If you are in the market for a new home water filter system, choosing the right one from the many options out there can be rather daunting. We are here to help you narrow your selection down by offering advice on the pros and cons of various options to allow you to make an informed decision when purchasing a water filter that will essentially provide your family with clean, safe drinking water. In this article we compare Aquatru water filters with the Travel Berkey, which is the system that is most similar to the Aquatru system, and assess their pros and cons in terms of their filtration capabilities, aesthetics and design, affordability and warranty.

System Filtration Capabilities

Both the Travel Berkey and the Aquatru water filters are very efficient at removing impurities and contaminants from drinking water. The Berkey is capable of removing more than 200 known drinking water contaminants, without stripping the beneficial minerals from the water. Berkey filters have been tested by independent laboratories and are certified to remove common water contaminants such as lead, copper, chlorine and chloroform by more than 99.9%, chromium VI by 99.8%, and fluoride by up to 99.75% (pair of add-on PF-2 filters required at a cost of $60 per pair) — see the full list of Black Berkey test results here. Laboratory test results indicate that the Aquatru is capable of reducing lead by 99.1%, copper by 95.2%, chlorine by 96.6%, chloroform by 95% , chromium VI by 97.2%, and fluoride by 93.5%.

Advantage: Travel Berkey

The Travel Berkey water filter

Storage Capacity

One of the biggest drawbacks of the Aquatru filter is that it can only store 0.75 gallons of filtered water in the clean water holding tank. The Travel Berkey by comparison can hold 1.5 gallons — double the capacity of the Aquatru water filter. However, Aquatru does sell additional clean water reservoirs as an optional extra, priced at US$57.

Advantage: Travel Berkey

Water Output & Filtration Efficiency

It typically takes about a quarter of an hour for a gallon of water to percolate through the Aquatru filter's 4-stages of filtration. Since Berkey water filters operate by gravity, filtration is relatively slow by comparison and it typically takes about an hour to produce a gallon of purified water. However, while this may seem like a time consuming process, one needs to bear in mind that the longer the water is in contact with the filter, the more effective the filter is at removing any pollutants that may be present. Consequently, while slower, Berkey filters are more efficient at removing hazardous pollutants such as lead.

Advantage: Neither

The aquatru water filter

Durability

The Aquatru filter is manufactured from plastic while the Travel Berkey is manufactured from stainless steel. While both systems are aesthetically pleasing to the eye in terms of overall design, the stainless steel body of the Berkey is far more durable.

Advantage: Travel Berkey

Operation Requirements

Berkey water filters are gravity fed systems that require no electricity to operate. Water is poured into the upper chamber and flows through the Black Berkey carbon filter cartridges with the aid of gravity. The Black Berkey filter cartridges, which are comprised of carbon and 5 other types of filter medias, have tiny pores that prevent impurities and contaminants from physically passing through. The media used in the Black Berkey filter cartridges have both adsorbtion and adsorption properties, enabling the pores to trap pollutants that are even tinier than the pores themselves. Heavy metals are filtered out of the water through the process of ion exchange after being attracted to and bonding with the filter media.

Aquatru water filters are essentially reverse osmosis filters that incorporate a 4-stage filtration process that requires electricity to function. First the water flows through a pre-carbon filter that removes sediment and rust particles, before being treated by a reverse osmosis (RO) filter, which traps and removes contaminants as the water is forced through a RO membrane. The fourth stage of the filtration process consists of a VOC carbon filter, whose primary function is to remove impurities that give water a bad taste, improving its overall taste and palatability for consumers.

Since the Travel Berkey does not run on electricity, it does not need a power source to operate and can therefore be used anywhere, making it far more portable, which is a distinct advantage over the Aquatru filter.

Advantage: Travel Berkey

Affordability

The initial upfront cost of buying a water filter is arguably the biggest factor for most potential purchasers. Let's look at how Berkey compares to Aquatru in terms of cost.

The Travel Berkey costs US$327, while the Aquatru, which only comes in one model, costs US$449, making the Berkey $120 cheaper than the Aquatru in terms of upfront costs. However, while the purchase price can undoubtedly be a big swaying factor or complete deal-breaker, when considering that initial purchase, one also needs to take long-term running costs into account.

For the purposes of our comparison let's break down these costs over the expected lifespan of the Black Berkey filter elements (6000 gallons), calculated on a daily consumption of 3 gallons/day. Berkey water filter systems come fitted with two Black Berkey cartridges standard, which will filter up to 6000 gallons of water without incurring any additional costs.

The Aquatru water filter systems come fitted with three types of filters: 1) a pre-carbon filter, which costs $19.95 and lasts for up to six months; 2) a reverse osmosis filter, which costs $49,95 and will filter 1200 gallons, which at 3 gallons/day will last for a year; and 3) a VOC carbon filter that costs $29,95 and will filter 600 gallons of water before needing to be replaced, which at 3 gallons/day will last for six months. In order to have a 2-year supply of clean, safe drinking water, you'll have to purchase the following:

10 x pre-carbon filters (total replacement cost = $199,50)

4 x RO filter membranes (total replacement cost = $199,80)

10 x VOC carbon filters (total replacement cost = $299,50)

Total cost of replacement filters over 2 years = $698,80

When you add the total cost of replacing the filters over a two-year period to the original purchasing price, the total outlay is $1147,80. When calculating the cost of delivering 6000 gallons of filtered water over a period of 5+ years, the price per gallon works out to 19c/gallon.

The Travel Berkey comes fitted with two Black Berkey filter elements standard, which will filter 6000 gallons of water. For the first 6000 gallons of filtered water delivered, there are no additional costs other than the upfront cost of purchasing the system. This works out at 4c/gallon for the first 6000 gallons, making the Berkey far more cost efficient than the Aquatru.

Advantage: Travel Berkey

Verdict

When it comes to providing your family with clean, safe drinking water, both the Berkey and the Aquatru water filters do an excellent job. Looking a little closer at the overall purchase and maintenance costs, ease-of-use, and filtering capabilities, the Berkey's stand out as the clear winner in terms of value for money and filtering efficiency. Berkey's lifetime guarantee on its stainless chambers and prorated warranty on the Black Berkey filter elements, just sweeten the deal further.