I recently was asked if the replacement filters in the large gravity flow water filters were interchangeable. By this, I am talking about the AquaRain, the Berkey, Doulton and Katadyn gravity flow water filters. While all of them claim to be the best, my research show that they are all good quality units.
I have had quite a bit of exposure to the Berkey, AquaRain and Doulton gravity flow water filters. My exposure to the Katadyn is more limited. All of these filters work on the same principal. The water is poured into the top container and by the action of gravity flows though the filter into the lower container. From there you can use a tap to access the water. Every one of these filters that I have used has worked well.

Each manufacture of gravity flow water filters claim that their filter is the best. Now I don’t want to get into an argument over which is best, I believe that they are all-good and will do the job. Some will last longer than others and some may be a bit better on chemicals than others.
The one point that I want to make is that the filters in the Berkey, AquaRain and the Doulton are all interchangeable. I am not 100% certain about the Katadyn, but I believe it also is. This lets you take advantage of several things; in an emergency, you are not limited to the one brand. If you see a sale or particularly good deal on one of the other brands of filters that fits your unit you can take advantage of it.
Personally, I have an AquaRain and stock Doulton, Berkey and AquaRain replacement filters. Over the years I have been able to take advantage of various sales and other good deals I have ran into.
Howard
You can also add Propur to this list of interchangeable filters. We are using a set in our Berkley now.
Related to water filtration, I also have a question. We have a very deep well that give very soft water with high (40+) parts per million of total dissolved solids (tds). I have test the water both before and after filtration, but the level does not go down.
Any thoughts on this?
These are all good water filters, especially for emergency use, as most of them will remove the bacteria from the water. I also have a water filter such as these for emergencies, though homemade, as I use a reverse osmosis system for my drinking water at the moment, but all of the above are virtually the same filter and are all good filters. However, I want everything removed from the water until I can no longer do this.
Thanks for the information! I’ve been trying to look into different water filtration methods to find the method that’s right for me. Recently, I’ve been doing some reading on large gravity flow water filters, and I was also wondering if they’re interchangeable. It’s good to know that certain gravity flow water filters are interchangeable and others aren’t. I suppose I should do some research on a few different water filters to find out which brands are interchangeable.