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That was an,awesome video! Thanks John for cutting the filters up and showing how they actually work. Thanks for keeping us informed on the water issues that are going on in rv parks.
Thank you again for your comments! Don't forget your coupon codes & links. Berkey Save 5% with Coupon Code: RVOC & use this Link: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be ClearSource: Save 10% with Coupon Code: RVOC www.clearsourcerv.com RV Water Filter Store Link: www.rvwaterfilterstore.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Affiliate=RvOddCouple US Water Systems: Save 15% with Coupon Code: RVOC www.uswatersystems.com/systems/specialty-systems/rv-systems Great video guys!! I'm glad my illness prompted you to help so many others, that honestly makes me feel good!! I wish what happened to me on no one. For ourselves we already had the ClearSource filter and we just added a UV filter as well. And lesson learned, I will never use RV park water for any purpose not after the cost of brushing my teeth. Extreme reaction on my end, but I'd rather be safe than sick again. PS. Skippy wearing his backpack is the cutest thing I've seen today!! Happy RV'ing and sending good vibes your way 😊 ~ Kim
"Is that alive? Is that thing moving?" I cringed!!!! I LOVE that Skippy tasted both waters - what a Hoot!!! And I Love your 'Therapy sessions' - you 2 are hilarious in those!
We had a lot of fun with this video. I didn't know what to expect when we sawed the water filters in half. The was fun to see what was inside. And Skippy is such a good boy. :-)
I am Canadian and have been camping all my life and I'm in my 50s. I remember my family getting really sick after drinking water from a campground. I thought this could not happen in 2022. Thank you for opening our eyes to this problem.
We retired in 2015 and bought a barely used class A to live full time in. On one of our first adventures we stopped at a church social and used their hose to fill our water tank and it liked to killed us! Never Again! I bought an RO system from the RV Water Store and it has been the best investment I ever made. The boondocking feature allows me to select where my waste water goes and it really helps save water by recycling.
We use a Camco filter. And we haul gallon jugs around for coffee making ice cubes. Your right it’s a pain, and takes up a ton of room that I could store wine, beer and whiskey in.
Buy a Berkey Dan! We love our Berkey and so does Skippy! Please use our link and save 5% www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Have been using Berkey filters for 4 years now in my home. Could not be happier. Started with a Big Berkey using two white filters, then wanted to move up to eliminating the fluoride so bought those filters. We used it enough that we upgraded to a Royal Berkey, 2 black filters, 2 fluoride PF2 filters. Makes the greatest coffee and tea. Moved the smaller Berkey to the camper.
I dang near died when John went from smiling to pure disgust when Mercedes started talking about the bad things you could get and it flashed a list on the screen.... omg I'm still laughing LOL
Excellent subject guys! Loved the skit in the beginning 👍 The one device you guys loved takes are of the drinking aspect of the water situation but doesn’t cover the shower... Great video. Thanks and take care, Bill in Utah
And also, thank you for being honest with the public about all of the filters you tested, and not just taking the cash kickback you mentioned one of the companies offered you for the best review. You guys truly have integrity. A wonderful quality to posses 😊
You have really provided a great public service here! The one that has peaked our interest is the Clearsource because we very very rarely go to RV parks with water hookups. This is the only one that we could use to fill our onboard water tank. This appears to be a perfect all around system for both hookups and boon docking. BUT .... did the Clearsource water pass the Skippy Test?!?! If not, and we stay with bottled water (or a Berkey) for drinking, filtering the inbound water will save our entire water system from "gunking up" with sediments, rust and God knows what! We checked out their website and we are in the same area code, so once we get our new rig we'll be sure to get in touch with them. Andy & Kim
Hi Andy & Kim! Great question. Skippy did not choose the ClearSource water. He chose the Berkey. But We trust Clearsouce way more than we trust Camco. Camco removes yuck that's up to 20 microns and Clearsource removes yuck that's up to 0.2 microns in size. Smaller microns is better and less "gunking." Let us know what you think of whatever you end up getting. :-)
Just wanna say thank you! We got our Berkey a few months ago and LOVE IT! We are gate guards and never have potable water! It has already paid for itself in the money we spent on bottled water and the fuel to go get said water! 😁
"Water is life and clean water means health." ~ Audrey Hepburn. Your intensive dive into keeping your water clean is most appreciated - something we tend to take for granted until something goes wrong. Occasionally our town will have "Boil Water Advisory" signs posted and I think "What the heck happened??" Bacterial sickness is no joke. Safe, healthy and happy travels! Many thanks for your research ~💜
Thank you Stacey! You're right. Well, Audrey was right! :-). Boil advisories are so scary! We're glad Kim is feeling better. Thank you for the supportive comments. :-)
Boil water advisories are just a precaution until the utility can prove it's safe. Utilities are on the side of caution to protect the consumer. Likely it was just a water break. If the water pressure drops below 20 psi they're required to have a water boil notice.
We don’t ever drink our RV water. Bottled only. We do use the Camco Filter but still would not drink it. You guys are awesome. Have given us great ideas for our RV and channel.
Did you like the sawing of the Camco filter in half? That was fun! You might want to consider the Berkey to save on bottled, but regardless, you're right! Don't drink the cameo water. :-)
Thank you for your hard word - video. After seeing it, I will surely improve our RV's water filter system. Quotes of the day. John "Is it alive?" Mercedes "Can he read?"
I'm not an RVer but I've been watching different channels for all the advice and ideas on how to survive after natural disasters like what we experienced here in Puerto Rico after huricane Maria I appreciate you making these videos, they are very helpful.
We still live in a sticks & bricks and purchased the Royal Berkey (3.25 Gallon) almost 2 years ago. We have 2 of the charcoal filters in the upper chamber and 2 of the fluoride filters in the lower chamber. In addition, we have the water view spigot and stand. Absolutely LOVE the water view spigot!!! We measured and marked the side of the view window at the 1 gallon, 2 gallon and 3 gallon levels with a sharpie so we always know exactly how much water we have in the lower chamber. It takes about 45 minutes to cycle 3 gallons of water and we fill our Berkey at least twice a day. The key to getting the most out of the charcoal filter is to clean them on a regular basis. We clean ours bi-weekly. However, living in an RV and filtering all kinds of different water sources we would highly recommend cleaning the charcoal filters weekly. We use an 8 cup measuring cup we had to fill the upper chamber once our lower chamber is empty. We googled how many cups were in a gallon and figured out that we have to fill my extra large measuring cup up 5 times to cycle 3 gallons of water. Berkey is well worth the investment!!! We LOVE our Royal Berkey so much that we recently just purchased the Sport Berkey water bottle for hiking and other activities. We can hardly wait to test them out!!! Thanks for the info on water while RVing. Keep the videos coming and safe travels!!
Another great video by you guys. We bought the big blue plastic Berkeley, this way you can tell exactly how much water is on the top and on the bottom. We have had ours going on four years with no problem. When the water flow gets slow, take the filters out and give them a good scrubbing and put them up to the kitchen sink and flush them from the inside out. We save our old pop bottles and use them to store the water in.. several friends have come over and could not believe the taste and they have bought one.
Thanks for your help on another important topic. Although we bring Sierra Springs 5-gallon waters from home (not full-time yet), I always wondered how to clean water for brushing teeth, shaving, showering, etc. All we've used is the Camco filters on the RV park faucet. I'll check out the other recommendations.
Your water hose could be contaminated. Use diluted bleach in hose to sanitize. Connect filter at rig, not water bib. I also sanitize rig's water lines. As a secondary safety rule, I use a Brita filter-water reservoir.
We"ve used a Berkey in our home since 2009 and we love it! We use the clear blue plastic model in our home and you can see the water levels. I clean the filter every three months and replace them once a year. You can actually feel a build up of like small granules on the outside of the charcoal filter, but that is easily rubbed of with a cloth without any damage to the filter. When you get new filters, they send a brown washer that is used to back flush the charcoal filter. Instructions are included. Best drinking water system ever. Love your videos Gary
Thank you Gary. We didn't realize that they had a clear system. I bet it involves less "polishing". lol. But we agree, it's the best drinking water we've had too. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you again!
We use our regular Berkey in our RV for drinking and cooking. I do appreciate this video as we need to sort out how to filter the water for the RV. Thank you
ODDLY enough, we were boiling mad about what had been flushed out into the open, until we saw the Skippy test! What a great dog!!! Can't begin to thank you enough for this incredible education! We are awashed with joy! We love streaming your videos! Hugs, prayers, safe and healthy travels! Brendan & Lena
Oh my goodness Brendan & Lena- This is the funniest comment ever. I'm kinda the nerd in the relationship so I can't stop laughing. But to your credit, John's laughing too!
