Anyone Own An All-american Pressure Canner?

Hi!
Since I've planted a large garden this year, I purchased a used All-American Pressure Canner. Having never owned one, or known of anyone who uses one, I'm in a pickle and hope someone with experience can help.

When this 21-quart unit arrived, I put it through its paces to see if it worked properly. Oddly, it held at '250' for an hour (according to the untested gauge) before I turned off the heat, but the whole time there was a bit of steam escaping from around the lid....nowhere else - just along the seam where the lid meets the pot. (I oiled it as instructed.) I have no idea if this steam is acceptable or normal. None of the countless video demonstrations I've watched online were of any help - nor were my canning books.

Thanks for your help.

 

Everyone who cans owns one. I can hear my maternal grandmother's pressure cooker blowing off steam back in the 1950s. Such I can hear today when my wife uses her pressure cooker.

 

Leaking around the lid should never happen! There is a blow-off valve/short-pipe with a stainless steel weight sitting atop the blow off -- its weight regulates the pressure. Nowadays there is a secondary safety device that consists of a hard rubber plug that blows before the pressure goes dangerous.

There are all manner of instructions online. Your pressure-cooker manufacturer should have provided detailed instructions.

Never buy a pressure cooker made in any Asian country. Buy only American or Western European.

 

Hi, Keith. Thank you, I really enjoyed your video and seeing your tools. The process your demonstrated is called 'water bath' canning. It's safe with high-acid foods like tomatoes, but for low-acid foods like beans, tuna, venison, only a pressure canner will kill deadly pathogens like botulism through the higher temperatures created by pressurized steam.

 

Thank you for your thoughts and tips. The canner, made in the USA, is used and didn't come with instructions. I did find a PDF of the owner's manual, and now see the trouble may be due to my not lubricating the wing-nut screws and/or not tightening them sufficiently. Just got off the phone with a Master Food Preserver at a county extension office and she suspected the same thing, so I'm off to do a second test.

 

You be careful around high pressure anything! Make absodanglutely sure there is some blowoff mechanism that will release excessive pressure, because I've never seen a home pressure cooker that utilizes wing-nuts.

One area of technology I've worked was in the industrial control area and oh my Lord the horror stories appertaining to pressure containment accidents. One millisecond all is well. Next millisecond, you're in hell.

OK, so I went on the web and found pressure cookers with wing nuts. Wow! Again, you gotta have a blowoff device.

 

Finally reached a Master Food Preserver at an extension service near Bend, Oregon, who put me on the right track. As I suspected, escaping steam is not good. She ran me through a gamut of troubleshooting questions and finally concluded with, "I think you just didn't crank the wing nuts down tightly enough." (The brand name is All-American Pressure Canner.) So, for Test #2, I cranked hard, turned up the heat, and crossed my fingers. There was not one 'spit' or 'hiss' the whole time. Thanks for everyone's input. It's not easy being a 'newbie.'

 

My grandmother used an antique pressure cooker that was manufactured by Montgomery Wards. It was the type that utilized hinged studs and wing nuts to tighten the seal between the lid and pot. I found this site to order parts and also provides some info on proper use. Hope it helps http://www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/Pressure-Cooker-Parts.htm

 

I know this is an old thread, but for those who don't know about this canner - this All-American canner is the best made anywhere. Since this is a used one, I probably would install a new pressure gauge.

 

I own a AA 941 and a 921. Love them both! I also own Mirro and Presto canners too.

 

Me and the misses got a big canner from America years ago when ebay first kicked off, you can't easily get them in the UK even now...fantastic invention, pressure canner (pressure cooker in the UK) and a good dehydrator and your good to go.

 

Not to change the subject TOO much...

Dawn and I bought an Instant Pot computerized pressure cooker about a year and a half ago, but only use it for cooking -- mostly thing like chickens, roasts, etc. because even when you factor the pressurization time in, it's really quicker than in the oven. I suppose it can be used for pressure canning, but we haven't tried it yet.

Last year, when we first moved to our homestead, was the first time we ever did any canning. We used a hot water bath on our electric stove, and it took forever to get a 5-gallon pot of water to boiling. This year we got one of these boogers (we use the 20-lb propane tank) , and it made a tremendous difference: