Do you have your pressure canner dial tested every year?

[Teaberry]

I will have to drive 50 miles to find a county extension agent to test the gauge on my canner. :/

 

That's a lot of trouble, so I checked to see if I can buy the gadget the extension uses and do it myself. I discovered that the canner companies will not sell them to anyone but a county extension agent. They're also expensive of course.

 

So all that is trouble enough, but I was thinking that if the economy goes south, many of us may not even have a county extension agent to test our canners. What then?

 

We use our canners and pray the gauge is set accurately, I guess.

 

Two questions:

 

Does anyone know if American pressure canner pressure gauges need the same testing that other types of canners do? Does anyone here own one?

 

What do you call those canners that have a rattling gauge on top? There isn't a dial. You just listen to get the right sound and know it's okay. Do these types of canner gauges also need to be tested by an extension agent?

 

 

 

 

[WormGuy]

I have an All American but I don't rely on the guage. I rely on the regulator weight. When it gets up to pressure it jiggles. The weights do not need to be tested to my knowledge. If you rely only on a guage then it should be tested each year.

 

 

 

John

[Violet]

You can use a Presto as a weighted gauge canner. Just buy part number 50332. Then leave the dial on, but rely on the weights as your guide. It will jiggle the whole time. Makes life simple and no need to test the gauge from then on.

Most Presto models will be able to use this weight set.

A new All American comes with both, so you are doing the same thing. The All American doesn't have a gasket, though. I cannot use one because those canners are too heavy for me to handle. I use the Presto 23 quart ones.

I would not buy Mirro. I have seen the lousy new design in the handle. They have a little spring that can easily break. They were bought out recently and the gal I know that sells canners said she will not order any more Mirro canners.

 

[Teaberry]

Thanks for both of your helpful responses. I think I ought to do just that! And forget about the visual dial gauge. I've heard it's easier to monitor the weighted canners because I guess it's like a baby's cry....you know what you're needed for by the type of cry.

 

I've never tried using my Mirro before, so I have no experience with the weighted.

 

Is it fairly easy to keep tabs with the weighted canners?

[WormGuy]

It's very easy for me. All I have to do is watch the clock. Once I got use to hearing the weight jiggle I can tell when it changes without paying attention because it catches my attention right away.

 

 

 

John

[Violet]

The Mirro is harder to determine because it is just so many jiggles per minute. The Presto is the easiest since it jiggles the whole time. I really do like the Presto system.

I honestly don't know if the AA jiggles the whole time or not.

[rainygardener]

I would contact your manufacturer and find out if you can convert it to a weighted gauge pressure canner, or buy that type of lid and convert to it.

I bought a weighted canner and it is so much less hassle. I was told years ago I had to have my pressure gauge checked yearly by the extention office, it was a real drag, so I bought the weighted kind this time round.

[Violet]

Rainy,

This is what I do, I teach food preservation and food safety. She doesn't need to contact the company as I have already researched this thoroughly . There would be no new lid to buy. So, yes, most models of Presto can be used with the 3 piece weight set instead of the counterweight that comes on the canner. As long as the weights fit the vent pipe you can use the weight set. It is part number 500332. I have done my research with both Presto and the National Center for Home Food Preservation. This has been cleared with them to be an acceptible thing to use.

All old All American canners can be retrofitted. I contacted AA and know this to be fact. I converted my friends old model over. The new ones come with both now.

The new Mirro are not going to be a good buy, in my opinion. They were bought out by West Bend. They have a really bad design in the handle. A little flimsy spring that breaks in the handle. She showed them to me.

A gal I know that sells canners said she will not even order Mirro to sell anymore. They are that bad... Also, heard parts are getting hard to buy for Mirro due to the buy out of them by West Bend.

 

[ChristyK]

..... I honestly don't know if the AA jiggles the whole time or not.

 

It doesn't; at least my AA doesn't. It's supposed to jiggle 1 to 4 times a minute ~ which, when I first got it, made for an extremely tense time. I mean, good grief ~ I was a nervous wreck, trying to time it and keep track and adjust the heat!!!! But, like everything else in life, I got used to it ~ by the end of that first month, I could actually sit and read a book while listening and keeping up with it just fine.