Thread: Welcome from The Berkey Guy

I am happy to be here.


theberkeyguy

I have a question for you. My wife and I have been considering gathering rainwater from our down spouts primarily for use in watering our garden, but I was also thinking about it as an alternate source of drinking water in an emergency. I know that water filtration systems can filter for bacteria and parasites, but are there any concerns about water coming off of a roof with composite shingles (not wood)? Are there chemicals in composite shingles we we need to worry about that could not be filtered out?

Originally Posted by Cougfan2

I have a question for you. My wife and I have been considering gathering rainwater from our down spouts primarily for use in watering our garden, but I was also thinking about it as an alternate source of drinking water in an emergency. I know that water filtration systems can filter for bacteria and parasites, but are there any concerns about water coming off of a roof with composite shingles (not wood)? Are there chemicals in composite shingles we we need to worry about that could not be filtered out?

Thanks for the question, we recommend using the water from your roof, but first using a pre-filter to remove rocks and sediments from the water first. The berkey will remove those rocks and sediments, but it may clog the filters quicker. But, all in all, you can use rainwater that comes off a roof.

In relation to chemicals in shingles, I am not sure what chemicals are on the shingles.

theberkeyguy

theberkeyguy,

That was me. You can comp an extra filter for my setup if you like. j/k I bought mine from you a few months ago and it is worth every penny IMO and being used daily. Makes the fridge filter taste like city water in comparison.

In case it hasn't been said before now.... Welcome to the forum!

Thanks to all the Welcomes! Glad to be here.

theberkeyguy

Yeah, me too: glad to have you here.

So, my understanding is that composite shingles leach petrochemicals into the rainwater, so it's sorta like drinking from the puddles in an asphalt parking lot - not so nice, possibly carcinogenic, but not acutely toxic.

My favorite filter is the Katadyne Hiker. Is there a comparable Berkey product that's better, cheaper, longer-lasting, tastes great, less filling, whatever?

Welcome.

Originally Posted by chemist

Yeah, me too: glad to have you here.

So, my understanding is that composite shingles leach petrochemicals into the rainwater, so it's sorta like drinking from the puddles in an asphalt parking lot - not so nice, possibly carcinogenic, but not acutely toxic.

My favorite filter is the Katadyne Hiker. Is there a comparable Berkey product that's better, cheaper, longer-lasting, tastes great, less filling, whatever?

We know of the brand, but are not proficient on the product, but something that would probably be comparable would be either the Sport Berkey Water Bottle or Go Berkey Kit:

theberkeyguy