We recently moved into a new place near Winchester, Virginia where the water is quite "hard" (full of minerals). Rather than purchase a water softener unit (these dump way too much sodium into the local water table, as much as into your drinking water), I decided to take our Big Berkey (purchased around 1999) out of "moth balls". So, I ordered 2 of the Berkey "Black FIlters" and installed them about a month ago. They seem to be working perfectly, although I had some initial issues try to get them to "sweat".
I also ordered 2 of the fluoride removal filters (PF-2, I believe) since our water is city supplied and, hence, fluoridated. I had no issues with these filters as they installed well from the start. Again, it all seems to be working, as described.
If you are going to use a Berkey filter (either big or huge), then I highly recommend purchasing the sight glass spigot. This item removes the doubt as to how much purified water is left and, as a result, I have not had one instance of overfilling the purified water chamber and causing it to leak.
If you are going to place the Berkey on a counter, I would also highly recommend purchasing the Berkey base which is a stand that the unit sits on. It raises the unit about 5 or so inches and allows you to easily place either a glass or a cup or a coffee carafe under the spigot for filling.
The spigot and base are one time purchases, but they are worth the investment.
One cudo for Customer service. I was having some issues with un-purified water seeping into the lower chamber from the upper and I contacted customer service. It appeared that since I was only using two filters instead of the maximum of 4, the water was seeping through the plugs in the unused holes. Customer service (reps have been great) sent me two new plugs (mine were very old and that was probably why they were leaking) and I was "off to the races".