We have often observed on this Forum an increased failure with the lids on shrink-wrapped jars, so your experience isn't unusual.

Heat may be the issue, but when I examine new cases of jars closely, I often find lids which are creased or dented on an edge. Now I inspect every such lid (even getting down to eye level to scan across the top) before I use it.

I haven't found this to be an issue with replacement lids in boxes, only the lids placed atop new jars. Those pallets are stacked on top of each other and some damage and distortion is inevitable.

Carol

Contact the company and I'm sure they'll offer you some free lids, at the very least.

Same experience here - lots of failures on the lids packed on new jars. To the point where I put the lids from the new jars in a separate box and will only use them on jam - where I can put it in my fridge and not worry about it for a long time.

Ball claims there new packaging is designed to reduce waste - their effort to become "green". But I'm willing to bet that 95% of us never throw away the boxes that the jars come in - we use them for storage. A box with a lid would be much more useful to us, and result with zero "trash", whereas these new boxes, we all throw away the shrink wrap.

I have some old boxes with lids I use for storage, but I also keep the new boxes - try to rip the shrink wrap in the middle and fold back over. Then I can store (full or empty) jars in the boxes, stack them if necessary, and not have to worry about jars falling off my open shelves in the basement. Also handy for transporting to market. Though ones with flaps would be handier.

And if you recycle rather than reuse, isn't cardboard more easily recycled than plastic? Though how many people actually recycle the shrink wrap rather than throw it in the trash?

I had a new canning experience today. The rubber sealing material eased down the edge of the jar rim of two jars. It looks like there is a bt too much sealing material. The jars are sealed but I'll probably freeze them just to be certain. I have canned for many years and never had that happen.

Are there certain brands of jars or lids that should be avoided?

I've had no problem with this, not at all. This is my third year canning. Last year I purchased at least 20 dozen jars/lids (all shrink wrapped) and I think I found one or two bad lids in all that.

All mine are Jarden brands (mostly Ball, some Kerr).

I never canned using the "old style" that some talk about, so maybe I have good luck because I didn't have to change what I do because of the change in lids.

So far this year I think I've had 2 jars not seal, I think I'm up to at least 30 dozen (and not done yet). Probably about 10 dozen were new jars. This is everything from meat to jam (water bath and pressure).

I'd be livid if I had one in four not seal, plus I'd have a totally overloaded fridge!

BTW - I have that "popping/unpopping" thing all the time. Usually because I bring home the jars and they end up sitting in the sun for a few weeks until I get around to using them.

Based on what I've read online, I think I tighten my lids on more than most do. I've never had a lid "wrinkle" from being too tight though.

I would love to can with someone that is having these problems so that maybe we could figure out what we are doing differently.

Since I do mostly no-pectin jams and jellies, I do small batches (4-5 half pints). I have many batches that have no problems, but have noticed that when I use the lids that came with the jars I may have 1, whereas I haven't noticed any failures using "replacement" lids that come 12 to a box.

I also noticed last year more failures with the rings that come on the jars than with the old gold rings I got at yard sales - though that may have been b/c for the most part I was using new jars/rings/lids together and old jars/rings with replacement lids. Since then I have started inspecting new rings/lids more carefully to look for dents and bends.

I did have 1 new ring come entirely off in the canner last week! I'm not sure if I didn't tighten it down far enough (obviously), if it was warped a little (some don't seem to start straight), or if it was just b/c I happened to have 7 jars in the canner and they rubbed up against each other too much (using a PC rack in the bottom, wish I could find a SS rack that separated the jars that would fit in my 10" stockpot).

Won't matter what brand... they are all made my the same company.
I ordered lids in bulk at Lehman's. I got over 2,500 lids. No failures. I think they are still Ball lids. Only no writing on them. They are gold in color.
Still not that cheap, but beats buying little boxes all the time and running out for me. No need to go to the store for lids for a long time !
The ones on the new jars seal just fine for me, though.

"Won't matter what brand... they are all made my the same company. "

Has Jarden has opened a factory in China? Does Jarden produce the Mainstay and Better Homes and Gardens Jars?

My understanding was that Ball Jars and Golden Harvest jars are made in the USA by Jarden.

Walmart sells the Better Homes and Garden Jars and the Mainstay jars - which are made in China. I'm not sure who the parent company is for these brands. But the jars themselves are stamped "Made in China".

Some people are opposed to buying products from China. If so, avoid the BHG and Mainstay jars.