We have been using a reverse osmosis system for years its not cheap $1600 and filters are $150 each works fantastic. Great video guys, always enjoy seeing them. Happy trails ya'll.
In Nebraska, the campground we stayed at offered filtered water because the water was full of nitrates and not potable. Anytime you're around farmland with livestock, be aware of the nitrates in the water.
Thank you for all you do! My husband and I just started watching your channel with your "pissed" segment . Thank you for being real! We are now proud rv odd squads!!
Tammy, thank you so much for your kind words. We love hearing about married couples that watch together. That's a huge compliment! Thank you for being RV Odd Squad members! We had a bunch of fun with this video. :-)
Hey John....Love your videos ..this one crack me up. I love the dog test. I use to sale bottle water in Arizona..then I bought a few water machines...I went to a 1 day school on how they work. But I did learn alot when I was selling water. Make sure you keep a TDS monitor in the RV..test your water daily before you drink it. This measures the Total dissolved solids in the water..which are things like Nitrates and other unwanted chemicals. No water filter company can tell you it will last 6 months. It totally depends on the waters TDS that your using..measure it before you pour it in the container..read it..then read it after it comes out of the spout..You need to check it daily. That will determine when the filter needs to be replaced. Take care and God bless.
Just wondering. Do you always sanitize the campground spigot before you hook up to your rv? Some people the last thing they do before they leave a site is washout their blacktank hose before they put it away. Just a thought.
We don't but we should. I just took a picture of a lady that put the hose on top of the picnic table. GRRR! So gross! And in the park that we showed, you can see how close the sewer is from the fresh water. There should be guidelines to keep them apart!
We started doing that a couple of years ago. My risk mgmt training fm a healthcare job kicked n & we sanitize a lot of stuff, including hands or else wear gloves that you can toss when done.
Don’t recall where I saw it, but the tip was to carry a small spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide in your water compartment. Spray down hose ends and spigots before connecting. So easy!
Good information. My 2018 Coachmen Chaparral 370FL fifth wheel came prepped to install a water filter so I installed a residential style whole house water filter with a 0.5 micron filter. The filter housing is clear so I can see how my filter is doing. it's amazing to see how the filter goes from white to brown as it's filtering out all the iron and other sediments in the water. I've had issues with hard water stains from a number of the campgrounds that I have stayed at so I recently installed a portable water softener. I plumbed it into my RV so that it would sit inside my storage bay and could be bypassed for recharging. Like you I also don't want to have to carry a bunch of bottled water.
This is great advice. It's tricky as an RVer because you have to be prepared for nation wide water issues. Glad to hear you found a good system & you don't have to lug around a bunch of bottled water!
Great video! I never realized exactly what RV's recommend for drinking water or filters offered at all, so I am so glad you posted this! And being a constant handwasher when I even touch my mail, I cannot believe you touched that ick on the table with a bare hand!! Eek! Just sayin'! You are braver than I!! God Bless you all!! ❤🙏
I am only commenting on your “newest “ vid so that it gets to you. DO NOT CHANGE!!! Do Not let your channel change you! You WILL get bigger....why?...you are REAL!...you will be overwhelmed, if you’re not already. Nonetheless, take a break...do what you have to...to escape the “task” of which you have endeavored. No big deal...Keep it real....do not “think” you “have to” do a video!...No!...you do not!..Keep yourself grounded. Love you guys. God Bless you and your family.
Wow! Solid advice! Thank you so much! We're having a lot of fun with this. And we always try to think about how the video will be helpful or what's the actual purpose of the video- otherwise what's the point right? Thank you so much and God speed!
Mercedes and John, thank you both for your educational and entertaining videos. My wife and I plan to retire in a few years and travel part time in a motorhome. We will refer to your videos as reference material. Respecting your position on this topic of Patreon I would like to express an unsolicited opinion for your consideration. I support two UA-camrs via Patreon and my wife supports one. The reason we support these people is because we feel they provide a valuable service to us. A service that is not vendor supported. A service that is independent of the need of sponsors other than us, the consuming audience as well as whatever monies they make off of UA-cam. IMHO, the two of your provide a worthy, independent services. Many of your videos are the result of careful, detailed research (IE: Thousand Trails, water filters, etc.). It is in our best interest, your consuming public, that you continue to product such quality material. I trust you will in fact continue to produce videos for some time to come whether or not you ultimately choose to utilize Patron (as long as you do NOT loose independence). My wife and I look forward to continuing to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes as we plan our own RV adventures (and make our own mistakes). I for one would welcome the opportunity to support you via Patreon. I do not mind contributing financially to the publication of such interesting, educational and quality material. End of opinion and thank you again. Don
Hi Don, I appreciate your feedback and frankly you bring up really good points. When you add up the total hours that it takes to make a good video, edit it, and respond to all of the comments, it's a lot! I don't know what the future has in store. Our only hope is that viewers never feel like there are either insiders or outsiders. That's the issue that we take. Having to pay or be excluded. That said, I owe a bunch of people an apology because I was judgemental. I put everyone that does patreon in a box and some people do it in such a way that doesn't exclude. Some just release videos early, while others have it that you have to pay to get an invite to events. And those that don't exclude others, who otherwise could not afford to create good content, didn't deserve my judgement. Thank you for your honest feedback. Mercedes
I love you guys, you are funny and sincere, not fake, I believe a you really care about your followers. We will be getting our RV by the first of the year and I sincerely hope we get to run into you guys. Great information and I hope to get a Berkey soon. Safe travels!!
Thank you for the kind words Trish💚💚💚 We love our Berkey and so does Skippy. Make sure you use our Coupon for 5% Off or you can click this link when your ready: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Oh! Gosh! John & Mercedes, We LOVE! LOVE, LOVE! Your water filter skit. It made us laugh out loud😂😂 We played it again! Thanks ‼️ Sorry, gotta go, watch it again.......
A charcoal filter is a taste and odor filter but since the water is passing through so fast It cant really do all that well a job, Really does nothing for suspended solids (sediment) in the water at all. Dog test did it for me, getting a Berkey.
We were blown away by Skippy!!! We love our Berkey and so does Skippy! Please use our link and save 5% www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
I love the dog test. Working as a certified water treatment plant operator w/nearly 40 years I've got a ton of information. I also camped for the last 10 years. First I flush any hook up wide open for 10 minutes. Then check for any trace of chlorine. If flushing doesn't clear the water and it has no chlorine (Cl2) then by all means proceed with a filter. I'm not a big fan of filters because they can harbor bacteria. Problems I see at camp grounds is they're located way out on the end of a water main which causes the Cl2 to dissipate. Sulphur and minerals are cosmetic/taste and odor related. Not life threatening. Chlorine is your friend unless you can ingest coliform which is not the worst. E-coli is a nightmare to a human. Have a safe camping trip. Feel free to ask questions.
WHAAAAAAT!!! That's crazy! I had no idea how useless some of those filters are. Thank you for the video and education! And, as always, thank you for the laughs! :-)
Great video guys, thanks for your work. Here is some information that I've learned over the years about "charcoal" filters. There are several stages to a water filter. I have backpacked hundreds and hundreds of miles on the Appalachian Trail and have filtered hundreds of gallons of water out of streams and springs and I have never gotten sick. The first layer of the filter is usually sand to filter out bioorganisms and fine impurities. Some filters even use larger things almost like fine gravel to filter out bigger particulates and impurities. The sand will also filter out bacteria, viruses and parasites. After the sand, the next layer is usually made of activated charcoal (the black stuff) and that further removes contaminates and impurities using chemical absorption. The sponges that you found are to keep the layers intact and to keep the gravel/sand/charcoal from leaving the filter and going into your clean water line. Now, even though the water has made it through your filter it may not taste as good as you would like it. The filter, if working properly, will remove 99.9999% (their number not mine) of all bacteria (salmonella, cholera, and E. coli), and protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium) and other unwanted particulates. It will not remove much of the bad taste.
I would add an off board. I think (not a pro just my personal opinion) that they make the showering, bushing teeth, etc safer, keep your water heater element lasting longer, and they might make the Berkley filters last longer since it's having to filter less dirty water. (not sure if I said that right, I think you know what I mean.). :-)
Great job with all your content. It is very informative, sincere and with a great level of honesty that is helpful to anyone looking to get into the RV life. Appreciate the life experiences outside of RV'ing as well that adds to the content you provide. Good luck with your adventures and safe travels.
You may want to look at ProPur silver impregnated ceramic filters as they store better.The Berky may not be a good choice for RV's as the filters are known to break loose easily and will mold if not used continuously so anyone who part times will be sadly disappointed.
This is really important info I had a crazy thing happening to me after drinking our well water at a log cabin on 80 acres parasitical but while I was being treated for lyme disease and thru a really intense magnetic treatment I was healed Need to get new water filter where I live now Lost sight of you guys so glad back Hope Summer good for you The best is yet to come
Hi Patti! So sorry to hear that you got sick drinking water. I cannot imagine what that must have been like. But we're so glad to hear that you're better! The Sawzall piece was fun. We need to cut more things in half! :-)
Thank you so much Michelle! Glad to hear this was helpful. We were shocked that we didn't know about this sooner. Water is probably our new biggest mistake. If you haven't ordered it already I've included the link and coupon code below. Save 5% with Coupon Code: RVOC & use this Link: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
We watched this video a few times because there was so much good information! We finally settled on the rv water filter store product you covered. I had not heard of them until you mentioned it and the RVOC promo code still works! Thank you!
So, are you guys still brushing your teeth, cooking, and showering with the RV water with the water system from the RV? Because the water system you guys chose looks like it is just for drinking water or maybe I missed something. Thank you for reading and commenting back on my question if you do.🙂😊
Great question. No, We have the Off Board system w/ 3 filters. It "attacks" all water before it enters the RV. This does so much more than the two "cameo" Then we only drink out of the Berkey.
Hi, my family and I have been RVing for over 30 years. We live full time in our RV now and have always used a portable water conditioner. We bought our first one and it was called Water Magic but the company has changed its name. There is a company called water on the go which is easier to use than the one we bought originally. So put the conditioner right in line like you would those creepy ones that you cut in two. You can use water test strips to test the hardness of the water to see when-it is time to re generate the tank. The water is great for the RV and your skin. When it comes to drinking water we have only used distilled water. The distiller we use is from Waterwise. Years ago Sears sold them. An every once in awhile you can find them at the thrift stores because people don’t know that they can still get parts from Waterwise. Distilled water is the best water for drinking. The Burkey still leaves contaminants in the water and you should have 0 parts per million for drinking. When we are in a park we make water and store it in a 5 gallon glass only jug. Plastic anything will transfer estrogen mimickers to your body and create havoc with your immune system. After years of drinking distilled water(I’m in my late 60’s) I do not take any medications and feel great. Do some more research on water it is very important for your family’s health. Your videos are great and you have a beautiful heart.
This comment frightens me a little, (with the plastic piece). But you bring up a convincing argument to do additional research. Compared to what we were drinking, anything is better, but there is always room for improvement. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you John and Mercedes for putting this video together! RVers need to think about protecting themselves AND their RVs and most don't. This is an excellent, in-depth comparison of the different systems and I LOVED seeing a Camco blue tube cut open! BTW, the "sponges" are membranes to keep the granulated carbon in it's place and provide a loose level of sediment filtration. WELL DONE! Dave
As always, I appreciate your integrity. The dog did great! If the dog won't drink the water that's pretty bad...they drink out of toilets! Having too much fun with power tools, leaving neighbors scratching their heads. LOL Thanks for doing all that research, and thanks for sharing!
Just WOW! So glad this popped up in my feed!! I never would have given consideration to water filtration in an RV. Thank you for all the research you did and the recommendations!! 🌸🚐
I agree about the water, we have a whole house reverse osmosis with ultraviolet light. I also put the water we drink and cook with in the berkey. The berkey is also good for removing that fluoride and lead. Big problems here in Chicago.
I love your videos! They are super educational and your personal journey is inspiring. My wife and I are about to begin our own RVing experience (part time). Water safety is important. Two questions: 1) After 1-year, is your opinion to use the “Clearsource” outside and the Berkey inside? 2) what size berkey do you use? I know you get tons of comments. Thanks in advance for responding if you can 😄
1) Yes, use both. We stall have not had to clean the filter on the Berkey due to the Clearsource.We have the Big Berkey. We think it’s the perfect size for RVing.
Just a warning about reverse osmosis (RO) water. If you start having heart palpitations, etc and you're drinking a lot of RO filtered water.... STOP. The issue is that the minerals in the water are needed by your body... which regulates heart beat. It's perfect for cooking, brushing teeth, etc.... but an ex-coworker used to own a restaurant and 'pounded' the RO water that he also cooked with. He thought he was having a heart attack, after a good deal of research by the doctors it came out he was drinking solely RO water. Ended up being the lack of natural minerals in the water and the signals weren't being sent/received.
@@MarcMercier1971 Your warning "doesn't hold water", in fact its patently false. For the most part and in most areas, the water we drink does contain minerals but the amount is negligible. Drinking water that has been filtered to the extent that all minerals have been removed will do nothing to the levels of minerals in our bodies. A person can use distilled water for all cooking and drinking and will suffer no ill effects whatsoever except that it probably won't taste that good. Now, drinking excessive amounts of water (filtered or not) can cause water intoxication but that's a whole different scenario and has nothing to do with the presence or lack of minerals in water used for drinking or cooking.
Another great public service video. And it's on a topic everyone should care about. Remember "if you don't have a filter, you are the filter", that's so gross. Thanks for informing all of us. The Berkey sounds like the way to go. I've been giving the dogs Fiji water when we travel, they do know the difference.
I can't believe your worried about something so unimportant as water when your not worried about the important things in life. Everyone knows donuts go inside the fridge not on top. Come on you guys. 😁 Greg in Michigan
I have a Berkey at home... clean water is essential for our health and not many realize what is in the water they drink, brush their teeth with and bath in. Good video guys! 👍
Thank you Randi. Yes, and up until recently we were in the category of people that didn't realize how dirty our water was. Probably one of our biggest mistakes!
We have a Berkey and take it with us when we RV. Love it! When we travel, it fits in one side of sink. I have some short round floats that I have cut in lengths that fit on the four sides. Works good. We also don’t empty it. No problems.
This is really great info, thanks for the details and the inside peeks. Top 3 priceless moments: 3. Check for living things in your filter. Haha, that was funny. 2. Skippy knows best. That was amazing, even tried the RV one and went back to the other and finished every drop! 1. Water therapy, great way to kick off your video.
I love seeing the testing and rating videos. Appreciate your efforts in our behalf too. Makes me feel terrific and certainly reassured about already having purchased my Berkey 3 weeks ago! Yay. Also, I don’t like the other options of purchasing bottled water or R/O systems. Waaay too much waste. We all need to do our level best to conserve our resources AND reduce waste. Thanks RVOC. You guys rock!
I am building my own 3 stage filter system which will cost less than $100. The first filter will be 30 microns. The second 5 microns. The final stage 1 micron. The 1 micron removes all cysts. You can use ANY 10 inch filter element in those containers. I use a home distiller to prepare water for the Keurig. I have had this distiller for over 10 years. Sometimes I buy DISTILLED water from Walmart. I use distilled water to fill the batteries and for the tow vehicle radiator. I use water hose quick connects to make setup very easy.
Good video. Like the majority of people I use the Camco filter and will now probably switch to a two or three stage filter system. I boondock a lot and at least twice a year I sanitize my tanks after I found some disgusting slime build up when I installed a cut off valve between them so I could only carry 50 gal on short trips. Fill tanks about 3/4 full and add two cups of bleach. Drive and slosh then let it rest for 24 hours. I also run that water through all the pipes to sanitize them. Empty, rinse twice, run clear water through all the pipes several times and done. Just attached PUR water filter to the kitchen faucet for drinking. P.S. You needed to talk to your neighbor about the proper way to run a sewer hose, LOL his was just on the ground with what looked like a 8-10 inch upward slope.
Thank you for this info John! We will be doing a video on fresh water storage tanks. This info gave us some additional things to think about. This was the worst park we have ever been to for service locations...There was no way to get "Fall" on black sewer pipe unless you jacked rig up 3 feet high. That same neighbor through there hose up on the picnic table to drain right before leaving...Pissed us off! We have a picture and will share it in a future black tank vid. Thanks again for the info on fresh tanks 👍😀💚John
I really enjoyed this video. You took everyone through the various types of filter systems and the way you did it would make it easy fr even the newest RVer. I have tried those blue filters and threw it away after the first five minutes. I agree that it was a lousy filter that did almost nothing. I did have a three stage reverse osmosis system till it "walked away while I was visiting another person in the campground. That was also the campground that I had problems with my external generator "walking away" even though it was chained to the trailer. Lessons learned!
A few quick questions....What size of Berkey did you guys end up getting (looks like the Big Berkey)? Did you get the add on Flouride reducing filters? Did you guys get the Berkey shower filter as well? Thanks again!!! P.S. I just ordered the Black Filters, Flouride Reducing Filters and the stand for my Berkey-like container, and used your coupon code. Thanks!!
Hey Mike💚👍😀 Thank you!!! We got the Big Berkey, Stand, Stainless steel spigot. We did not get the fluoride filters but will be adding them. The shower filters are sold out right now.
Love you guys! Great review. This comment is not intended to be negative about the Berkey filter but rather the horrible water they are feeding us here in Riverside County. We purchased the travel Berkey about a year ago for home use. We always drink bottled water at home because our water is the worst I have ever had in my 63 years, several towns and four states. One thing we found out is that the Berkey does not filter out the hardness of the water. And our water is from more than one source, one is actually chemically treated with a desalinization process and horrible tasting. Another source they are selling us here in southern California smells like sewer water. We had to stop using the Berkey at home because our tap water was so bad my face broke out in a horrible rash. We have considered re-filtering the 20 cents a gallon purified water we are purchasing at the grocery store but that kind of seems like overkill. So we are planning to use our Berkey when we can be RVing more and I'm betting we will love it. And I agree with you, it really is nice looking. PS- we purchased ours with that glass tube spout and it is great to tell you how much water you have in the bottom without having to remove it all of the time.
There’s also AlexaPure (same process as the Berkey). We have two filters in ours-can use four. We absolutely LOVE our AlexaPure...and our dog will drink the water now, where before I was getting concerned because she would not drink much during the day. We also fill up our ice trays with the AlexaPure. This was a great vid for a contentious problem. Tks for sharing the info!🥰
I never thought about how good our water was. I put our dogs on bottled Spring water several years ago. Due to some health issues. And when we are out in the RV I still carry cases of bottled water for them and us. Such a very informative video.
We have had a Berkey Royal for about 5 years now. Our well has a slight iron taste, and the Berkey takes out the iron taste. We do drink out of our well too, but the Berkey water tastes wayyyy better. We bought it just in case, of.......shtf. My parents and neighbors bought one each, because they liked ours.We have to clean the filters about every 3 months, with one of those green scouring pads. Each time you have to force water into the filters until little bubbles perk out. About every 2 and a half years we have to buy new filters, because the filters even after cleaning, just don't filter hardly at all anymore. We use two filters, at a repurchase price cost of $107.00.a set. Our Berkey can take up to four filters for faster filtering, but we only use two. I recommend the Berkey filter system.
I loved your little skit in the beginning, you guys rock! Skippy was the true test, if a dog doesn't want it that should tell you something. I will never brush my teeth in my RV again until I get a Berkey. ! I am getting a Berkey ASAP (and I will use your link). Thank you for all of your research, testing and providing such great information. Your channel is the BEST!
Thank you so much Louise💚 We love our Berkey and so does Skippy. Make sure you use our Coupon for 5% Off or you can click this link when your ready: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Have you tried the LifeStraw filtering system? It can actually be used with dirty pond water too and is used for a clean water project in Africa. It is a USA company and on the Web. They have various containers, like pitchers or portable cups or just straws. I started using this filter with a pitcher 3 months ago and am now drinking tap water through it. Yay! For 9 years I lived on bottled water because our local water is so full of "stuff" (iron, magnesium, calcium, etc.). You might like to look at this filtering too. Great video 'guys'!
You are the 2nd RV traveler YT-er that I listen to that's also recommended the Berkey. We're part timers who've been using Camco -- definitely need to rethink this plan. Also hubby's great about bleaching tanks to disinfect before we head off...
Well, our experience is that you have to be ready for all types of water issues. (even if you're a weekend warrior) Camco filters are great at removing bad taste w/ the carbon, but they don't really filter for the bad stuff, (that's what we learned w/ our research). So I would be using a Berkey, both at home and on the road. That's how much we love it. :-)
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Great video, I had my wife watch it and now we're going to make some changes.
That was an,awesome video! Thanks John for cutting the filters up and showing how they actually work. Thanks for keeping us informed on the water issues that are going on in rv parks.
Jeff, so glad you enjoyed the video. And you're right. We need to cut more stuff in half. It was so fun seeing what was inside.
Thank you again for your comments! Don't forget your coupon codes & links.
Berkey Save 5% with Coupon Code: RVOC & use this Link:
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Great video guys!! I'm glad my illness prompted you to help so many others, that honestly makes me feel good!! I wish what happened to me on no one.
For ourselves we already had the ClearSource filter and we just added a UV filter as well. And lesson learned, I will never use RV park water for any purpose not after the cost of brushing my teeth. Extreme reaction on my end, but I'd rather be safe than sick again.
PS. Skippy wearing his backpack is the cutest thing I've seen today!!
Happy RV'ing and sending good vibes your way 😊 ~ Kim
"Is that alive? Is that thing moving?" I cringed!!!! I LOVE that Skippy tasted both waters - what a Hoot!!! And I Love your 'Therapy sessions' - you 2 are hilarious in those!
We had a lot of fun with this video. I didn't know what to expect when we sawed the water filters in half. The was fun to see what was inside. And Skippy is such a good boy. :-)
I am Canadian and have been camping all my life and I'm in my 50s. I remember my family getting really sick after drinking water from a campground. I thought this could not happen in 2022. Thank you for opening our eyes to this problem.
Once again, you two outdid yourselves on taking the time to educate the rest of us! Kudos & thank you 🤗👍.
Happy to Serve💚💚💚
WE HAVE been RV ing long time and we NEVER drink park water. I never found it to ever bother me to buy water.
We retired in 2015 and bought a barely used class A to live full time in. On one of our first adventures we stopped at a church social and used their hose to fill our water tank and it liked to killed us! Never Again! I bought an RO system from the RV Water Store and it has been the best investment I ever made. The boondocking feature allows me to select where my waste water goes and it really helps save water by recycling.
We love Dave & Tracy at The RVWaterStoreFilter .com. They are good people
We use a Camco filter. And we haul gallon jugs around for coffee making ice cubes. Your right it’s a pain, and takes up a ton of room that I could store wine, beer and whiskey in.
Buy a Berkey Dan! We love our Berkey and so does Skippy! Please use our link and save 5% www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Have been using Berkey filters for 4 years now in my home. Could not be happier. Started with a Big Berkey using two white filters, then wanted to move up to eliminating the fluoride so bought those filters. We used it enough that we upgraded to a Royal Berkey, 2 black filters, 2 fluoride PF2 filters. Makes the greatest coffee and tea. Moved the smaller Berkey to the camper.
We are looking at the fluoride filters😀 We too Love our Berkey💚
I dang near died when John went from smiling to pure disgust when Mercedes started talking about the bad things you could get and it flashed a list on the screen.... omg I'm still laughing LOL
LOL...I definitely have issues😂
Excellent subject guys! Loved the skit in the beginning 👍
The one device you guys loved takes are of the drinking aspect of the water situation but doesn’t cover the shower...
Great video. Thanks and take care, Bill in Utah
We have the exterior system to protect the shower water. It's the one w/ 3 canisters.
@@RVOddCouple I guess you need to say that in a video.. I love your Truth so should you not try this out for more than a day or a week???
And also, thank you for being honest with the public about all of the filters you tested, and not just taking the cash kickback you mentioned one of the companies offered you for the best review. You guys truly have integrity. A wonderful quality to posses 😊
Thank you Barbara💚
You have really provided a great public service here!
The one that has peaked our interest is the Clearsource because we very very rarely go to RV parks with water hookups. This is the only one that we could use to fill our onboard water tank.
This appears to be a perfect all around system for both hookups and boon docking. BUT .... did the Clearsource water pass the Skippy Test?!?! If not, and we stay with bottled water (or a Berkey) for drinking, filtering the inbound water will save our entire water system from "gunking up" with sediments, rust and God knows what!
We checked out their website and we are in the same area code, so once we get our new rig we'll be sure to get in touch with them.
Andy & Kim
Hi Andy & Kim! Great question. Skippy did not choose the ClearSource water. He chose the Berkey. But We trust Clearsouce way more than we trust Camco. Camco removes yuck that's up to 20 microns and Clearsource removes yuck that's up to 0.2 microns in size. Smaller microns is better and less "gunking." Let us know what you think of whatever you end up getting. :-)
Just wanna say thank you! We got our Berkey a few months ago and LOVE IT! We are gate guards and never have potable water! It has already paid for itself in the money we spent on bottled water and the fuel to go get said water! 😁
So happy to hear this! We love our Berkey and think it's the best investment we have ever made! Thank you
Thanks for cutting up the filters..I always wanted to know what was inside...COOL..
Yw Dennis😀
"Water is life and clean water means health." ~ Audrey Hepburn.
Your intensive dive into keeping your water clean is most appreciated - something we tend to take for granted until something goes wrong. Occasionally our town will have "Boil Water Advisory" signs posted and I think "What the heck happened??" Bacterial sickness is no joke.
Safe, healthy and happy travels! Many thanks for your research ~💜
Thank you Stacey! You're right. Well, Audrey was right! :-). Boil advisories are so scary! We're glad Kim is feeling better. Thank you for the supportive comments. :-)
Boil water advisories are just a precaution until the utility can prove it's safe. Utilities are on the side of caution to protect the consumer. Likely it was just a water break. If the water pressure drops below 20 psi they're required to have a water boil notice.
