First thing I would suggest is just buy a Presto 23 qt. rather than spend all the money on an AA. Then order the extra 3 piece weight set for the Presto so you don't have to bother with the annual gauge testing.

Second, spend some time doing lots of reading at NCHFP's website.

Third, make up a list of the types of things you think you want to can and the quantities you would need for your family and note the help you would have available. That is the best way to determine if you actually need one of the really BIG pressure canners. Most home canners, even heavily active ones, find that they don't.

Keep in mind that you can only prepare enough jars for 1 batch at a time and few of us have the ability to get more than an average canner load ready to go all by ourselves.

Just some thoughts to consider.

Dave

What is an average canner load? Would a smaller canner work inside my home on my electric range? Thanks for the feedback.

Outdoor canning presents a whole additional range of challenges. While I have done it, I much prefer canning indoors. For me outdoor canning is only for foods like tuna, which are very smelly. For that we set up an entire outdoor prep and canning kitchen.

But other than that, canning indoors is much more convenient and also more reliable. Even with the heat issues in your part of the country.

An electric stove can work very well if you have the old-style coil burners. Glass cooktops not so well. With coil burners you can purchase a canning element which is a heavy-duty coil which sits higher to allow more air below the canner so that overheating is avoided.

Carol

So what is the size canner most people use indoors? I want an AA, this canner purchase will be my last, I'm not a spring chicken. Speaking of which, that might rule out the very largest canner as I understand it is pretty heavy.

The weight of an AA has kept me from getting one. I have used Presto 23 qt. for years. They keep on going and going. In over 30 years I have only replaced the gasket one time in one of them. The other is newer and has had no new gasket needed yet.
I see nothing wrong with the Prestos. Just get the 3 piece weight set and you don't even worry with getting the dial gauge checked.

Hey Lucille, love the spring chicken remark...I'm not either and still get a lot of gardening and canning done. I have a 23 qt Presto too and it's always done a great job for me.

Happy retirement........

What is an average canner load?

An average canner load is 7 quarts, 8-10 pints depending on the jars used. That is what most of the approved recipes are based on.

Would a smaller canner work inside my home on my electric range?

The Presto 23 quart will work inside (or outside) and most electric coil burner stoves. With the canning element that Carol mention it works even better. The smaller presto 16 at. will work on most all non-glasstop stoves and will work on some of them. Glass top stoves are problematic to say the least, for several reasons.

So what is the size canner most people use indoors? I want an AA, this canner purchase will be my last

Presto 16 or 23, AA 915 or 921. Can't swear to it but I think it is safe to say there are more Presto's in use than AAs. If not more then at least as many.

It is your choice of course but don't buy into all the AA hype. I have both brands, several of us here do, plus I have an older model Mirro. They all have pros and cons but both the Presto and the AA will equally out live most of us.

The only real concern is that you get a canner size (not a cooker). It must be able to hold a minimum of 4 quart jars for processing to qualify as a canner. That means a Mirro 12 qt. (tho not recommended), a Presto 16 qt. or an AA 915.

Like Linda Lou said many of us have Presto canners that are still going strong after 20-30 years and with minimal if any problems.

Wife and I have extensive gardens and we easily can 100's of quarts of vegetables and meats annually. We do most of our pressure canning outside on propane. We use all 3 canners and both agree that we prefer our Presto's as they are lighter weight, easier to lift and tote although still quite heavy, easier to seal and unseal, and their weights are easier to monitor than either the AA or the Mirro.

Dave

I have two Prestos (12-quart "Harvest Gold" and 23-quart) and an All-American 921. I had a Mirro (passed on to me brand new) but I really dislike Mirro and gave it away. The company has also had changes of ownership and I am less trusting of availability of Mirro parts in the future.

I have not found my All-American more difficult to monitor, but I suspect my model is set up a bit differently than Dave's. I prefer it for outdoor canning as I find it's easier to maintain a consistent pressure. I believe it's due to the heavier casting. But this is a purely personal preference. I do feel the Presto is by far the best value for the money. It is definitely lighter and easier to maneuver.

