Thanks for your post! This is a survival product, and Berky needs to issue recalls, NOW!
I had previously been extremely disappointed with the extremely cheap spout....POS.
After complaining to Berky and being ignored, I ended up paying for a new one, made a bit better, but still not the quality the consumer would expect from survival equipment.
I would like to see the test results of Berky filtration. They make ultimate claims ie drink from any water source. Bet you we would be disappointed with an actual comparison test.
It is a survival product, but also an every day product for lots of people. Berkey needs to do a recall, but won’t. Originally, they replaced the filters, but have gotten cheap. They are keeping the defective filters a secret. If your filters have been in use for 6 months, they charge a 25% proration. After a year, 50%.
This is a document that describes how to return defective filters. http://www.berkeywater.com/Element.pdf
If you do a google search on ‘Berkey defect’, you’ll find plenty of discussions by unhappy folks who ponied up hundreds of dollars for their Berkey and filters, and now find out that not only have they been drinking unfiltered water, but they are now expected to pay again for replacements.
We bought the Berkey because the filters are ceramic. When they get clogged, you are supposed to be able to use a green scotch pad on them (gently) and reuse them, for years. So you pay a huge premium for the Berkey, but without having to buy replacement filters all the time, you actually save in the end, right? Wrong. The filters are coming apart when gently handled. They come apart while being put into the stainless steel base, so how can they survive a scrubbing?