Many thanks, Steven- I just became a bit smarter today! 💜
@@staceyforrest364 We learn so much in here💚
Even at 64, glad to be a student of the "Odd Squad Always Learning Institute" 😂💜
Whoot Hoot !! just got a berkey 3 days ago and Love it, the water taste so good!!
I know what you mean. I just look at it and smile. lol
We don’t ever drink our RV water. Bottled only. We do use the Camco Filter but still would not drink it. You guys are awesome. Have given us great ideas for our RV and channel.
Did you like the sawing of the Camco filter in half? That was fun! You might want to consider the Berkey to save on bottled, but regardless, you're right! Don't drink the cameo water.
:-)
Thank you for your hard word - video. After seeing it, I will surely improve our RV's water filter system. Quotes of the day. John "Is it alive?" Mercedes "Can he read?"
LOL Bill💚💚💚 Thank you for the work that you do....👍😀
I'm not an RVer but I've been watching different channels for all the advice and ideas on how to survive after natural disasters like what we experienced here in Puerto Rico after huricane Maria I appreciate you making these videos, they are very helpful.
Our thoughts & Prayers are with everyone on the Island...Mercedes is from Puerto Rico and has a lot of family there. Try the Berkey💚 Coupon Code: RVOC
@@RVOddCouple Thanks❤️
I use a 5 micron filter first then a 0.5 micron filter. Disinfect my tank and lines once a year. So far so good. Thanks for the good info.
Excellent! You are welcome James😀👍💚
We still live in a sticks & bricks and purchased the Royal Berkey (3.25 Gallon) almost 2 years ago. We have 2 of the charcoal filters in the upper chamber and 2 of the fluoride filters in the lower chamber. In addition, we have the water view spigot and stand. Absolutely LOVE the water view spigot!!! We measured and marked the side of the view window at the 1 gallon, 2 gallon and 3 gallon levels with a sharpie so we always know exactly how much water we have in the lower chamber. It takes about 45 minutes to cycle 3 gallons of water and we fill our Berkey at least twice a day. The key to getting the most out of the charcoal filter is to clean them on a regular basis. We clean ours bi-weekly. However, living in an RV and filtering all kinds of different water sources we would highly recommend cleaning the charcoal filters weekly. We use an 8 cup measuring cup we had to fill the upper chamber once our lower chamber is empty. We googled how many cups were in a gallon and figured out that we have to fill my extra large measuring cup up 5 times to cycle 3 gallons of water. Berkey is well worth the investment!!! We LOVE our Royal Berkey so much that we recently just purchased the Sport Berkey water bottle for hiking and other activities. We can hardly wait to test them out!!! Thanks for the info on water while RVing. Keep the videos coming and safe travels!!
Thank you so much for this. We have copied and pasted for future use. Thanks again for sharing your tips💚💚💚
You’re Welcome. Safe Travels
@@shelribelin8144 Safe travels to you as well
I love, love, love your therapy sessions. They ALWAYS make me laugh. Great video on water filters!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the video. We're glad that we were able to share this info. Don't make the same mistake we did. lol
Another great video by you guys. We bought the big blue plastic Berkeley, this way you can tell exactly how much water is on the top and on the bottom. We have had ours going on four years with no problem. When the water flow gets slow, take the filters out and give them a good scrubbing and put them up to the kitchen sink and flush them from the inside out. We save our old pop bottles and use them to store the water in.. several friends have come over and could not believe the taste and they have bought one.
We Love Our Berkey too💚
Thanks for your help on another important topic. Although we bring Sierra Springs 5-gallon waters from home (not full-time yet), I always wondered how to clean water for brushing teeth, shaving, showering, etc. All we've used is the Camco filters on the RV park faucet. I'll check out the other recommendations.
Give us a call when your ready Mike! We are learning a lot! Love ya💚
Your water hose could be contaminated. Use diluted bleach in hose to sanitize. Connect filter at rig, not water bib. I also sanitize rig's water lines. As a secondary safety rule, I use a Brita filter-water reservoir.
We"ve used a Berkey in our home since 2009 and we love it! We use the clear blue plastic model in our home and you can see the water levels. I clean the filter every three months and replace them once a year. You can actually feel a build up of like small granules on the outside of the charcoal filter, but that is easily rubbed of with a cloth without any damage to the filter. When you get new filters, they send a brown washer that is used to back flush the charcoal filter. Instructions are included. Best drinking water system ever. Love your videos Gary
Thank you Gary. We didn't realize that they had a clear system. I bet it involves less "polishing". lol. But we agree, it's the best drinking water we've had too. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thank you again!
We use our regular Berkey in our RV for drinking and cooking. I do appreciate this video as we need to sort out how to filter the water for the RV. Thank you
The dog test was absolutely brilliant. Almost as if it was a setup. WOWO!!! Great topic that I haven't seen any RV'ers discuss.
You set that up test up! LOL...Thank you
The only other RVer to cover this is Dave and Yoko (The RV Dummy) here on UA-cam.
ODDLY enough, we were boiling mad about what had been flushed out into the open, until we saw the Skippy test! What a great dog!!!
Can't begin to thank you enough for this incredible education! We are awashed with joy! We love streaming your videos!
Hugs, prayers, safe and healthy travels! Brendan & Lena
Oh my goodness Brendan & Lena- This is the funniest comment ever. I'm kinda the nerd in the relationship so I can't stop laughing. But to your credit, John's laughing too!
Thanks For All You Do Guys....You Simplify & Improve Others Lives Through These Vids
Wow! Thank you so much! That's such a big compliment!
@@RVOddCouple simple truth
We have been using a reverse osmosis system for years its not cheap $1600 and filters are $150 each works fantastic. Great video guys, always enjoy seeing them. Happy trails ya'll.
Reverse Osmosis water is really high quality, but you're right. The systems can get pricy. Glad you enjoyed the video. Safe travels. :-)
In Nebraska, the campground we stayed at offered filtered water because the water was full of nitrates and not potable. Anytime you're around farmland with livestock, be aware of the nitrates in the water.
Great advice! Different regions and even activities nearby affect the drinking water. Glad the campground offered water. :-)
That is a horrifying thought! Warned...thank you.
Thank you for all you do! My husband and I just started watching your channel with your "pissed" segment . Thank you for being real! We are now proud rv odd squads!!
Tammy, thank you so much for your kind words. We love hearing about married couples that watch together. That's a huge compliment! Thank you for being RV Odd Squad members! We had a bunch of fun with this video. :-)
You guys are the best I love the RV Therapist Part, as always great video !
Thank you Isaac💚💚💚
Hey John....Love your videos ..this one crack me up. I love the dog test. I use to sale bottle water in Arizona..then I bought a few water machines...I went to a 1 day school on how they work. But I did learn alot when I was selling water. Make sure you keep a TDS monitor in the RV..test your water daily before you drink it. This measures the Total dissolved solids in the water..which are things like Nitrates and other unwanted chemicals. No water filter company can tell you it will last 6 months. It totally depends on the waters TDS that your using..measure it before you pour it in the container..read it..then read it after it comes out of the spout..You need to check it daily. That will determine when the filter needs to be replaced. Take care and God bless.
Great information Doug! Thank you💚 We never heard of this but will look it up😀👍
Just wondering. Do you always sanitize the campground spigot before you hook up to your rv? Some people the last thing they do before they leave a site is washout their blacktank hose before they put it away. Just a thought.
We don't but we should. I just took a picture of a lady that put the hose on top of the picnic table. GRRR! So gross! And in the park that we showed, you can see how close the sewer is from the fresh water. There should be guidelines to keep them apart!
@@RVOddCouple I have also seen a squirrel drinking from a dripping spigot and yet I forget to wipe the spigot before use!
We started doing that a couple of years ago. My risk mgmt training fm a healthcare job kicked n & we sanitize a lot of stuff, including hands or else wear gloves that you can toss when done.
Don’t recall where I saw it, but the tip was to carry a small spray bottle of hydrogen peroxide in your water compartment. Spray down hose ends and spigots before connecting. So easy!
Good information. My 2018 Coachmen Chaparral 370FL fifth wheel came prepped to install a water filter so I installed a residential style whole house water filter with a 0.5 micron filter. The filter housing is clear so I can see how my filter is doing. it's amazing to see how the filter goes from white to brown as it's filtering out all the iron and other sediments in the water. I've had issues with hard water stains from a number of the campgrounds that I have stayed at so I recently installed a portable water softener. I plumbed it into my RV so that it would sit inside my storage bay and could be bypassed for recharging.
Like you I also don't want to have to carry a bunch of bottled water.
