Pressure canners?

[mousme]

Dear flist,

What's a reasonable price for a pressure canner? The ones I've seen online seem to hover between $300-$400, which seems like an awful lot of money. Is this what they usually cost?

Comments

[moonandtree.livejournal.com]

Dude! Buy one USED!!!!!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I've been looking, but so far I've had no luck. :(

[moonandtree.livejournal.com]

Craigslist, kijijii, lespac?

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Unless my keyword searches are lousy (which is entirely possible), then they are few and far-between. If you see any, let me know?

[ai731.livejournal.com]

I think I paid $200 or $250 for mine, iirc. They are expensive. I'd be wary of buying one second-hand unless it was almost never used, since if the seal or gauge is borked, you'll have trouble finding a replacement part.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

What was the brand you bought again?

[ai731.livejournal.com]

"All American" Model 512

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

*makes notes*

[the-adzo.livejournal.com]

For my edification, what exactly is it? I assume it is used for canning but I'm curious about the pressure part.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

This ought to give you a good idea of what pressure canners are all about. Basically it's to get the water boiling hot enough to kill bacteria and the like in foods with low acidity.

[prolixfootle.livejournal.com]

Like this?

http://www.amazon.com/Presto-01755-Pressure-Canner-Quart/dp/B000QJJ9NY/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1243270769&sr=8-2

I know the exchabe rate has changed a bit, but $200. Canadian still seems like a lot to me...

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Ooh! It's very shiny. *goes to check customer reviews*

[taxlady.livejournal.com]

You know you can actually use any pressure cooker for pressure canning. They are just smaller. How many jars do you want to can at once? You could try sticking jars in a regular pressure cooker to see how many it would hold. They can be stacked, but shouldn't touch the sides of the pot.

My ex got my pressure canner (grumble, grumble).

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

I spent about a hundred dollars on mine, ten years ago. Mine is a Presto. I wrote a couple of posts about choosing a pressure canner on pantry a few years ago if that might be of interest to you.

Since you are, like me, not in the U.S., I would strongly, strongly advise *not* getting a dial-gauge canner. I have still not found a single business in Toronto that can check my gauge for me, so I have to mail mine to the U.S. every year for safety testing. Other than that, I love my Presto, I just wish I'd bought a weighted-gauge model instead.

[ai731.livejournal.com]

*nod* That's one of the reasons I went with the All American. I love having *both* the weighted-gauge and the dial so I can double-check the one with the other as I learn to use it more confidently.

Also a reason I'd strongly recommend a model with a metal-to-metal seal, that way you don't have to worry about being able to get a replacement gasket in the future.

[merccom.livejournal.com]

+1

[moskevyu.livejournal.com]

Does this help at all?

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=pressure+canner&_sacat=See-All-Categories

[urban-homestead.livejournal.com]

Fortunately, I've had no trouble at all replacing gaskets, buying parts to convert my Presto to weighted-gauge, etc. The gauge has been the only issue for me. The metal-to-metal ones do look great but the price scared me off so I'm glad the gasket turned out to not be a problem.