One of the Berkey accessories that we carry is the sight glass spigot or water view spigot. These allow you to see the level of water in your lower chamber of your Berkey without having to take the upper chamber off and look inside. Very handy!
We’ve had customers ask why the level of the water doesn’t rise in their spigot. Great question!
The design is actually very simple for the spigot and relies entirely on physics. When installed, water will flow into the spigot. Water pressure (gravity) will push more and more in until the level of the water in the spigot equals the level of the water in the Berkey lower unit.
There are really only two reasons that would cause issues.
First, there could be a vapor lock occurring in the lower chamber. This is when the seal of the upper and lower chamber is so great that nothing flows out. In order for water to flow out, “some” air has to go in. By design, that air normally comes in around the seam between the upper and lower chamber. So, if that seal is too good (happens every so often on a Berkey), then no water will come out of any spigot. You can tell this is happening by just taking the upper chamber off your Berkey. If things start working properly when you do, then you had vapor lock. To solve, you can install a vapor lock clip which can be found here. Short term, you can rest an unfolded paper clip on the edge of the lower chamber and it will do the same thing. It doesn’t look as pretty, but it works.
Second, there could be a blockage in the top of the spigot. If you look closely at the top of the tower, there is a small hole. It has to be unobstructed. That way, when water comes into the spigot, it has a way to push the air out and allow water to move up the viewing tube. If this hole is blocked, air cannot escape, and the level it shows will be significantly lower than the actual water level. To fix that, you may need to unscrew the cap at the end and look inside. If you take the cap off and it immediately fixes the problem, then you know that was the issue. Check for any blockages and then put things back together.
Finally, there’s one other thing we’ve seen, and it isn’t really a problem with the Berkey. Sometimes folks assume that the spigot will measure the amount of water in both the upper and lower chamber. It isn’t that high tech. The most it will do is show you how much is in the LOWER chamber only. So, if you just refilled your Berkey, and the lower chamber is empty, then the spigot will also show empty. As the lower chamber fills up, the level of the water will rise in the spigot as well.
Hope that helps, and as a reminder, never put more water in your Berkey than what the lower chamber can hold. It will overflow and spill if you do. The total amount of water in both chambers added together can never exceed the capacity of the lower chamber. So if your bottom chamber is half full, only fill the upper chamber half full.
Hope that helps!