This is great advice. It's tricky as an RVer because you have to be prepared for nation wide water issues. Glad to hear you found a good system & you don't have to lug around a bunch of bottled water!
Great video! I never realized exactly what RV's recommend for drinking water or filters offered at all, so I am so glad you posted this! And being a constant handwasher when I even touch my mail, I cannot believe you touched that ick on the table with a bare hand!! Eek! Just sayin'!
You are braver than I!! God Bless you all!! ❤🙏
lol. Yes, John touched it and smelled it! Talk about gross! ha! The amount of hand sanitizer that he used after was insane.
@@RVOddCouple You shoulda' showed us outtakes of that! Would have been both funny & reassuring to see! lol
My husband has already purchased a RO system for an rv that we haven't even got yet. Love the fact that he is concerned enough to think ahead.
Hats off to your husband! We were drinking dirty water for a while!
@@RVOddCouple He said to tell you thanks for the hats off, now she will stop complaining about the cost. You both are such a joy....
@@Kcrobin47 LOL...Thank you💚
Welcome to the Pacific Northwest ! Thanks for all the great videos and education on your experiences of RV living.
Thank you Ken💚 You are welcome😀
Ordered our filters from RV water Filter store. THANKS RVOC! you Saved us nearly 80$!!!
Skippy said to hell with the park water give me the berkey...lol
Great info guys, a lot of ppl don't speak about the park water.
Skippy Knows!!! Thank you Andrew💚
I am only commenting on your “newest “ vid so that it gets to you. DO NOT CHANGE!!! Do Not let your channel change you! You WILL get bigger....why?...you are REAL!...you will be overwhelmed, if you’re not already. Nonetheless, take a break...do what you have to...to escape the “task” of which you have endeavored. No big deal...Keep it real....do not “think” you “have to” do a video!...No!...you do not!..Keep yourself grounded. Love you guys. God Bless you and your family.
Wow! Solid advice! Thank you so much! We're having a lot of fun with this. And we always try to think about how the video will be helpful or what's the actual purpose of the video- otherwise what's the point right? Thank you so much and God speed!
Mercedes and John, thank you both for your educational and entertaining videos. My wife and I plan to retire in a few years and travel part time in a motorhome. We will refer to your videos as reference material.
Respecting your position on this topic of Patreon I would like to express an unsolicited opinion for your consideration.
I support two UA-camrs via Patreon and my wife supports one. The reason we support these people is because we feel they provide a valuable service to us. A service that is not vendor supported. A service that is independent of the need of sponsors other than us, the consuming audience as well as whatever monies they make off of UA-cam.
IMHO, the two of your provide a worthy, independent services. Many of your videos are the result of careful, detailed research (IE: Thousand Trails, water filters, etc.). It is in our best interest, your consuming public, that you continue to product such quality material. I trust you will in fact continue to produce videos for some time to come whether or not you ultimately choose to utilize Patron (as long as you do NOT loose independence). My wife and I look forward to continuing to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes as we plan our own RV adventures (and make our own mistakes).
I for one would welcome the opportunity to support you via Patreon. I do not mind contributing financially to the publication of such interesting, educational and quality material.
End of opinion and thank you again.
Don
Hi Don,
I appreciate your feedback and frankly you bring up really good points. When you add up the total hours that it takes to make a good video, edit it, and respond to all of the comments, it's a lot! I don't know what the future has in store. Our only hope is that viewers never feel like there are either insiders or outsiders. That's the issue that we take. Having to pay or be excluded. That said, I owe a bunch of people an apology because I was judgemental. I put everyone that does patreon in a box and some people do it in such a way that doesn't exclude. Some just release videos early, while others have it that you have to pay to get an invite to events. And those that don't exclude others, who otherwise could not afford to create good content, didn't deserve my judgement.
Thank you for your honest feedback.
Mercedes
I love you guys, you are funny and sincere, not fake, I believe a you really care about your followers. We will be getting our RV by the first of the year and I sincerely hope we get to run into you guys. Great information and I hope to get a Berkey soon. Safe travels!!
Thank you for the kind words Trish💚💚💚 We love our Berkey and so does Skippy. Make sure you use our Coupon for 5% Off or you can click this link when your ready: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Your videos are getting better and better, keep up the good work guys.
Thank you! Lucky for us we have lots of room for improvement! ha!
Oh! Gosh! John & Mercedes, We LOVE! LOVE, LOVE! Your water filter skit. It made us laugh out loud😂😂 We played it again! Thanks ‼️ Sorry, gotta go, watch it again.......
LOL...Thank you so much Martha💚💚💚
A charcoal filter is a taste and odor filter but since the water is passing through so fast It cant really do all that well a job, Really does nothing for suspended solids (sediment) in the water at all. Dog test did it for me, getting a Berkey.
We were blown away by Skippy!!! We love our Berkey and so does Skippy! Please use our link and save 5% www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Just discovered you two today. We are hooked. Great info in every video we watched and you aren’t annoying. Have fun!
Welcome to the RV Odd Squad. And thank you for the hysterical compliment. "you aren't annoying" is so funny but kind at the same time! :-)
There's those donuts again
Temptation
They are helpful in counteracting the
water problems
LOL...Sorry Denny! Love those donuts😂
If I sold all my possessions, I'd keep the donettes, too!
And they are great with coffee!!
I love the dog test. Working as a certified water treatment plant operator w/nearly 40 years I've got a ton of information. I also camped for the last 10 years.
First I flush any hook up wide open for 10 minutes. Then check for any trace of chlorine. If flushing doesn't clear the water and it has no chlorine (Cl2) then by all means proceed with a filter. I'm not a big fan of filters because they can harbor bacteria. Problems I see at camp grounds is they're located way out on the end of a water main which causes the Cl2 to dissipate. Sulphur and minerals are cosmetic/taste and odor related. Not life threatening. Chlorine is your friend unless you can ingest coliform which is not the worst. E-coli is a nightmare to a human.
Have a safe camping trip. Feel free to ask questions.
Great information here Tim! We will definitely reach out if we have questions...Thank you Our Friend and safe travels to you as well👍😀💚💚
WHAAAAAAT!!! That's crazy! I had no idea how useless some of those filters are. Thank you for the video and education! And, as always, thank you for the laughs! :-)
We had a lot of fun on this one Larry! Always welcome👍😀💚
Great video guys, thanks for your work. Here is some information that I've learned over the years about "charcoal" filters.
There are several stages to a water filter. I have backpacked hundreds and hundreds of miles on the Appalachian Trail and have filtered hundreds of gallons of water out of streams and springs and I have never gotten sick.
The first layer of the filter is usually sand to filter out bioorganisms and fine impurities. Some filters even use larger things almost like fine gravel to filter out bigger particulates and impurities. The sand will also filter out bacteria, viruses and parasites. After the sand, the next layer is usually made of activated charcoal (the black stuff) and that further removes contaminates and impurities using chemical absorption.
The sponges that you found are to keep the layers intact and to keep the gravel/sand/charcoal from leaving the filter and going into your clean water line.
Now, even though the water has made it through your filter it may not taste as good as you would like it. The filter, if working properly, will remove 99.9999% (their number not mine) of all bacteria (salmonella, cholera, and E. coli), and protozoa (such as giardia and cryptosporidium) and other unwanted particulates. It will not remove much of the bad taste.
Thanks for sharing this info with us Robert😀👍
@@RVOddCouple Happy to contribute. Thanks for your videos. Safe travels.
I’ve purchased a Berkey! I’m thinking about an off board as well😊BTW I have a Berkey light... filters the same just lighter 😊 and a bit cheaper
I would add an off board. I think (not a pro just my personal opinion) that they make the showering, bushing teeth, etc safer, keep your water heater element lasting longer, and they might make the Berkley filters last longer since it's having to filter less dirty water. (not sure if I said that right, I think you know what I mean.). :-)
RV Odd Couple that’s what I was thinking too 😊 BTW, the Berkey light is see through 😉
Great job with all your content. It is very informative, sincere and with a great level of honesty that is helpful to anyone looking to get into the RV life. Appreciate the life experiences outside of RV'ing as well that adds to the content you provide. Good luck with your adventures and safe travels.
Thank you! We are having a lot of fun and simply sharing all of our experience👍💚😀
You may want to look at ProPur silver impregnated ceramic filters as they store better.The Berky may not be a good choice for RV's as the filters are known to break loose easily and will mold if not used continuously so anyone who part times will be sadly disappointed.
Thank you Leo... We love the Berkey and use it constantly so no worries for us😀
Good to know for part timers like us
This is really important info I had a crazy thing happening to me after drinking our well water at a log cabin on 80 acres parasitical but while I was being treated for lyme disease and thru a really intense magnetic treatment I was healed Need to get new water filter where I live now Lost sight of you guys so glad back Hope Summer good for you The best is yet to come
I live in the Pacific NW
I want a sawzall love that tool
Hi Patti!
