BOROUX Foundation™ Black Filters are made by the same manufacturer, using the same formulation, and fit your existing Berkey® system.
Certified by the Water Quality Association
Same manufacturer. Same facility. Same team behind BerkeyFilters.com - the largest authorized Berkey dealer for 24 years. Now NSF/ANSI 42, 372, and 401 certified by WQA, and in stock today. Fits your Big, Royal, Imperial, Crown, or Travel Berkey chambers.
Here is the part most people don't realize: the team behind BOROUX® is the same team that sold you Black Berkey® filters for more than two decades.
From 1998 to 2022, our parent company, James Enterprise Inc. (JEI), operated BerkeyFilters.com as the largest distributor of Berkey products in the country. As the authorized dealer at berkeyfilters.com, we answered your questions. We shipped your replacements.
In 2022, the EPA issued a Stop Sale Order against Berkey for non-compliance with the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Clearbrook, the company that actually formulates the filter, received its own order. Production stopped. Black Berkey replacements became impossible to find.
We partnered directly with Clearbrook to bring a new version to market. We launched the BOROUX Foundation Filter in November of 2023.
It is made by the same manufacturer, using the same activated carbon media and the same production methods, now independently certified by WQA to NSF/ANSI 42, 372, and 401 standards.
Read the full story: Black Berkey Filters Are No Longer Being Made, Here's Why
The claims, not the carbon.
Black Berkey marketed itself as a product that removed microorganisms. According to the EPA, any filter that contains silver (a natural antimicrobial) and is marketed with microorganism-reduction claims may be subject to pesticide registration requirements under FIFRA.
BOROUX Foundation Filters contain the same silver, u sed to prevent microorganisms from degrading the product itself. They are not registered as pesticides and do not claim to remove microorganisms, bacteria, or viruses. That is what keeps the product on shelves and your filters in stock.
If you relied on gravity filtration for great-tasting, odor-free, particulate-reduced water, BOROUX Foundation delivers that same performance, now backed by independent WQA certification to NSF/ANSI 42, 372, and 401 standards.
The activated carbon media has not changed. The claims and the certifications have.
BOROUX Foundation Filters vs Black Berkey Filters
This is not a feature list assembled by a marketing team. Every item below is a response to a real complaint we fielded as a Berkey dealer.
Berkey customers broke filter stems. We added reinforced molding directly into the base of every BOROUX Foundation filter added durability during handling, cleaning, or installation. The latest generation is molded in one piece (no adhesive seam).
The classic Berkey problem: the weight of a full upper chamber creates a vacuum seal, water stops flowing, and you end up wedging a metal clip between chambers. We engineered a small air vent into the BOROUX upper chamber so the vacuum cannot form in the first place. Nothing extra to keep track of, nothing extra to lose.
Berkey chambers are welded into a cylinder. That weld seam construction is a design that can be susceptible to rust over time. BOROUX chambers are deep-drawn, formed from a single pressed piece of 304-grade stainless steel. No seam, no rust path. Longer life, cleaner look.
Once your water passes the filter, it should not touch plastic again. Every BOROUX water filter system ships with a stainless steel spigot included. With Berkey, the stainless steel spigot is an upgrade that costs extra.
The Berkey PF-2® fluoride filter uses activated alumina. BOROUX chose a different path.
The BOROUX Proactive® Fluoride Filter uses a nano-carbon dual-layer design that achieves up to 99.9% fluoride reduction. For customers who prefer to avoid activated alumina and keep their filtration system entirely carbon-based, BOROUX offers a straightforward alternative.
Different media. Different approach. Proven fluoride reduction.
Long-time Berkey users remember the tan priming tool. Awkward, water everywhere, never quite right. JEI later developed the blue PrimeRite® to improve it. BOROUX replaced both with the battery-powered Automatic Filter Primer. Push a button. 90 seconds. Done. No splashes, no faucet wrestling, no guesswork.
See the Automatic Filter Primer
BOROUX Foundation Filters are certified by the Water Quality Association (WQA), the independent body that audits manufacturing facilities, validates lab testing, and re-tests annually to maintain certification.
We did not just test to these standards. We met them. There is a difference, and BOROUX is one of the only gravity filter brands that can say it.
A straight answer about filter lifespan
We officially recommend replacing a pair of BOROUX Foundation Filters every 12 months. Berkey claimed up to 5 years(manufacturer's claim). Here is the honest version:
The 12-month recommendation is the most defensible number across the widest range of source water conditions and household sizes. If your tap water comes from a well with a high mineral or contaminant load, you may want to replace it sooner. If you are on relatively clean municipal water and you use the system lightly, you can often go longer.
The right answer is not a number on a label. It is a comparison between your actual water and our published reduction data. Replace when the data says to, not when an arbitrary multi-year claim says to.
Gravity Power
Simple, reliable filtration for better water.
Trusted Materials
Activated carbon helps remove contaminants, odors, and bad tastes.
Why BOROUX
The small details build lasting customer loyalty.
Just like our water filter systems, it's what's on the inside the counts. The heart of our business is our people, and we just happen to be lucky enough to get to work with family.
With the second generation, now in leadership positions at BOROUX, we meticulously care about exceptional products and service. Parker and Miranda are the brother-sister duo following their parents' footsteps and leading the BOROUX organization. Our families and yours deserve the reliability that comes with well-made products. The longevity of BOROUX is making sure the materials are strong, the packaging is eco-consicious, and the operations are lean.
Reliable products that withstand the test of time become heirloom pieces.
Filters are proudly crafted in the U.S.A.!
BOROUX headquarters is proudly located in Pueblo, Colorado.
Our building is intentionally nestled on a bluff overlooking the Arkansas River, because a close connection to water is important to our purpose. Water is foundational to life.
We regularly reflect on the power of water and how our practices impact the well-being of our community. Taking care of water quality, the environment and our customers contributes to the long-lasting success of our family business.
