AquaTru vs Berkey vs Aquasana countertop Water filter (Pros, Cons & Comparison)

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Aquasana AQ -4000 W : Budget Pick

Aquasana AQ-400-W 

• Officially Confirmed by NSF” to remove 68 different contaminants
• An ability to remove unhealthy contaminants while retaining healthy minerals using claryum filtration technology.
• Direct installation from the kitchen tap without having to install any permanent fixtures.
• “Super Easy installation & Charging of filters”

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See the Price On Aquasana

Aquasana AQ -4000 W is certified by NSF to be able to remove 68 harmful contaminants. As you know, many water filters claim to remove lots of contaminants from water, but they don’t have the certification to back up their claims.

Unlike the Big Berkey, which claims to remove a long list of contaminants but doesn’t back up its claims with independently verified tests by a third party such as NSF or independent labs.

Aquasana AQ-400W is certified to reduce the following: lead, mercury, chlorine, asbestos, volatile organic compounds, and many others.

It uses a 3 stage filtration process. These stages are carbon filtrations, ion exchange, and sub-micron filtration. Unlike other filtration technology which all the minerals (good and bad), it uses a unique technology known as Claryum filter technology. These filters are able to get rid of lots of harmful chemicals while preserving the healthy minerals found in water such as calcium.

Manufacturer’s Specs

• Maximum capacity: 450 gallons
• Rated service flow: 0.5 GPM
• Max pressure: 80 psi 
• Min pressure: 20 psi
• Max operating temp: 90° F 
• Min operating temp: 40° F

What I like 

• Comes Pre-assembled and you will not need to change anything for 420 Gallons  
• faucet diverter valve with hose assembly
• NSF/ANSI certified to Standard 42, 53 and 401
• Comes with a One year warranty.
• 90-day money-back guarantee
• Easy Attachment

What I don’t like

• Does not filter hot water
• You will have to install the brass faucet adapter if the faucet diverter it comes with does not fit with yours.
• Brass faucet adapters and seals don’t come with a package.  

Summary 

It’s a very effective countertop filter that uses activated carbon, catalytic carbon, ion-exchange, and sub-micron mechanic filtration. And captures a wide range of contaminants such as herbicides, pesticides, VOC, Chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.

 

Big Berkey Review

When I was researching for the Big Berkey Water filter, I noticed that it’s popular with people who use well water. This is because well water is prone to be contaminated, and the Big Berkey is known to handle a long list of contaminants.

In addition, it is a gravity-fed filtration system. This means water uses gravitation force to flow from an upper chamber of the system to a lower chamber through the filtration agents.

When it comes to great tasting water, it is second, and you will never need to buy bottled water again. With its capacity to filter 3,000 gallons per filter, you can be sure you will it worth the money.

Big Berkey Water Filter gives you…

• A way to remove a long list of contaminants using a corrosion-resistant purification system. This is unlike other countertop filters that are mostly made of plastic.
• Ability to process up to 3.5 gallons of water per hour. Therefore, if you ever found yourself in need of gallons of pure water quickly, it can handle the demand.
• Comes with two extra purification filters
• Conveniences of being able to hold up to 2.25 gallons of purified water. So you are able to store enough water for the whole family.
• Ability to filter tough contaminants such as fluoride.

While Big Berkey’s performance is superior, they are more expensive than other systems in the market. The cost of replacing the filters is also high. In addition, they are bulkier, thus, less convenient to handle.

