7.5 Inch Berkey Sight Glass Spigot for Travel Berkey and Big Berkey Gravity Fed Water Filter Systems—See Your System's Water Level Instantly

The Berkey glass level spigot is very easy to install. I left a glass under the spigot on top of my trash can (the Berkey on the edge of the counter) the first time I filled it and it was bone dry the next morning. The instructions for installation were easy to follow and I took the time to give my Royal Berkey a cleaning while I had it opened up as well.There are two changes I've noticed the most with this spigot, #1 it is a little wider than the default one and doesn't fit so well into the Ikea glass litre bottles I fill to keep cold water in the fridge (the ones with the rubber stopped like a bottle of Grolsch). #2 perhaps because of this, it pours much faster and I've found you get higher flow much lower to empty than the previous spigot. This is a big bonus, filling up kettles, saucepans, coffee pots, bottles for drinking water, it is so much faster now.The water level varies in accuracy but really it's there to let you know when it's getting low, not whether it's 3/4 full or 7/8 full, so for this purpose it delivers in spades.I'm very happy with the glass spigot, primarily for the increased flow of water. The spigot seems well built and sturdy. To be honest most of the time I still fill up my Berkey once the flow is greatly reduced so that means it's almost empty. Sometimes I check the level to know when to fill it, but that being the primary reason I bought it I can't say I'm using that function of it very often. Still, the increased flow and to a far lesser extent the better aesthetic make this a 5-star easily recommendable purchase.

Ok i ordered this last month as every authorized dealer is out of stock. I was very hesitant at first cause I'm worried this is not genuine but i took the risk. Then i installed it and it works for a few days. Then after a while its starting to drip. So i was disappointed and return it right away. I went to look and buy from an authorized berkey seller. When it arrived and compared it to the one i got from amazon, its exactly the same! Even the washer from the authorized dealer is also flat!!!! It's exactly the same even the instructions and the manual! The only difference we did is that you have to rotate the glass from 9pm to 12am, you have to keep on repeating the 9 to 12 in order for the washer to get a tight sealed. Up to now, it hasn't leaked yet! If only i did the 9 to 12 on this one i got from amazon i wouldn't return it. So guys this is genuine FYI. You have to keep on turning from 9 to 12 until you get a feel of the tight seal on the washer.

I remember that with the original spigot, flow was slow because it was so small. This is way bigger, even when it's the size specified for your particular Berkey (mine is the Big one). There are fewer issues with leakage than with the original spigot. Just be sure not to tighten the nut too much or too far along the bolt, because the washer will get completely squeezed out of place. I guess if I could offer advice, I'd say once contact is made, tighten until you see the washer move and then unscrew a couple turns until it's back to normal (you have to overtighten a bit in order to see what's correct). Also, the internal thread of this spigot is much, much shorter than the original, which worried me at first, but once everything is in place, just don't worry. The plastic is strong, and the sight glass itself is made of steel and glass, very good quality.So, flow is much faster and it's convenient not to have to lift the top reservoir to check water levels in the bottom reservoir every few hours.Interestingly, the top of the sight glass is open, so that if you have a full bottom reservoir, a little water spurts out the top of the glass. It only happened once when I plopped the top down too hard. (At the beginning I used to compare the sight glass reading with the actual water levels, but have since stopped disturbing everything to check.)Another great Berkey investment. As I said in my review for the Big Berkey, it was the best $300 I've ever spent.

I've been pleased with this device. Once I overcame my bonehead mistake and learned not to overfill the top chamber, I've had good success, and none of the leakage that some have reported.First, I took the reviews seriously and ensured I tightened the spigot well and got a good seal where it penetrates the bottom chamber. I tested this over the sink to be sure I had it well-sealed. All is well there.The bonehead lesson came in the form of overfilling the top chamber. Before I got this sight glass, I had the standard spigot, and never had a problem. It didn't matter how much water was already in the bottom, I could still add to the top of the top chamber. If that brought the level in the bottom chamber to maximum, it wasn't a problem because the rest would sit in the top chamber and not leak. (I'd been worried that it would because there's no seal between the top and bottom, just an overlap. But it turns out that apparently any excess sitting in the top pushes outward on the inside of the top chamber and sufficiently tightens it against the bottom chamber at the overlap.)But the same is not true when this sight glass is installed. You see, the sight glass has a vent hole at the top. Of course it would - it has to, or else any air in the glass just gets compressed and pushes back against the rising water level and gives an inaccurate reading. But what this means is that the maximum level your Berkey will hold is exactly the same level as the top of the sight glass. Any more than that and water, which will ALWAYS level itself, comes merrily out the top of the glass through the vent hole, and all over your floor. The first time this happened to me, I thought my seal at the flange had given way, but I verified it was good and filled (overfilled) my Berkey again. This time, I caught it in the act of bubbling out the top of my sight glass. Silly me - don't tell anyone I have an engineering degree, because it didn't save me from a Homer Simpson moment or two.

The worst package that it's delivered in. First one was broken. Second one came packaged the same way but made it.