Black Berkey alternative: what fits in your Berkey

Why the original Black Berkey filter elements disappeared

In early 2023, the American environmental agency EPA ruled that the Black Berkey elements fall under the American pesticide law: the filters contain silver (registered in the US as a pesticide) and claims were made about combating bacteria and viruses. The result: production of replacement elements has been at a standstill ever since, while Berkey's lawsuit against the EPA is still ongoing. New complete Berkey systems are still supplied with original elements from the remaining stock, but separate replacements are no longer available. And the stainless steel housings in particular are indestructible, so what fits in them?

Three successors, same housing

The BOROUX Foundation filter is the most popular alternative, made by the team behind the largest American Berkey dealer together with the factory that made the original Black Berkey formula. Same basic formula, same place of production, new patented improvements, and on paper a different product: it no longer makes any micro-organism claims, which means the element falls neatly within the EPA rules. With average use a set lasts about three years (based on Dutch tap water and average use. Please note! This is therefore a practical guideline and not a fixed replacement period). Read the whole BOROUX story.

The Phoenix Gravity New Millennium Edition filter is made on behalf of New Millennium Concepts, the brand owner of Berkey itself. Slightly smaller than the original, made in India, with a replacement cycle of about a year. More recently on the market, so with less long-term experience than the BOROUX variant.

The Coldstream FTO PLUS filter is the different kind of option: ceramic, no priming needed and fluoride reduction included, from the English factory that also made the ProOne G2.0 elements. If you want to get away from black carbon elements, this lets you switch in one go.

If you want to keep fluoride and arsenic reduction with the black elements: the original PF-2 add-on filters are still available, and the new BOROUX Proactive supplementary filters also fit directly onto Black Berkey and BOROUX Foundation filter elements.

Which one do you choose?

Count on lifespan, not on purchase price. The BOROUX Foundation costs more per element but lasts many times longer; the Phoenix is kindly priced to get started with; the Coldstream wins on convenience. All three provide their performance figures per substance in test reports, and that is exactly what you want to choose on.