So sorry to hear that you got sick drinking water. I cannot imagine what that must have been like. But we're so glad to hear that you're better! The Sawzall piece was fun. We need to cut more things in half! :-)
That filty was freaky Charcoal cleans but sponges hold germs Freaked when you thought something was moving
Great job Odd Couple!
Thank you Dean! Gad you enjoyed! :-)
This is such a helpful video, beyond words! I'm going to get a Berkey ASAP. Thanks, Skippy... your vote had the most impact!!
Thank you so much Michelle! Glad to hear this was helpful. We were shocked that we didn't know about this sooner. Water is probably our new biggest mistake. If you haven't ordered it already I've included the link and coupon code below.
Save 5% with Coupon Code: RVOC & use this Link: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Always trust the dog, their nose never fails!! Great video
We love our Berkey and so does Skippy! 💚
We watched this video a few times because there was so much good information! We finally settled on the rv water filter store product you covered. I had not heard of them until you mentioned it and the RVOC promo code still works! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful! Thank you for the support
So, are you guys still brushing your teeth, cooking, and showering with the RV water with the water system from the RV? Because the water system you guys chose looks like it is just for drinking water or maybe I missed something. Thank you for reading and commenting back on my question if you do.🙂😊
Great question. No, We have the Off Board system w/ 3 filters. It "attacks" all water before it enters the RV. This does so much more than the two "cameo" Then we only drink out of the Berkey.
@@RVOddCouple Oh okay, awesome. Thank you for responding.
@@TeamJones Yw
RV Odd Couple o
Hi, my family and I have been RVing for over 30 years. We live full time in our RV now and have always used a portable water conditioner. We bought our first one and it was called Water Magic but the company has changed its name. There is a company called water on the go which is easier to use than the one we bought originally. So put the conditioner right in line like you would those creepy ones that you cut in two. You can use water test strips to test the hardness of the water to see when-it is time to re generate the tank. The water is great for the RV and your skin. When it comes to drinking water we have only used distilled water. The distiller we use is from Waterwise. Years ago Sears sold them. An every once in awhile you can find them at the thrift stores because people don’t know that they can still get parts from Waterwise. Distilled water is the best water for drinking. The Burkey still leaves contaminants in the water and you should have 0 parts per million for drinking. When we are in a park we make water and store it in a 5 gallon glass only jug. Plastic anything will transfer estrogen mimickers to your body and create havoc with your immune system. After years of drinking distilled water(I’m in my late 60’s) I do not take any medications and feel great. Do some more research on water it is very important for your family’s health. Your videos are great and you have a beautiful heart.
This comment frightens me a little, (with the plastic piece). But you bring up a convincing argument to do additional research. Compared to what we were drinking, anything is better, but there is always room for improvement. Thank you for sharing!
The Berkey water filter now has an add on sight glass spigot so you can see how much water is in the bottom.
We need one of those! :-). Otherwise you know us, We'll keep opening it up to see how much is left. lol
Berkey are a pretty looking con job that's not even a Certified product. Great marketing scheme though.
Berkey are a pretty looking con job that's not even a Certified product. Great marketing scheme though.
@@ziddi2603 We all have our opinion. But it passed the skippy test. :-).
Thank you John and Mercedes for putting this video together! RVers need to think about protecting themselves AND their RVs and most don't. This is an excellent, in-depth comparison of the different systems and I LOVED seeing a Camco blue tube cut open! BTW, the "sponges" are membranes to keep the granulated carbon in it's place and provide a loose level of sediment filtration. WELL DONE! Dave
Thank you Dave👍💚😀
You know as always.. great video.. RV..filter. I caught typhoid from ice water..here in the Philippines..
Oh no! That makes sense though. That's so scary!
Wow, skippy rocks! Love it, he actually tried the Rv water. Did you also notice he instinctively went to berkie. Great guys
It was so cool! Skippy loves Berkey! Thank you
Thank you for doing this video. But what’s with the Doughnettes on top of the fridge? Or is that your Achilles heel?
Ha ha I saw the bag.of donuts too.
Mandy Story Seems to be a staple on the fridge!
Since we don't drink, we drown our sorrows in powdered donuts! lol. :-). It is definitely our Achilles heel!
RV Odd Couple now that’s funny!
And the pooch water test puts it over the top! And dogs drinks storm puddles when thirsty enough.
As always, I appreciate your integrity. The dog did great! If the dog won't drink the water that's pretty bad...they drink out of toilets! Having too much fun with power tools, leaving neighbors scratching their heads. LOL Thanks for doing all that research, and thanks for sharing!
LOL Lynn...Our neighbors usually think we are crazy...😂😂😂 Thank you as always💚💚💚
RV Odd Couple lmbo!!!
LOL water therapy
My friend has the Berkey. Highly recomended.
Yes, John needs water therapy. And he's lucky (in my opinion) that he got such a great therapist. lol
@@RVOddCouple you have my vote! Always great to watch you both and learn from your experiences.
I love how you guys tell everyone the truth about RV living like you said the good and bad ❤️
Great info.. I dont own a RV yet... but I already have the Berkey on my list! BAM!
Bam is right! That's awesome. We didn't think it was necessary. We made a big mistake not prioritizing our water quality.
Just WOW! So glad this popped up in my feed!! I never would have given consideration to water filtration in an RV. Thank you for all the research you did and the recommendations!! 🌸🚐
We love our Berkey Theresa! Glad that your getting your water right! You are very welcome
Discriminating Dogs choose BERKEY!
(Humans like Berkey too)
LOL!!!💚💚💚
I agree about the water, we have a whole house reverse osmosis with ultraviolet light. I also put the water we drink and cook with in the berkey. The berkey is also good for removing that fluoride and lead. Big problems here in Chicago.
We love our Berkey Donna! I hope they do something about that and many other things in Chicago. Thank you
I kinda thought that your use or misuse of the Sawzall should have not been one handed. I appreciate your info but please look at your personal safety
Rob A Caution safety Police on Patrol. How did we ever get out of the dark ages. ..
@@6969smurfy our ancestors did alot of stupid things...lol...
I love your videos! They are super educational and your personal journey is inspiring. My wife and I are about to begin our own RVing experience (part time). Water safety is important. Two questions: 1) After 1-year, is your opinion to use the “Clearsource” outside and the Berkey inside? 2) what size berkey do you use? I know you get tons of comments. Thanks in advance for responding if you can 😄
1) Yes, use both. We stall have not had to clean the filter on the Berkey due to the Clearsource.We have the Big Berkey. We think it’s the perfect size for RVing.
RV Odd Couple thanks for taking time out of your super busy
Schedule! Praying for continued blessings and God’s favor on your family!
Just a warning about reverse osmosis (RO) water. If you start having heart palpitations, etc and you're drinking a lot of RO filtered water.... STOP. The issue is that the minerals in the water are needed by your body... which regulates heart beat. It's perfect for cooking, brushing teeth, etc.... but an ex-coworker used to own a restaurant and 'pounded' the RO water that he also cooked with. He thought he was having a heart attack, after a good deal of research by the doctors it came out he was drinking solely RO water. Ended up being the lack of natural minerals in the water and the signals weren't being sent/received.
Very interesting read Marc. Thank you for sharing💚
@@RVOddCouple Just ran across this article verifying I wasn't just talking out my behind. aqualiv.com/pages/reverse-osmosis-water-filter-health
@@MarcMercier1971 Not really an article. It's a water filter company website so what you read there probably has some bias.
@@MarcMercier1971 Your warning "doesn't hold water", in fact its patently false. For the most part and in most areas, the water we drink does contain minerals but the amount is negligible. Drinking water that has been filtered to the extent that all minerals have been removed will do nothing to the levels of minerals in our bodies. A person can use distilled water for all cooking and drinking and will suffer no ill effects whatsoever except that it probably won't taste that good. Now, drinking excessive amounts of water (filtered or not) can cause water intoxication but that's a whole different scenario and has nothing to do with the presence or lack of minerals in water used for drinking or cooking.
Another great public service video. And it's on a topic everyone should care about. Remember "if you don't have a filter, you are the filter", that's so gross. Thanks for informing all of us. The Berkey sounds like the way to go. I've been giving the dogs Fiji water when we travel, they do know the difference.
You're right James, and we've been a filter now for months. Yuck! That's funny, your dogs are drinking better water than we were! lol. :-)
I can't believe your worried about something so unimportant as water when your not worried about the important things in life.
Everyone knows donuts go inside the fridge not on top.
Come on you guys.
😁
Greg in Michigan
LOL Greg💚😂 Our Donuts Donuts don't last long up there😂
I have a Berkey at home... clean water is essential for our health and not many realize what is in the water they drink, brush their teeth with and bath in. Good video guys! 👍
Thank you Randi. Yes, and up until recently we were in the category of people that didn't realize how dirty our water was. Probably one of our biggest mistakes!
This was very informative not just for RV living. Skippy knows his stuff. Thanks guys.
You are very welcome 💚 Skip loves the Berkey
Thanks for cutting up the filters. This was all good info! 🧡
Hey Brian & Michelle! This was a fun video to make. We need to cut more things in half! :-)
Bet we could come up with a couple ideas. :-)
We have a Berkey and take it with us when we RV. Love it! When we travel, it fits in one side of sink. I have some short round floats that I have cut in lengths that fit on the four sides. Works good. We also don’t empty it. No problems.
Excellent advice. Yes, we want to find a way to keep it standing when we travel. I love my Berkey too!
This is really great info, thanks for the details and the inside peeks. Top 3 priceless moments:
3. Check for living things in your filter. Haha, that was funny.
2. Skippy knows best. That was amazing, even tried the RV one and went back to the other and finished every drop!
1. Water therapy, great way to kick off your video.
You are welcome💚 Ton of work on this one😀
Man when you split those filters....SOLD ME. THANKS GUYS!!!!!
it was so much fun cutting those filters in half. We need to break out the sawzall more often
I love seeing the testing and rating videos. Appreciate your efforts in our behalf too. Makes me feel terrific and certainly reassured about already having purchased my Berkey 3 weeks ago! Yay. Also, I don’t like the other options of purchasing bottled water or R/O systems. Waaay too much waste. We all need to do our level best to conserve our resources AND reduce waste. Thanks RVOC. You guys rock!
You are absolutely right Linda! Thank you and congrats on your new Berkey!💚💚💚
I am building my own 3 stage filter system which will cost less than $100. The first filter will be 30 microns. The second 5 microns. The final stage 1 micron. The 1 micron removes all cysts. You can use ANY 10 inch filter element in those containers.
I use a home distiller to prepare water for the Keurig. I have had this distiller for over 10 years. Sometimes I buy DISTILLED water from Walmart. I use distilled water to fill the batteries and for the tow vehicle radiator.
I use water hose quick connects to make setup very easy.
Cool!
I love this video. Most RV'ers don't think about the safety of their water in a freshwater tank, filters or other things.
Thank you Tina💚 We certainly didn't give it to much thought before we started...
Good video. Like the majority of people I use the Camco filter and will now probably switch to a two or three stage filter system. I boondock a lot and at least twice a year I sanitize my tanks after I found some disgusting slime build up when I installed a cut off valve between them so I could only carry 50 gal on short trips. Fill tanks about 3/4 full and add two cups of bleach. Drive and slosh then let it rest for 24 hours. I also run that water through all the pipes to sanitize them. Empty, rinse twice, run clear water through all the pipes several times and done. Just attached PUR water filter to the kitchen faucet for drinking.
P.S. You needed to talk to your neighbor about the proper way to run a sewer hose, LOL his was just on the ground with what looked like a 8-10 inch upward slope.
Thank you for this info John! We will be doing a video on fresh water storage tanks. This info gave us some additional things to think about. This was the worst park we have ever been to for service locations...There was no way to get "Fall" on black sewer pipe unless you jacked rig up 3 feet high. That same neighbor through there hose up on the picnic table to drain right before leaving...Pissed us off! We have a picture and will share it in a future black tank vid. Thanks again for the info on fresh tanks 👍😀💚John
I really enjoyed this video. You took everyone through the various types of filter systems and the way you did it would make it easy fr even the newest RVer. I have tried those blue filters and threw it away after the first five minutes. I agree that it was a lousy filter that did almost nothing. I did have a three stage reverse osmosis system till it "walked away while I was visiting another person in the campground. That was also the campground that I had problems with my external generator "walking away" even though it was chained to the trailer.
Lessons learned!
We're glad you enjoyed the video but we're so sorry to hear about that. Something about having things stolen that just hits deep.
A few quick questions....What size of Berkey did you guys end up getting (looks like the Big Berkey)? Did you get the add on Flouride reducing filters? Did you guys get the Berkey shower filter as well? Thanks again!!! P.S. I just ordered the Black Filters, Flouride Reducing Filters and the stand for my Berkey-like container, and used your coupon code. Thanks!!
Hey Mike💚👍😀 Thank you!!! We got the Big Berkey, Stand, Stainless steel spigot. We did not get the fluoride filters but will be adding them. The shower filters are sold out right now.
I bought a Berkey before I started full timing in my RV. Absolutely love it! Used in my house too. I won’t be without it.
We love our Berkey too. That's why I said don't wait and get it now. I'm that excited about it. Best tasting water ever!
Love you guys! Great review. This comment is not intended to be negative about the Berkey filter but rather the horrible water they are feeding us here in Riverside County. We purchased the travel Berkey about a year ago for home use. We always drink bottled water at home because our water is the worst I have ever had in my 63 years, several towns and four states. One thing we found out is that the Berkey does not filter out the hardness of the water. And our water is from more than one source, one is actually chemically treated with a desalinization process and horrible tasting. Another source they are selling us here in southern California smells like sewer water. We had to stop using the Berkey at home because our tap water was so bad my face broke out in a horrible rash. We have considered re-filtering the 20 cents a gallon purified water we are purchasing at the grocery store but that kind of seems like overkill. So we are planning to use our Berkey when we can be RVing more and I'm betting we will love it. And I agree with you, it really is nice looking. PS- we purchased ours with that glass tube spout and it is great to tell you how much water you have in the bottom without having to remove it all of the time.
Wow, sorry to hear this Jeanette! Thank you for the tip on the spigot💚👍😀
There’s also AlexaPure (same process as the Berkey). We have two filters in ours-can use four. We absolutely LOVE our AlexaPure...and our dog will drink the water now, where before I was getting concerned because she would not drink much during the day. We also fill up our ice trays with the AlexaPure. This was a great vid for a contentious problem. Tks for sharing the info!🥰
Thank you for sharing Delta! Happy that you have clean water that your Dog loves too😀
I never thought about how good our water was. I put our dogs on bottled Spring water several years ago. Due to some health issues. And when we are out in the RV I still carry cases of bottled water for them and us. Such a very informative video.
Thank you Susan. Don't worry, Skippy is now drinking Berkey water. Glad you liked the video:-).
We have had a Berkey Royal for about 5 years now. Our well has a slight iron taste, and the Berkey takes out the iron taste. We do drink out of our well too, but the Berkey water tastes wayyyy better. We bought it just in case, of.......shtf. My parents and neighbors bought one each, because they liked ours.We have to clean the filters about every 3 months, with one of those green scouring pads. Each time you have to force water into the filters until little bubbles perk out. About every 2 and a half years we have to buy new filters, because the filters even after cleaning, just don't filter hardly at all anymore. We use two filters, at a repurchase price cost of $107.00.a set. Our Berkey can take up to four filters for faster filtering, but we only use two. I recommend the Berkey filter system.
Thank you so much for this info William💚 We might reach out to you when we clean ours for the first time.
I loved your little skit in the beginning, you guys rock! Skippy was the true test, if a dog doesn't want it that should tell you something. I will never brush my teeth in my RV again until I get a Berkey. ! I am getting a Berkey ASAP (and I will use your link). Thank you for all of your research, testing and providing such great information. Your channel is the BEST!
Thank you so much Louise💚 We love our Berkey and so does Skippy. Make sure you use our Coupon for 5% Off or you can click this link when your ready: www.berkeyfilters.com/products/imperial-berkey?a_aid=5d27942325e0b&a_bid=01e2d3be
Awesome video, life’s most essential element, how we take water for granted until we need it.
These videos really help. 👍
Happy to help AC. Thank you
Have you tried the LifeStraw filtering system? It can actually be used with dirty pond water too and is used for a clean water project in Africa. It is a USA company and on the Web. They have various containers, like pitchers or portable cups or just straws. I started using this filter with a pitcher 3 months ago and am now drinking tap water through it. Yay! For 9 years I lived on bottled water because our local water is so full of "stuff" (iron, magnesium, calcium, etc.). You might like to look at this filtering too. Great video 'guys'!
Interesting! Thx for sharing 😊. We’ll check it out
You are the 2nd RV traveler YT-er that I listen to that's also recommended the Berkey. We're part timers who've been using Camco -- definitely need to rethink this plan. Also hubby's great about bleaching tanks to disinfect before we head off...
Well, our experience is that you have to be ready for all types of water issues. (even if you're a weekend warrior) Camco filters are great at removing bad taste w/ the carbon, but they don't really filter for the bad stuff, (that's what we learned w/ our research). So I would be using a Berkey, both at home and on the road. That's how much we love it. :-)