Gravity water filters care and feeding

[Grumpy Old Man]

Well as I said in another thread, I've been traveling a lot the last few weeks. And my Cera Grav filter is one year old so it's time to change the candles. Note that this uses the same filters as a Berkey; it just doesn't have the "coolness look" of stainless steel!




I got them ordered and delivered along with PF-4 post filter reduction elements(Think organic compounds, heavy metals, fluorine and MTBE removal). These are Sterasyl Super candles. Here's what I found when I went to replace them.



First I removed the filters and saw the grunge.



Next I cleaned out the body of the filter with Lysol wipes

[Grumpy Old Man]

I should note that the filter sat idle for 2 weeks and that is what caused the algae growth.

Next I used vinegar to clean out the Lysol residue and sterilize the cambers



Next I installed the new filter candle



Now it is ready to prime! You'll notice that I went from 4 candles (2 Super Sterasyl and 2Super Sterasyl Imperials). I did this based on flow rates and needs. I don't use much more than 5 gallons in any given day, so 1 candle that will filter 4 gal/day is adequate. This also allows me to have 3 years of back-ups since I order by the 4 pack. A comparison of filters can be found here

Water filters installation manuals, instructions, specifications

More on this tomorrow after I prime the candle. We will install the PF-4 filter then.

[Taz Baby]

Wow thanks for reminding me to change our filters, lol. I use hot vinager water for cleaning ours. And your right if you don,t use much water then only 1 filter is fine.

[bacpacker]

Good stuff Grumpy. I have a set of filters for my Berkey. I may get a second set and build a set up with 2 buckets. Nice link also.

[mollypup]

Did you clean the old filters and will reuse them again? If so, did they clean up well?

[Grumpy Old Man]

I'll be cleaning the old filters and using them for back-up as well. Doulton says that the effective life is 6 months because the activated carbon is "used up". The ceramic body is silver impregnated so it is still functional. I'm not so sure that the activated carbon is totally consumed, after all, they are in the business of selling filters. I may try backflushing one with vinegar to see what happens. At any rate I will scrub them with a stiff toothbrush and vinegar and they should be good to go.

You can easily build a sand and carbon pre-filter using 2 five gallon food grade buckets. The sand upper and charcoal lower. Get washed concrete or masonry sand, and make your own carbon from a big bag of the "gourmet" charcoal (not briquets). I look for old food processors at yard sales to do my soap and carbon grinding-they will wear out more quickly when using them for these purposes. In a pinch the can be used to grind grain, but it takes quite a while.

I'll post the PF-4 installation later today.

[mollypup]

I've read that you don't want to scrub them very hard at all because that will ruin the ceramic filtering feature or something like that. It might be a good idea to google how they should be cleaned just to be safe. It seems like the box that one of my ceramic filters came said to gently wash it with a soft cloth.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Doulton recommends for their sterasyl candles using a toothbrush to clean with. It removes the surficial clogged ceramic and opens up new pores. These are ceramic after all and fairly durable if cared for properly. The sterasyl candles are what the original Berkey came with and are solely silver impregnated ceramic with no carbon media in the interior.

[Grumpy Old Man]

Now for the PF-4 installation.

1st wash the outside with mild detergent. I used dawn.


Next remove the blue endcaps and place the priming button over the opening


Then Hold it up against the faucet and turn on the water to gently prime it. The water will run with a dark powder out the bottom until it is clean or 20 seconds, whichever is longer.Turn upside down and repeat the procedure. The PF-4 is now primed and ready for installation. (Sorry no photos on this one;it required both hands to get a good seal)

Next install the filter with the flow arrow pointing away from the upper tank. The instructions say5 turns and no more, but I only got 4 1/2 before it was fully tight.


Close up of the filter showing flow arrow


All installed and ready for another year.

[Grumpy Old Man]

I then started cleaning the candles with a toothbrush. It took about 5 minutes for one candle.

after


comparison


That's my tune up for the gravity water filter. I'll try making one from food grade buckets, maybe 2 gallon ones to have a tutorial on that.