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The Black Berkey Red Food Coloring Test
The Black Berkey red food coloring test provides the opportunity to showcase the impressive purification power of the Black Berkey elements. Many water filter companies make claims to their high quality, but Berkey water filters go one step further by making their lab test results public and presenting demonstrations such as the red food coloring test. While helpful for new customers to see the Black Berkey filters in action, it is invaluable for the existing customer base since it can be used at anytime during the life of the filters to ensure they are working to design specifications. Whether the original black berkeys have been in operation for the past 3, 7, or 10 years, one can perform this test at anytime to see if it’s time for a replacement. We recommend customers place a cup underneath each filter as this will help isolate which filter is exhausted, and which is still purifying effectively.
With other water filters, the customer must assume their system is working to specifications or spend the time and money to perform water tests. This time lapse video shows how simple the red food coloring test can be done after priming your Black Berkey filters.
To perform a food coloring test, start with an empty system (upper/lower chamber), remove any PF-2 filters that may be attached, and place a glass in the lower chamber directly underneath each black berkey filter. Next, fill the upper chamber with water and add 5-6 drops of red food coloring (only red please). After 5-10 minutes, look to see if any of the water in the glasses are red or have any pinkish tinge. If one does, then that particular filter above it is defective or saturated/exhausted.
Tags: black berkey, black berkey elements, black berkey filters, black berkey red food coloring, red food coloring test
Why do you not ship to California? Do you ship to Texas?
Thank you,
Dr. C. Champion-Olson
Yes Dr. Champion-Olsen, we ship to all states with exemption of CA due to the new law, and Iowa due to the high licensing fees the state requires the seller to pay.
Will this work to test my ceramic filters?
Hi Debbie -
This test will only work with the Black Berkey elements.
Thanks
Dan
why only red food color? I used green on three filters before I found this and all have failed, is green smaller than red?
Hi JNA -
Red does not have beneficial minerals in it, so when none comes through, you know it’s performing correctly. The other colors do.
Thanks
Dan
thanks Dan,
so in short a green failure is not necessarily a filter failure, correct?
Yes, that is correct!
I don’t understand the above post. Why wouldn’t it filter the green food color if
it filters everything so well? What do you mean when you say the green has beneficial minerals? Thanks.
Hi Vina - The media ingredients used for creation of the black berkeys do not remove beneficial minerals, thus if a food coloring dye has beneficial minerals in it like potassium, the filter will let this dye pas through. Red does not have beneficial minerals as part of it’s make-up, so it will not go through the filter if the filter is working properly. If the red goes through, then the filter is not working properly, and this is why it’s called the red food coloring test.
Thanks
Dan
Dan,
In your last statement I think you meant to say that the red food coloring does NOT have any beneficial minerals in it, therefore it will not be allowed to pass through the elements.
Yes JC, you are correct!! Thank you! I’ve updated my reply.
I assembled my Big Berkey Stainless 2.1gal. and did a h20 test using black food coloring since the directions did not say use red. Some black came through so I fingertightend the black wing nuts a little further and stripped one wingnut. I need a new wingnut not a kit costing 28 dollars. Is it safe to use a plastic wingnut from the hardware store?