I will admit that the popularity of those giant, stainless steel, gravity-fed water filters remained a mystery to me for some years—even as multi-gallon water filter systems from brands like British Berkefeld and Berkey seemed to proliferate equally among lovers of doomsday prepping and holistic wellness retreats.
I have been testing much different breeds of water filters for more than a year now, including reverse osmosis filters and water pitchers. But often, the big water filter tanks have seemed as much like status symbols as functional items. They’re good-looking in an industrial stainless-steel sort of way: an expression of a lifestyle and a stately point of pride. If you see a big gravity-fed filter, you know the person in question is serious about wellness, survival, or both.
What changed my mind about these big stainless steel filters was microplastics. Most water filter pitchers are made of BPA-free plastic. But as new research shows that bottled-water drinkers ingest tens of thousands of excess microplastic particles, wellness lovers have begun to look askance at water filters that are themselves made of plastic.
Photograph: Matthew Korfhage
A newer generation of gravity filters has leaned into this, removing all—or nearly all—points of contact with plastic. And so I put a pair of these new-school filters to the test. The Boroux Legacy Water Filter System ($419) is a handsome gravity-fed filter system from a former Berkey distributor whose livelihood was disrupted by Berkey’s fight with federal regulators (see below). The Rorra Countertop System ($549) is a newer-school, celebrity-endorsed filter from a trio of serial entrepreneurs, with smart features that include sensors for both filter and water levels.
In testing each, I assessed ease of setup, plastic content, total chlorine reduction, and changes to dissolved solids or pH. I also pored over each filter’s NSF/ANSI certifications and independent testing results.
Benefits and Detriments of Gravity-Fed Water Filter Systems
Gravity-fed water filter systems gained their biggest prominence in the United States with a system called the Berkey—whose makers began in 1998 as a distributor for a much older filter system called the British Berkefeld. Amid legal troubles for Berkey (see below), a newer generation of gravity-fed filters has risen to prominence.
Multi-gallon filters like this are imposing beasts—as much statement pieces as water filters. They’re big, holding a gallon or more. They live on your counter or your table, and take up significant space there. But because they are so large, they are difficult to fill and slow to filter. In my early testing, gravity-fed filters like the new Boroux and Rorra don’t necessarily filter water any better out of the box than plastic pitchers that can fit in your fridge door, or in-line filters under your sink. And because they don’t fit in your fridge, your water is room temp.
But convenience is relative. The jugs on gravity-fed filter systems are big enough on an overnight refill to provide a day’s worth of water for most families, for sipping and cooking and coffee. I find this can be easier than the constant cycle of filling and waiting that plagues smaller water pitchers, especially for large families, coffee lovers, or avid cooks. And whereas most water pitchers require regular filter re-ups, the Boroux filters advertise that they need replacement only once a year. (More on this claim later).
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