What Are Berkey Sight Glass Spigots and How Do They Work?

Berkey sight glass spigots are specifically designed for the stainless steel systems.

That includes the Travel, Big, Royal, Imperial and Crown systems.

What they do is allow instant reading of water level in the lower chamber of your stainless steel Berkey water purification system.

You don't need this with the Berkey Light because you can already see right through the shatter resistant, non BPA copolyester. Simple right!

Three Different Sizes of Glass Spigots

There are three different sizes of Berkey glass spigots.

• 7.5 Inch - For the Travel and Big Berkey
• 10 Inch - For the Royal and Imperial Berkey
• 13 Inch - For the Crown Berkey

Click on the links above to purchase the appropriate size for your Berkey system.

Installation of the Berkey Sight Glass Spigots

Wash hands and spigot with mild dish soap before proceeding to assure that contamination of the components does not take place during assembly. Rinse thoroughly.

Place one black rubber washer over the threads of spigot. Insert threaded stem of spigot through hole in the side of the lower chamber of your system.

Place other black rubber washer over threads and secure it in place with the spigot nut. Tighten securely by hand only.

Hint: hold nut in place and gently turn spigot until tight then rotate spigot until handle and site glass is facing upward.

Note: On 13" Berkey site glass spigot, it is recommended to install the sight glass plastic brace.

To do so, unscrew metal top of site glass spigot, drop plastic brace onto site glass and screw metal top back on. Do not over-tighten.

A small piece of Velcro is included with the 13" spigot.

Please attach the larger piece to your Crown Berkey water purification system and the smaller piece to the back of the sight glass brace.

You should place the Velcro approximately 1 to 2 inches from the top of the sight glass spigot.

Cleaning Instructions For The Berkey Sight Glass Spigots

Proper cleaning and sanitizing of the faucet and sight glass are necessary to deliver fresh purified water.

The Berkey water filter sight glass spigots do not require tools for servicing, cleaning and sanitizing. Simplified construction means fewer parts to wear out or replace.

1. Empty the upper and lower chamber of your Berkey® system. Carefully remove the spigot from the lower chamber of your system by unscrewing the wing nut inside the lower chamber.

   On the 13" sight glass spigot, also carefully separate the Velcro strip on the sight glass brace. Breaking the slight glass through mishandling is not covered under your warranty.

2. Carefully unscrew the sight glass from the spigot. When doing so, hold the glass as well as the metal shroud, to make sure the sight glass does not slip out and break.

   Between the sight glass assembly and the spigot is a small rubber washer, do not lose this when taking the spigot apart. Set these components aside.

3. Unscrew the lever from the spigot body. The rubber seat cup (opaque in color) inside the lever can also be removed, if desired. Gently pull the two pieces apart.

4. Wash hands fully before proceeding. Clean all parts, including faucet body, in hot soapy water. If sanitizing is desired, you may use a mild solution of chlorine (50 PPM) or iodine (14ppm), before rinsing.

   Rinse thoroughly with clear hot water. We do NOT recommend washing any of the Berkey® Sight Glass spigots in a dishwasher.

5. To reassemble, simply reverse the order of the cleaning instructions above then repeat the installation instructions.

To view this in a printable PDF format click here.

Final Thoughts

My first stainless system was the Travel and you always had to open the lid and see how much water you had in it.

These Berkey sight glass spigots are really handy because you don't want to be guessing all the time how much water you have in your system.

To me it's not a question. If I invested money in a stainless steel system I'd get the sight glass spigot to go along with it.