How long for a metal/metal pressure canner to "seal"?

[joe_momma]

Hi all,

This is probably much ado about nothing, but a question to those with a 921 pressure canner.

I've put my new pressure canner through its paces - for perhaps 15 hours now - I've only done the usual items - cold & hot packed beef, stews, brandied cherries, and pickles.

I'm still getting a fair amount of leakage out of the sides of the canner at 10 psi. I called the manufacturer who said not to worry, the canner would soon seal itself.

My question to the more knowledgeable members -how long did it take for your gasketless canner to seal?

Thanks for any helpful information.


****** Update *****
Thanks for all the feedback!
0) I did read the manual (though reading the manual is an awful lot like stopping to ask for directions when lost)
1) I have lined up the triangles on pot and lid.
2) I have used olive oil on both the lid and pot sealing areas (All American recommended doing the lid)
3) When I put on the lid, after lining up the triangles, I wiggle it a little to level the lid (it does not actually move very much if at all), then first put on the screw knobs (2 at a time, opposite sides of the cooker), then tighten them down snug (like you'd do on a wheel's lug nuts)
4) The leakage isn't bad, about equal to what is lost through the vent on the vent with the 10# settting

There's no problem maintaining pressure (just turn up the heat) an lose a little more water while cooking. My biggest concern is that with the leak, I'm losing liquid inside the jars as well as the water in the pot. (e.g., start with 1/2" headspace and end up with 1" at the end of the canning [meaning some food is now not covered in liquid]).

There hasn't been a problem with sealing the jars themselvs - all but one of the 40 jars locked up nicely - the one that failed had a lot of greasy meat and I'd not left enough headspace - the grease interfered with the lid.

[Heimdhal]

I never had a problem with mine....


Do you have a guage on it? Is it holding the correct pressure. If so, then I wouldnt worry about it much. As long as its maintaining pressure/temp you're good to go. If its spiking too high or not getting high enough, I'd be worried.


how bad is the leakage on the side?

[Heimdhal]

Also, are you sure that you are seating the lid correctly? On the AA canners, there is a little "V" mark that you need to line up.

[osoab]

good to see you back joe_mamma. Sticking around?

[Agrippa]

Make sure that you are getting the lid on squarely. Before I start to clamp the lid down I use my fingertips to gauge the distance between each set of lugs, and tweak the lid until they all seem about the same. Then make sure you tighten it down evenly by turning opposed sets of clamps simultaneously, and only a little bit at a time. It is also helpful to coat the seal area with Vaseline before putting the lid on, especially for a new canner.

I probably take a minute to get the lid on square and tensioned evenly, and it seems to work: I have only once observed leakage on one of my AA canners, and I stopped it immediately by giving the clamps an extra tweak.

[big country]

Did you read the instructions fully? My wife was having issues with ours (we have the 15 quart AA, can't recall the model #) so I sat down an read the manual.

Did you OIL THE SEAL?

We couldnt get ours above 10lbs due to bad sealing, then it would purge all the water in the jars because the pressure in the canner would drop too fast. I read the manual, put olive oil on the metal (of the pot, not the lid) and it went to 15lbs no problem, no more steam leaking. To answer your question, we ran it twice w/o oil and it wouldn't seal. On the third run WITH oil it sealed just fine.

Are you putting oil on the seal?

[Mouse]

You shouldn't have to do shit. They just work if they are manufactured correctly. Mine works. I never put any kind of lube on it, just line up the arrows and tighten it evenly. There must be a problem in quality control (go figure).

[Mouse]

Having used my American #915 pressure canner quite a bit lately, with the expected 100% success rate, I would also add:

If you are having a problem with All American pressure canner, which it appears you are having, you should send it back and demand a quality replacement.

There is no excuse for paying extra money for quality and not receiving it. You could have bought any number of gasket or chinkese canners, but you chose to invest your money in a tool that should last, literally, a lifetime.

There is no excuse. All-American makes stuff and markets it as quality. American quality. The reason you spent another 50 bucks to get "that one" was because it was made in America, and they have a great reputation for quality. The design of the cooker is such that there are really no parts to ever replace. No gaskets, no bullshit, no problems. That is why I bought mine. If I had received a leaky unit, I would have required a replacement.

Don't let people sell you quality and fail to deliver. I am sure it's a QC problem on your canner, but hold them to what they sold you. QUALITY.