For an All-American I'd go with the 921, their most popular model. I'm 63 and use it with no problems, but I do foresee a time when that may not be the case. I don't move either the Presto or All-American full. That just isn't going to happen. A lot of the weight with any canner comes with the contents more than the canner itself.

Carol

I just got a shiny new Presto 16 quart canner and it is easily the most beautiful thing on earth. I can't wait to try it.

I am new to canning, bought a used Mirro. I processed one batch of green beans 2 weeks ago and another batch yesterday. the one two weeks ago I had problems with - the weight never danced, jiggled or moved in any way but there was steam coming out. After about 40 minutes I realized the overpressure plug had blown. Turned it off and waited the cool time. When I took the jars out all but one did seal but the beans had a reddish brown color in the water inside the jar. At that time I assumed it was because there were overprocessed. I ordered new overpressure plugs and tried again yesterday. Again, the weight never danced, jiggled or moved but I did turn off the heat after 25 minutes this time. After cooling I took the jars out and the same color was in the jars. After reading a lot of these posts I have learned 1. that Mirro is not a highly recommended canner 2. glasstops are not a good heat source and 3. I should have done a test run or two to try and find the right heat setting to achieve 10 pounds of pressure before possibly ruining 14 quarts of green beans. My questions are : are the beans ok to eat or have I ruined them? And does anyone successfully can on a glasstop stove? I do have a propane burner I can used outside if that's what I need to do but would rather do it inside. I am assuming my Mirro is a 23 quart (I'm not positive because I did not receive the manual when I bought it). If I bought a smaller canner (I know from reading that it needs to hold at least 4 quarts) would it work better on my glasstop? Thanks to any and all that have suggestions or answers for me!

Hi Tmommie,

I have two Mirros and successfully do a couple hundred cans a year with them. I'm planning on doing a couple half gallons of tomatoes today and 50 pint-and-a-halfs of applesauce next week.

Unless you're very knowledgeable on canning, GET THE MANUAL! It gives you basic directions for canning and pounds settings and processing times for most common fruits, meats, and vegetables. Here's the basic high points -

1. place jars and set burner to high
   2. vent w/o weight for 10 minutes
   3. place weight at proper pounds setting
   4. when weight starts to jiggle, start timer and reduce temp to keep it gently jiggling
   5. make very small and few adjustments to keep the weight only lightly jiggling through processing time.
   6. Allow the canner to reduce pressure on its own.

Beans do have a slight reddish brown color once processed - you just don't see it when you buy them in a tin can. If you think it TOO red, you might have high iron content in your water.

With the overpressure blown, you basically boiling water canned them. I would reprocess them or start over.

You can run a canner on a glasstop stove, it's just not ideal. The biggest problem is weight. I wouldn't recommend running a 23 quart canner on your glasstop. The second issue is maintaining heat. A smaller canner (12 quart) is easier to keep the temp up. Your 23 quart might just be too much for the stove to keep up with.

If you decide the Mirro isn't right for you, I'm interested in buying a third canner and have no fear of them. Please email me at - farmer boy bill at gmail dot com - Of course, take out the spaces and use the @ and .

PDF versions of the manuals are online and easily downloaded or printed, if you have to have it in print.

Here is a link that might be useful: Presto manuals

I have the largest All American that they sell and I highly recommend it!! I love it so much. My first two canners were Presto. This one regulates the pressure so much more efficiently and there's no rubber gasket to crack, store, care for etc...

I love the fact that I can can so much at one one but I'm probably considered pretty high volume - I can over 1000 jars per year. I'm actually thinking of buying a second one for next year so I can have two going at a time and I think I'll buy the same model. If I have small batches, I can always just do one layer and I keep several jars of water and if it's not full, I just add them to batch to keep jars vertical.

I can't stress how much I love the 41 quart model. I've never considered using a propane burner - keep in mind this thing is HEAVY when full. So heavy that many cooktops can't handle it. You might want to check the actual weight and make sure your burner can handle it.