Water · Boroux
Boroux Legacy 3-Gallon Gravity Filter
Stainless, gravity fed, no power: the top pick for a new tabletop system
Options at boroux.com
- 2 filters (12 months)$399
- 4 filters (24 months)$499
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Why it's on my list
If you want a new, complete, no-compromise tabletop system, this is my top pick: stainless, gravity fed, built for daily use, and the filter in my blackout guide. Nothing to plug in.
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What it is
Stainless steel countertop gravity filter, 3 gallons, no power and no pressure needed. Ships with two Foundation filters (about 12 months) or four (about 24 months). Polished, white or black stainless. Lifetime warranty on the housing. The gravity filter in the blackout guide and the water-sourcing page.
What it is
A stainless gravity filter: pour in the top, draw from the spigot, no power, no plumbing, no pressure
This is the one piece of water gear that works the same on an ordinary Tuesday and on the day the pumps stop, and it is the filter I use every day and count on for a long emergency. My Boroux page covers setup, care and the Berkey comparison; it is the gravity filter in my blackout guide and the last step in sourcing and carrying local water. Where it sits among boiling, bleach, tablets and pump filters is on clean water.
What's in the box
Seamless stainless, a ceramic-valve spigot, and the filters for a year
Why it matters
The details are where it beats the Berkey I still own two of: a Stem Saver ring that takes the strain so a knocked chamber does not snap a filter stem, a stainless spigot with a ceramic valve that does not weep or wear like plastic, one-piece 304 stainless chambers with a lifetime warranty, and vents so it never airlocks. Boroux filters also fit a Berkey housing, so an orphaned Berkey keeps working.
What's in the box
- Upper and lower chambers, seamless one-piece 304 stainless; polished, white or black
- Two Foundation filters (about 12 months) or four (about 24 months)
- Stainless steel spigot with a ceramic valve
- Stem Saver ring; plugs for the unused filter holes
- Lifetime warranty on the stainless chambers; 60-day satisfaction guarantee
What it removes
Tested at an ISO 17025 lab across more than 80 contaminants, to the full rated life
Why it matters
This is the hard part of the job, the part boiling and bleach cannot do: the metals, the forever chemicals, the pesticides and the pharmaceuticals that stay in water no matter how long it boils. The maker's own numbers, from the lab report, are on my Boroux page in full. Fluoride needs the separate Proactive filter.
The lab numbers
- Heavy metals (cadmium, chromium, lead, mercury, uranium, cesium): up to 99.36%
- PFOA, PFOS and five other PFAS, BPA, chlorine, chloroform: up to 99.5%
- Pharmaceuticals: up to 99.5%
- 24 pesticides and herbicides, including atrazine and glyphosate: up to 99.95%
- Volatile organic compounds: up to 99.97%
- Disinfection byproducts: up to 99.68%
- Microplastics and particles, 0.5 to 1 micron: 98.9% on average
- Chlorine, sulfur and the plastic taste of stored water: removed
What it does not do
It is not a germ filter: disinfect surface water first, then filter it
Why it matters
Boroux states plainly that the Foundation filter is not intended to filter microorganisms; the silver in the block protects the filter, not you. Tap and well water that tests clean go straight in. Creek, pond, rain barrel or flood water gets disinfected first, then filtered for the taste and the chemicals, which also strips the chlorine taste. The treatment methods are on water storage and purification.
Disinfect first
- Boil: a rolling boil for 1 minute, 3 above 5,000 feet, then through the filter
- Pool shock: calcium hypochlorite stock, 1 tablespoon per gallon, 30 minutes, then filter; the method is on my calcium hypochlorite page
- Iodine: Lugol's 2%, 5 drops a quart, 10 if cold or cloudy, 30 to 60 minutes; my Lugol's page has it
- Pre-filter the mud through cloth so the carbon block is not doing the sediment's job
The formulas: calcium hypochlorite and Lugol's iodine.
Sizing and setup
Two filters for four people, four for eight; prime them once and it's boring for a year
Why it matters
Most complaints about gravity filters come down to filters that were not primed. Prime each one (about 90 seconds a filter with the automatic primer, at least 10 minutes on a faucet with the silicone tool), fit them, fill the top, and a primed pair moves about a gallon an hour: fill it before bed and it's done by morning. Keep the lower chamber emptier than the upper is full. I keep two full systems at home; the second one is the one that goes in the truck.
The sizes
- Legacy, two filters: 3 gallons, about 1 gallon an hour, up to 4 people, 23 inches tall assembled, 9 inch diameter, 15 inches nested
- Legacy, four filters: same housing, about 2 gallons an hour, up to 8 people or heavy canning use
- Compact: the same filter in a 1.8 gallon housing for one or two people
Keeping it running for years
Scrub, replace, and keep the next pair on the shelf
Why it matters
Every three to six months, pull the filters and scrub the outside under warm running water with an abrasive sponge, no soap, re-prime and refit; flow comes right back. Every 12 months, a new pair on the date written on the stem. Never hot water in the top, never store it wet and closed. The spares I keep, and why to buy the spare filter before a shortage, are on spare parts: water treatment.
The habits
- Every 3 to 6 months: scrub the filters, re-prime
- Every 12 months: replace the pair; write the date on the stem
- Spares on the shelf: a second pair of Foundation filters, a spigot, plugs and wingnuts, the priming tool
- Going away for weeks: empty it, dry everything open, bag the filters
Water on my list
Where it earns its place
- How to Filter Water at Home with a Gravity Filter (the Boroux Legacy)How to set up, use, and maintain a stainless gravity water filter for daily drinking water and long emergencies: priming, what the Boroux Le…
- How to Source, Carry, and Filter Local Fresh WaterA system for hauling water from a local source with a frame pack and rigid containers, filtering and disinfecting it at home, and sanitizing…
- Blackout Guide: First 45 Minutes, First 3 Days, and BeyondThe blackout survival list in the order it happens: water and scope in the first 45 minutes, food, heat and power through day 3, settling in…
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