Manufacturer’s Specs

• Color: Big Berkey
• Material: Stainless steel
• Item Dimensions: 8.5 x 8.5 x 19.25 inches
• Size: 2.25 Gallons 
• Filter capacity: 6,000 gallons 
• Flow Rate: 0.03 Gallons Per Minute
•  No electricity,

What I like 

• Durable filters with each filter giving you up to 6,000 gallons. 
• Designed to work with both city water supply and well water supply
• You don’t need to hook it up with your plumbing. 
• Removes up to 95% of lead
• Removes 99% of Viruses and Bacteria
• Filters 99% of fluoride 
• Looks great with its stainless steel body

What I don’t like

• Quite large  which makes it difficult to store 
• Doesn’t filter water instantly you have to wait to get some water
• Although the replacement filters last long, they don’t come cheap.
• The frequent re-priming can get be frustrating 

Summary 

If you’ve researched around the internet, you know the Big Berkey is one of the most popular countertop water filters on the market. It’s very effective in removing lots of contaminants, and it’s easy to set up, and it doesn’t need any plumbing. It produces healthy and fresh-tasting water.  

AquaTru vs. Berkey vs. Aquasana countertop water filter Comparison

Filtration technology  used

Most filters use a combination of different filtration methods such as carbon, reverse osmosis and mechanical filtration. The most common filtration methods are carbon filtration, reverse osmosis, and zinc-copper filters (KDF). Whereas carbon is the most absorbent material known to man, it does not remove some stubborn contaminants like chloramine.

Reverse osmosis is where water molecules pass through a semipermeable membrane and get rid of ions and large particles from water. Reverse osmosis works best when it works in combination with other filtration methods such as carbon or KDF.

 AquaTru

AquaTru filter uses a 4 stage filtration process. The main filtration method is ultra reverse osmosis technology. This is where water molecules are forced through a semi-permeable membrane, and all the contaminants are left on the other side. This technology is mostly used by water bottling companies. Therefore, you can be sure that the water it produces is of the highest quality as bottled water.

Berkey

Berkey BK4X2-BB uses a proprietary purification element that is made up of six elements. This technology is patented by the mother company that owns Berkey water. The element uses gravity to move water molecules through the filtration element. To make sure all the chemicals are removed water remains in contact with this element for a long time so as to maximize absorption the contaminants.

Aquasana

Aquasana uses some four-stage filtration to remove impurities from water. In each stage, there is a different filtration method that is applied. These four stages are:

• Activated carbon
• Catalytic carbon
• Ion exchange
• Sub-micron mechanical filtration.

Ability to Remove Contaminants

Different types of filters are able to remove different types of contaminants.  Therefore, the ability to remove contaminants depends on the filtration method adapted. To determine which type of model you want, you should consider which is the most appropriate for you depending on the type of water you have. By searching NSF’s database to learn what types of contaminants each model removes. In addition, reading the label on a product can help you determine which contaminants it removes.

Some of the common types of contaminants found in water are the following. Sediments refer broadly to visible particles for example sand, dust, and rust. Sediments are removed mechanically from water using sediment filters. Another group of contaminants is chemical contaminants which are removed using activated carbon filtration and reverse osmosis.

AquaTru

AquaTru is unrivaled when it comes to removing most types of contaminants. The ultra reverse osmosis has been shown to remove 74 types of contaminants.

Berkey

The purification element uses microfiltration that is able to block many types of contaminants. It is able to remove heavy metals such as lead, copper, mercury, aluminum. In addition, it removes submicron viruses through a process of ion exchange and other chemicals calcium, potassium and magnesium.

Aquasana

Removes herbicides, pesticides, chlorine, chloramines, copper, mercury and lead.

How much water it processes

The capacity of a filter is determined by the flow rate, port size, and filter size. The flow rate is measured in gallons per minute (GPM). Most countertops have a flow rate of between 2.0 GPM and 2.5 GPM. In addition, the amount of water that it can process at a time which is determined by the size of the container.

AquaTru

This model can hold 3.75 Gallons at a time- It takes 15 minutes to process a gallon of water.

Berkey

It can hold 2.25 gallons of water at a time- it takes about 9 minutes to process a Gallon of water.

Aquasana

When it comes to capacity to process a lot of water, no other countertop filter can rival Aquasana. It has the ability to process 0.4 GPM. More importantly, it has the capacity to filter 450 gallons per cartridges.