That means it doesn't leak, it holds pressure, it doesn't explode unless you do something stupid. My manual says nothing about using oil or jelly to "seal" a perfectly mated machined surface. You bought a perfectly mated individually machined sealing surface. Someone switched your lid with another batch. Send it back.

I bet you they make good on it.

Demand quality. Don't pay for shoddy crap. That's how we got in this mess.

/rant

[Agrippa]

There's no problem maintaining pressure (just turn up the heat) an lose a little more water while cooking. My biggest concern is that with the leak, I'm losing liquid inside the jars as well as the water in the pot. (e.g., start with 1/2" headspace and end up with 1" at the end of the canning [meaning some food is now not covered in liquid]).
If you are maintaining pressure in the canner, then the jars aren't going to process any differently -- the increase in the headspace is normal.

The only two problems presented by your leak are that you are using more energy, and burning off more water, than you would otherwise. The amount of water generally recommended in the manual provides an ample margin to deal with small leaks. If you have plenty of water left over in the bottom of the canner when you are done, they there is no problem. You don't want to ever run it dry.

While the Mouse may be correct is suggesting that you have a bum canner, it is hard to dismiss the human element without actually being there to witness the problem. I know from experience, for example, that my idea of what constitutes a "snugly" tightened nut can be very much more or very much less than another person's idea. If you tend to strip threads when tightening things "snugly", then you may be over-tightening it. If you've never done that, then you might try going a bit beyond "snug" next time, and see if that helps.

[big country]

I also have a 915 AA canner. Ours is new, just got it like a month ago. Page 6 of the book talks about lubricating the seal. I can take a picture of it if you don't believe me mouse. Maybe they didn't used to recommend it but they do now.

I also paid more then a $50 premium for the AA. Presto's are like $80 on amazon, this AA was $180.

[Agrippa]

After posting my previous comment, it occurred to me that, while the jars won't process any differently because of the leak, when you shut the heat off the canner will depressurize more rapidly because of it. This will cause the jars to boil off more of their contents.

I suppose one could reduce the heat gradually, to maintain the normal depressurization rate. It would probably be easier to fix the leak, though.

[Mouse]

I also have a 915 AA canner. Ours is new, just got it like a month ago. Page 6 of the book talks about lubricating the seal. I can take a picture of it if you don't believe me mouse. Maybe they didn't used to recommend it but they do now.

I also paid more then a $50 premium for the AA. Presto's are like $80 on amazon, this AA was $180.

I believe you. I don't know where my manual is, but I know I read every manual, every page, so I would have been greasing it up if it said to from day one. Mine is about 6 years old, never greased it and never had a problem. Sometimes it's tricky to get it all lined up because it's a tight fit. My wife beat on it one time because she couldn't get it lined up and bent the handle :)

Can you provide very brief explanation of what they suggest you lubricate it with and why they say you should?

Thanks

I guess premiums are up. If you want the good stuff you gotta pay for it.

[big country]

the book says olive oil or petroleum jelly (we use olive oil). It claims it helps keep the lid from sticking, but it is listed under the seal maintenance section. It says to LIGHTLY oil it (where you can't even really see the oil).

I just put a little on a paper towel and wipe it around the inside of the canner seal (NOT on the lid).

Joe_momma,
I just looked at your photos again. That gap looks pretty large. Are you sure you're getting the lid on straight with the same amount of "gap" on both sides (straight across the canner)? Our gap is that large if I have the lid cockeyed on the top, when straight (which takes some fiddling...) it doesn't seem that large.
If you're not getting the lid on perfectly straight it will definitely cause that issue.

[Tumbleweed]

I had a problem with my new canner sealing. there was a little pitting right where it seals. I haven't gotten around to calling them or sending it back. It is important to get the lid on even all the way around and tighten it down a little bit at a time. I use olive oil on mine.

[ImaCannin]

My first AA 921 canner was bought in 1998. I still have it. I have never had a problem with it sealing. I bought the AA 15 quart a few years ago. From the get go, I have had problems with it. It is harder to line up than my old one, even if I lube it up with vaseline before using, it still sticks when I try to take the lid off. I have to get a spoon handle and pry the lid off. I have ran well over 30 loads thru it. When I called customer service they told me that it would start sealing after a few uses. I still have to put vaseline on it, but not on my old one. I have used the old one hundreds of times! :cool: