If you are wanting to provide provide your family with clean, safe drinking water, a water filter is recommended to remove any contaminants that could pose a health risk. But with so many choices, it can be hard to narrow down which water filter is best for you. In this product comparison, we compare the Crown Berkey water filter with the Rejuvenate filter from Zen Water Systems.

Filtration Capabilities

The Crown Berkey water filter relies on gravity to feed water through the system. Since it does not need electricity to operate, it can be used both indoors and outdoors, and is suitable for emergency situations. It is the largest water filter in the Berkey range, and was designed to cater for larger groups of six or more people, to provide safe drinking water in remote areas following natural disasters or other emergency scenarios. The Crown Berkey can accommodate between two to eight Black Berkey filter cartridges (fitted in sets of 2), which are made from granulated activated carbon that can remove more than 200 drinking water contaminants including bacteria, chlorine, heavy metals and more. The activated carbon prevents bacterial growth and does not strip essential minerals that the body needs from the water. Tests conducted by EPA and state accredited laboratories have shown that the Black Berkey filters exceed the NSF/ANSI 53 standard.

Zen Water's Rejuvenate filter is also a gravity fed system, fitted with a 6-stage filter cartridge, consisting of a 5-stage mineral filter topped with a micro ceramic filter that can remove a wide range of harmful chemicals including bacteria, chloride, pesticides, and more. According to Zen Water, the Rejuvenate system can remove bacteria, chlorine, and herbicides, as well as other harmful chemicals to >99% However, it cannot remove fluoride. The Crown Berkey fitted with Black Berkey filter cartridges can remove bacteria andchlorine, chloroform, chromium, copper, lead, pesticides and more. By using a pair of Berkey PF-2 Fluoride and Arsenic Filters together with the Black Berkey filter cartridges, you can also remove fluoride (>97%) from your drinking water, reducing your exposure to this potentially harmful additive.

Zen Rejuvenate 6 Gallon

The Berkey range of filters have been thoroughly tested by reputable laboratories and have certified test results available for a wide range of contaminants, together with percentages indicating how much of each contaminant is removed during the filtration process. Zen Water does not provide much supporting information, nor are any certified test result's available for public scrutiny.

Advantage: Crown Berkey

Storage Capacity

Both the Crown Berkey and Zen Water Rejuvente are marketed as having a capacity of six gallons, however, while the Zen Water Rejuvenate has a total capacity of six gallons (2 gallons in the upper tank and 4 gallons in the lower), the Crown Berkey can actually store six gallons of purified water in the lower chamber, which is a third more than the Zen Water Rejuvenate can.

Advantage: Crown Berkey

Design & Durability

The Crown Berkey filter system is a high quality product manufactured from polished 304 grade stainless steel, and is not only an aesthetically pleasing design, but also extremely robust and durable. The Rejuvenate water filter, on the other hand, is made from clear BPA-free plastic, which although robust, will not prevent sunlight from penetrating and is not as tough as stainless steel, making it more suitable for indoor use rather than outdoor use.

Advantage: Crown Berkey

The Crown Berkey Water Filter

Affordability

While the Crown Berkey may seem like a more expensive option, with a price tag of $360 compared to only $114.95 for the Rejuvenate water filter, we need to look at the bigger picture. What sets the Berkey in terms of efficiency is the Black Berkey filter cartridges, which will deliver up to 6,000 gallons of purified water before they need to be replaced. If your family uses three gallons of water per day, the initial set of filters supplied with the Crown Berkey could last up to six years before they would need to be replaced.

If you do the math, you will see that for 6000 gallons of clean water supplied, the price per gallon works out at 6c/gallon for the Crown Berkey. In the case of the Rejuvenate, you would have to replace both the Micro Ceramic Filter and the 5-stage Mineral Filter Cartridge multiple times in order to produce 6000 gallons of clean water. The micro ceramic filter would need to be changed after 1000 gallons or once a year, while the 5-stage mineral filter cartridge would need to be changed after producing 500 gallons of clean water or six months of use. In order for your system to last long enough to produce 6000 gallons of water, you would need to purchase 6 x annual maintenance kits, which cost $67.95 each, plus a 5-stage mineral filter ($18.95) every 6 months. 6 maintenance kits and 12 - 5 stage mineral filters would cost $750.05 (12.5c/gallon). This is approx double the cost per gallon filtered than the Crown Berkey.

Advantage: Crown Berkey

Warranty

Like the other products in the Berkey range, the Crown Berkey comes with a lifetime warranty. Zen Water's Rejuventate system comes with a 10-day damage replacement and 30-day defect replacement warranty.

Advantage: Crown Berkey

Verdict

When comparing performance, storage capacity, durability and cost of the Crown Berkey against Zen Water's Rejuvenate filter system, the Crown Berkey stands out as the clear winner, as it's an easy to use high quality product that offers an efficient, cost-effective, low-maintenance, long-term solution for delivering clean, safe drinking water.