How much space you need

You don’t need to buy a bulky model that you might not have space for. The dimensions of models are as follows.

Dimensions

AquaTru= 18 X 18 X 15 inches

Berkey= 8.5 X 8.5 X 19.2 inches

Aquasana= 12 X 7 X 4 inches

Safety

Some home water filters are not safe because they might expose you to dangerous chemicals such as heavy metals like mercury and lead which can result in health problems such as damage to the reproductive system and kidney problems.

AquaTru

When it comes to safety, AquaTru is made of Tritan plastic. It is BPA free. In addition, it has a top lid to prevent airborne germs from getting into contact with the water.

Berkey

When it comes to safety, Berkey incorporates a self-sterilizer which helps to ensure no germs go through the filter.

Aquasana

It is certified by NSF to standard 42 to remove contaminants.

Power consumption and type of power it uses

Not all home water filter run on electricity some are gravity feed. Whereas electricity run systems are efficient and can purify a large amount of water in a short time, They can’t run when there is a blackout. Gravity feed systems don’t run on electricity but use the power of gravity to push water through the filters.

AquaTru- 120 Volts

Berkey- Does not use electricity as it is a gravity-driven system.

Aquasana- It’s a gravity-based filter

The alkalinity of the water

Alkalinity is the number that measures how acidic water is. It is measured using a pH scale which ranges from 0 to 14. The higher you go on PH scale the more alkaline the water is said to be.

Although it has not been conclusively proved by research, alkaline water is said to have some health benefits such as regulating internal PH levels of the body to reduce the acidity levels. Maintaining low acidity levels is good for the body because it’s claimed that cancer thrives in an acidic environment.

AquaTru

It does not alter the water pH levels. AquaTru just removes contaminants while maintaining the same pH levels.

Berkey

It does not alter the PH level of water. It simply removes all the contaminants from water. If you need to either increase or lower the water pH, you will need to use other additives such as baking soda, fresh lemons, and Drops.

Aquasana It increases the level of pH making it more alkaline.

Removing Fluoride

According to the Water Quality Association, currently, there are four types of filtration that remove fluoride. This includes reverse osmosis, Anion exchange, activated alumina adsorption, and distillation.

Therefore, between the three countertop filters, the only one able to eliminate fluoride is the AquaTru countertop. It uses reverse osmosis (RO) where water passes through a semi-permeable membrane and which eliminates 99% of all contaminants.

AquaTru vs Berkey vs Aquasana Pro and Cons

Big Berkey BK4X2 Countertop Water Filter Review

Aquatru is a 4 stage water filter that uses reverse osmosis to remove 99% of all the contaminants in water. Berkey uses a proprietary purification element that is made of six different media. Aquasana uses four media for filtration which includes carbon, ion exchange, and sub-micron mechanical filtration. Taking everything into consideration to compare AquaTru vs. Berkey vs. Aquasana countertop water filter. Berky BK4 based its performance and price considerations. It is an effective product that is proven to produce high-quality water. Not surprisingly, it has many great customer reviews.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does AquaTru remove glyphosate?

AquaTru has been shown to remove glyphosate. It’s also made with  Tritan which is the safest plastic available because it’s free from BPA and BPS. For a complete list of all the contaminants that AquaTru removes here.  

Do Berkey water filters remove viruses?

Berkey filters remove 99.99% of viruses. A water treatment product needs to remove 99% pathogenic contaminants like viruses and bacteria for it to be classified as a water purifier.

Why is Berkey not NSF?

Although Berkey water filters claim to have met and exceeded NSF standards, they are not NSF certified. The water purification industry does not recognize the filtration method that is used by Berkey to remove the contaminants it claims to remove.

Why does my Berkey water taste bad?

The reason your Berkey water tastes bad is because of not having sufficient priming filters. If you prime your filters thoroughly, you’ll get rid of the bad taste. The bad taste comes from dust that remains behind.