Presto Pressure canner VS All American.

[Worth1]

Presto Pressure canner VS All American.

I was about to pull the trigger and get a 23 quart Presto canner.
But for some reason I looked on the Presto web sight I think to see if it had a weight for 5 PSI.
To my surprise this canner doesn't have a weight gauge it is a over pressure weight set to go off at 15 PSI.
You still have to rely on the gauge to keep the pressure at 10 PSI.

I know good and well I saw a weight gauge for the canner, I just know I did, it had washers on it.
I now just read the one without the gauge uses the weight gauge with washers and it will fit the 23 quart canner.
But I dont want to buy the thing.

Really Presto, get your game on for crying out loud and drop the 15 pound weight all together.

The All American on the other hand has a dial gauge AND a weight gauge with 5-10-15 pound capability.

This is more of a public service announcement than anything else.
Just to let people know that the darn weight is not a weigh gauge.
If you use this weight as an indicator at 0 to 1000 feet above sea level you will be over processing your food at too high a temperature, I think at around 152 F or so.
But dont take my word for it.

Now back to scratching my head as to what I want to do.
By the Presto and order the other weights or get the All American.
Darn it all.

Worth

[Durgan]

The bacterium Clostridium botulinum is completely annihilated at a temperature of 250F or 121C. This is achieved at a presure of 15 PSI. Any pressure lower does not achieve the necessary temperature. All pressure canning should be done at 15 PSI.

Pressure canning at lower pressures are decidedly wrong and put the public at risk.

[clkeiper]

Your altitude is how you decide what your pressure should be at. You probably live way lower than me.
If you are 1000' above sea level then we do need to can at 15#'s. I am at 1100' but I don't always can at that... depends on what I am canning. Peaches? no way. They would be mush if I did.

Worth, I removed the old stem off of my old canner(s) and replaced them with a new stem from mirro. Then I bought a new rocker type weight gauge 5/10/15 one to can with. it works very well. I can watch the gauge IF it has one otherwise I just let it rock slowly for the duration of the time.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by clkeiper

Your altitude is how you decide what your pressure should be at. You probably live way lower than me.
If you are 1000' above sea level then we do need to can at 15#'s. I am at 1100' but I don't always can at that... depends on what I am canning. Peaches? no way. They would be mush if I did.

Worth, I removed the old stem off of my old canner(s) and replaced them with a new stem from mirro. Then I bought a new rocker type weight gauge 5/10/15 one to can with. it works very well. I can watch the gauge IF it has one otherwise I just let it rock slowly for the duration of the time.

Look at these processing times and PSI from the national center for food preservation on green beans.

With a gauge it gives options below the 15 pound limit from 1000 to 2000 and so on.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...99804247,d.eXY

As for me I live well below 1000 feet.

Worth

[Worth1]

Someone getting away with doing something unorthodox at 800 feet elevation doesn't mean that someone doing the same thing at 6000 feet elevation can get away with it.

If someone is doing something here that is unorthodox please say they are.
People come here to get good honest, truthful, safe information.

My mother canned quart jars of green beans at 10 PSI for 25 minuets for years they weren't mush and they were what the rules said to do.
We never got sick.
It is the only processing time I can remember, we canned so many of them.

Worth

[Durgan]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Someone getting away with doing something unorthodox at 800 feet elevation doesn't mean that someone doing the same thing at 6000 feet elevation can get away with it.

If someone is doing something here that is unorthodox please say they are.
People come here to get good honest, truthful, safe information.

My mother canned quart jars of green beans at 10 PSI for 25 minuets for years they weren't mush and they were what the rules said to do.
We never got sick.
It is the only processing time I can remember, we canned so many of them.

Worth

A pressure canner must reach a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit in order to stop botulism. This is an axiom.
Fifteen (15) PSI reaches 250FTen (10) PSI only reaches a temperature of 240F.Five (5) PSI only reaches 228F
Do I miss somethng?

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by Durgan

A pressure canner must reach a temperature of 250 degrees Fahrenheit in order to stop botulism. This is an axiom.
Fifteen (15) PSI reaches 250FTen (10) PSI only reaches a temperature of 240F.Five (5) PSI only reaches 228F
Do I miss somethng?

240F is sufficient for destroying botulism. 10 psi is sufficient. Add 1 additional minute for each 1000' of altitude.

Of course 11 psi is better (thinking about Spinal Tap)

[salix]

Worth, I have the All American with the gauge (with no way to calibrate/test it), and 2 Presto canners with the 5-10-15 weight gauge. Frankly, I prefer the Prestos - they are lighter (and I'm getting older) and they can be monitored by ear rather than checking a gauge for 100 minutes if doing salmon for instance. I actually bought the weight gauge for the All American, but cannot get it installed as the original over pressure vent is immovable. The All American does seem to be more sturdily built and has a metal to metal seal so you'd never need to worry about replacing a gasket.

Our altitude is a bit over 1900, and I'm sure there are a lot of preservers a lot higher (? Denver) so I think the 15 psi weight needs to stay.

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by salix

Worth, I have the All American with the gauge (with no way to calibrate/test it), and 2 Presto canners with the 5-10-15 weight gauge. Frankly, I prefer the Prestos - they are lighter (and I'm getting older) and they can be monitored by ear rather than checking a gauge for 100 minutes if doing salmon for instance. I actually bought the weight gauge for the All American, but cannot get it installed as the original over pressure vent is immovable. The All American does seem to be more sturdily built and has a metal to metal seal so you'd never need to worry about replacing a gasket.

Our altitude is a bit over 1900, and I'm sure there are a lot of preservers a lot higher (? Denver) so I think the 15 psi weight needs to stay.

All of the new All Americans have a gauge and the 5 10 and 15 pound weight.

Are you sure it isn't able to be removed I have seen really old ones with the new weight installed.

But I agree the presto is half the weight for the same size canner.

Worth

[ContainerTed]

I'm at 1030 feet (Having Norris Lake nearby makes knowing this easy). I have a Presto Dial Guage 16 quart model and I love it. I can see where the 5-10-15 weighted guage would add some peace of mind to the operation and maintaining a good constant pressure. However, I'm an old bench technician and I love my dial guages. I have an easy way of checking the dial guage for accuracy and so far it is performing perfectly. I check it about 3 times a season to make sure nothing has deteriorated.

I believe that if I had an older weighted guage model, I would put a dial guage on it for additional peace of mind for me.

[Durgan]

To kill the spores of Cl.botulinum a sterilization process equivalent to 121°C (250F) for 3 min is required.
https://www.fsai.ie/faqs/botulism.html#botulism6

[Worth1]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

I'm at 1030 feet (Having Norris Lake nearby makes knowing this easy). I have a Presto Dial Guage 16 quart model and I love it. I can see where the 5-10-15 weighted guage would add some peace of mind to the operation and maintaining a good constant pressure. However, I'm an old bench technician and I love my dial guages. I have an easy way of checking the dial guage for accuracy and so far it is performing perfectly. I check it about 3 times a season to make sure nothing has deteriorated.

I believe that if I had an older weighted guage model, I would put a dial guage on it for additional peace of mind for me.

I would never have a canner without a gauge and yes I check my own too.

Worth

[rhines81]

Not arguing the point --- perhaps there is a class action lawsuit for Presto because their manual clearly states 240F.
I also know that the gauges on these devices are the cheapest possible so one should always add 2.5 psi at least (25 psi gauge max scale) to assume calibration to be +/-10% F.S. on the high side of error.

[akgardengirl]

I had both until a couple of years ago when I sold the Presto canner at a garage sale. I like not buying gaskets! I had the old style All American with jiggler and no gauge which my friend rehabbed for me with the gauge and the weights. My canning consists of red salmon which is canned this time of year like coming up this next week!
Sue

[coronabarb]

<<The bacterium Clostridium botulinum is completely annihilated at a temperature of 250F or 121C. This is achieved at a presure of 15 PSI. Any pressure lower does not achieve the necessary temperature. All pressure canning should be done at 15 PSI.

Pressure canning at lower pressures are decidedly wrong and put the public at risk.>>

Durgan, you seriously do not know what you are talking about. The Univ of Georgia does extensive testing using a biomarker for botulism in the jars and thermocouplers to measure things such as temp and fluid circulation. They most certainly do know what is going on inside the jars and have most certainly determined at what point (time and/or pressure) that C. bot spores are destroyed. Your advice, otoh, puts the public at risk.

Worth, you are correct...if one wants to use the weights for canning with a Presto, you have to buy the weights. But really, they aren't that expensive...by far less than the difference in price of a Presto vs an All American.

Now, to read the rest of this thread.