What is airlock & how does it happen in my Berkey® Water System?
Airlock is caused when the upper and lower chambers fit together a little too snug. In technical terms, the air pressure inside the bottom chamber is lower than the air pressure on the outside. This creates a vacuum-effect, causing the water to flow very, very slow when the spigot is opened, even though there is plenty of water in the bottom chamber.
Without adequate air pressure to “push” the water out at the same rate air is “pulled” in from the space between the chambers, the water gets stuck. The solution is to simply create a small of enough gap for air to travel between the upper and lower chambers (AKA the seam, or joint).
Using Flo-Duck™ to prevent/fix airlock in your Berkey® Water System
Aside from rolling the stainless steel chambers on carpet to round them out (which we do not recommend), Berkey owners have used cut plastic straws and paperclips to create a small gap for air to pass from the outside into the bottom chamber.
One Berkey dealer created a flat metal clip to place over the lip of the bottom chamber, although users have reported that the clip tends to scratch the steel over time.
The Flo-Duck™ Anti-Airlock Clip, featured exclusively in our Pro-Care™ Maintenance Kit, provides three solutions:
(1) it prevents airlock without scratching the beautiful stainless steel of the Berkey Systems,
(2) it holds the lid while you refill your Berkey, and
(3) it holds our microfiber stainless steel buffing glove included in our Pro-Care Maintenance Kit (also sold in a 3-pack).
What’s included in our Pro-Care Maintenance Kit?
