Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I purchased the Imperial Berkey about 2 years ago. The unit came with 6 Black Berkey filters. I used only 2 at a time. 3 months ago I replaced the original first 2 Black Berkey filters with a pair from an unopened box. This left me with 2 more new filters left. After one month, the water started tasting funny. I looked inside and discovered that the Black Berkey filters were both coming apart and oozing some gelatinous material into the water compartment where the filters were. I have tried and tried to contact Berkey, but there phone number is just a voice recording. They have not answered my numerous emails. I contacted the distributor who is not at fault. He has been overwhelmed with similar complaints. I cleaned out the Berkey unit completely and installed the final two Black Berkey filters. Last week, the same thing happened again! The filters were coming apart on the bottom where the black part is supposed to be sealed with the black plastic ring. Now I have no filters left! I bought the Berkey Water units for everyday purification as well as for emergency water filtering in a survival situation. I have lost confidence in this company. Berkey does not respond to complaints, you don't even know if you are reaching them because no emails are ever acknowledged. Do your research. There is another company called AquaRain, which makes filters that fit the Berkey. They are made in the USA. Also, a company called Pro Pur also makes filters that will fit the Berkey units. Pro Pur filters, unlike Berkey, are NSF certified. Sorry to see another formerly great company fail due to poor quality control and even worse customer service. But in this economy, and with my family's health on the line, I can no longer recommend Berkey products or its company. Look elsewhere.