fits in most carry-on or larger suitcases. Here’s how they compare on paper, using the specs from Berkey’s own product pages.

Two things stand out. The price depends on which elements are in the box and who’s selling it, so check the element type before you buy either one. And the Big Berkey’s upper chamber nests inside the lower one for transport, standing 13 inches tall packed, so the size gap is smaller in a suitcase than it looks on a counter.

Berkey vs Reverse Osmosis: What I’ll Be Comparing

A Berkey is not a reverse osmosis system. Reverse osmosis uses water pressure to push water through a membrane fine enough to hold back dissolved salts, metals and fluoride, then usually runs it through carbon too. A Berkey uses gravity and carbon, and Berkey says it leaves minerals like calcium and magnesium in the water on purpose.

When I moved into my current home, I installed a reverse osmosis system and a whole-home carbon filter, which I first wrote about in my non-toxic air fryer guide. That’s the setup the Big Berkey will sit beside. Here’s the framework I’ll use, filled in with what’s true on paper today.

On paper, reverse osmosis removes more. A Berkey asks for less: no plumbing, no power, no wastewater and no plastic reservoir. This makes it a great option for renters, RV living or those not comfortable with DIY installations or having to pay a professional.

What I want to find out is how that trade feels day to day, how the water tastes with and without its minerals (although my RO adds them back) and whether I end up reaching for one over the other. I’ll add what I find here and if there’s enough to say, it’ll get its own full comparison.

Taking a Travel Berkey to a Utah Ski Rental

This is the test I’m most curious about. I already plan every snow trip around what fits in the board bag and the suitcase (my ski trip packing list has the whole system), and a water filter has always been the awkward extra. A secondhand reverse osmosis unit worked but wasn’t something I wanted to buy again for every trip and using the Brita meant plastic, which I was never happy about since I spend a lot of time and energy removing plastics from my kitchen.

Berkey’s own product FAQ says to remove the filter elements before moving any Berkey system, packing them in secure, water-tight packaging so the stems don’t break and notes that the top and bottom chambers nest for packing. Here’s what I’ll report back from the rental:

• How it packs next to snowboard gear and whether the elements survive the flight
• How long setup and priming take in an unfamiliar kitchen
• Whether 1.5 gallons keeps up with our drinking and cooking at altitude
• How the filtered water tastes compared with what I’m used to at home

How Long Berkey Filters Last, Priming and Cleaning

Berkey rates the Phoenix elements at 2,750 gallons each, or 5,500 gallons for the standard pair, and says they may need replacing sooner depending on your water. Black Berkey elements are rated at 3,000 gallons each. At the $120 listed price for a pair of Phoenix elements, that’s a little over 2 cents a gallon before the PF-2 add-on. For a household filtering 2 gallons a day, a pair would last about seven and a half years on paper. I’d expect real life to be shorter, and the PFAS review above is a good reason not to stretch a carbon filter past its rating.

Priming is required before first use and after a long stretch without use. Per Berkey’s Phoenix page, the box includes a PrimeEasy primer that fits over your faucet so tap water flushes carbon dust out of the elements and pushes air out of the pores, which lets water flow through. The box also includes two vials of red food coloring for the red dye test many Berkey owners use as a check on their elements. I’ll photograph both steps when mine arrive.

Cleaning: Berkey says the Phoenix elements are re-cleanable during their life. I’ll document the routine and how often I need it once I’ve lived with the system, rather than repeat instructions I haven’t followed yet.

Is Berkey Worth It? Who It Makes Sense For

Based on the research, a Berkey makes the most sense if you:

• Drink treated city water and want better taste and less chlorine without installing anything
• Want stainless chambers instead of a plastic pitcher or reservoir
• Rent, travel often or want water you can filter when the power is out

I’d skip it, or pair it with something else, if:

• Lead is your main worry, since there’s no NSF/ANSI 53 certification for lead reduction
• You want certified PFAS reduction you can look up in a directory
• You want fluoride or nitrate out without add-ons, which is reverse osmosis territory
• You live in California or Iowa, where Berkey filtration products aren’t sold

As a gift: a Travel Berkey or Big Berkey is a thoughtful pick for someone already working to get plastic out of their kitchen, or for the skier or RV traveler who’s tired of buying cases of bottled water. Pair it with the PF-2 elements if fluoride matters to them and confirm which elements come in the box.

So is Berkey worth it? For treated tap water and a no-install, low-plastic setup, the research says it’s a reasonable buy, as long as you go in knowing what the certifications cover. The rest of this Berkey water filter review gets written at my counter and in that Utah rental. If you’ve been eyeing one, you can see current Berkey pricing here and the PFAS-free cookware I tested is the next swap I’d make in the same kitchen.

What I Can’t Tell You Yet

This is the outline for my hands-on update, so you know exactly what’s coming:

• How adding the PF-2 elements changes setup and flow
• How the Big Berkey’s water tastes next to my reverse osmosis water
• Real flow rates and how often I refill the top chamber
• How priming, the red dye test and cleaning go in practice
• How the Travel Berkey handles a flight and a week in a ski rental
• My rating for each, with the reasons behind it

How I Keep This Review Current

Everything above comes from Berkey’s own product pages and published lab reports, court records, EPA documents and peer-reviewed research I pulled and read for this review in October 2026. Where I haven’t used something myself, I’ve said so. When my units arrive, I’ll add my own photos and hands-on notes, give each system a rating and update anything that has changed, including the status of the Berkey International case and any new lab reports Berkey publishes.