I have a brand new All-American and was going to have the gauge checked right out of the box lol. When I first got it, I did not realize it had the weighted gauge and that you go by that. I just kept worrying, what if I went and had the dial gauge checked and then 3 days, 3 months, or whenever, it quit working correctly, and then I kept canning without knowing, and then did not have it checked again until next year. It just does not make sense, but after reading through the directions, the weighted gauge is what you go by. I am not sure why the dial is there except maybe for when using it to cook in and not as a canner???