I wonder if the rings are more of the problem. I never leave rings on my jars, so I have boxes and boxes of rings, and toss the new ones into one of the boxes and then use the jars and lids.

I keep using the same rings over and over, and if they start looking ikky or remotely questionable, they go in the trash. Though I've done over 30 dozen jars, I've probably only used about 3-4 dozen rings. Once I remove them (usually the next day) I rinse them and shake off the water and let them air dry, then use them for the next batch. If I have a jar that does not seal, that ring goes into the trash - just in case it was the ring's fault.

I bet I've got over 1,200 rings in assorted boxes that have never been used. I keep an assortment in one box for current use.

I have probably added about 50 brand new Ball jars to my stash this year and haven't had a single failure to seal yet in new or old.

On first reading I was thinking the failure rate might be from people not wiping jar rims clean, but it's clear that many of you are not new to canning and the problem is new. Now I'm wondering wonder if different retailers who are selling may be handling the cases badly, damaging the outer edges? I get my jars primarily at Ace hardware, they ping and pop due to heat before I use them too, but no sealing problems so far. I did recycle one new jar with a dent in the lid and small nick on the edge--that one would have probably failed had I not noticed it.

Also, I'm also only using pints or smaller. Wonder if the failure rate is higher in quarts?

I wish they would sell just jars without the rings. Like macybaby, I have a ridiculous number of rings cluttering up my cabinets. I only use a couple of dozen when I gift jellies, etc. away, and frankly, most of those come back to me eventually when friends want a refill.

The problem isn't "new"; it's been mentioned since the processor switched from cardboard boxes to shrink wrap.

I would agree that the handling the supplier/seller provides is probably as much as or more of an issue than the rim-cleaning or lid-tightening technique.

I'm sure I'm not the only canner with 50+ years experience who has noticed a difference. I don't think my technique has changed appreciably. When you look at someone like Annie, who's processed thousands and thousands of jars over the years and she's complaining, you know it can't be that she suddenly forgot how to apply a lid.

When I started checking lids meticulously before use, there was no longer an issue, but I did on occasion end up discarding a proportion of lids.

I might also mention there have been periods when the sealant has been faulty. There was a time when Kerr lids were a nightmare for that reason.

I have noticed recently that Walmart is stocking Better Homes and Gardens jars and lids (made in China). I no longer see Golden Harvest, so I'm guessing their supplier is not affiliated with Jarden (Ball/Kerr/Golden Harvest).

Carol

For clarity, I meant the problem was relatively new, not new this year. I don't have your years of canning under my belt (hope to someday!), but am approaching 26 or 27 years since I made my first jam as a teen, and remember the lids wrapped separately inside the extra cardboard box :)

I also looked at, but passed up the Better Homes and Gardens jars due to their name being so prominent on the jars. Besides I'd rather buy USA made jars for safety and to support a US company.

I did get two boxes of the tattler reusable lids from Lehmans this spring, and have yet to try them. I'm curious to see how many times the rubber rings can be reused.

Thanks for your feedback, everyone. I will write to Ball.

Just a follow up. Ball emailed me after I complained and said that in their tests, as long as the lids reached 180 degrees during their simmer, they should soften and seal fine. Sooooo I chose to bring the lids to a boil, then reduce to a simmering. Every single lid sealed after I began doing this.

That's interesting - I thought you weren't supposed to let the lids boil. I always get the canner to a simmer, then shut it off and put the lids in. If it hits boiling, I turn it off and let it cool down a bit b4 I put the lids in. Maybe that's why I have one per batch (two in one batch a couple weeks ago) sometimes not seal?

My understanding is that boiling the lids won't harm them; it's just that simmering is supposed to be sufficient for softening the seals so they will properly mold to the jars when canning. Also, I didn't leave the lids to boil. I just brought them to a boil, then reduced the heat so they were simmering.

I wanted to buy jars in boxes, looked at Walmart yesterday, the only boxed jars they had were Mainstays for 6.00 a dozen. Does anyone use these Mainstay Chinese jars, can they be trusted?

Also will the Mainstay jars take the Ball lids and rings?

Yes the lids and bands are interchangeable. Whether you want to use the Mainstay brand is up to you. Some care that they are made in China and given all the history of contaminants in Chinese imports won't use them for that reason. Others don't seem to care. They are too new on the market to have much use history with anyone.

Dave

I learned canning when I was a little girl with my Grandmother, & Mother and have taught my own girls how to can. We have been very successful with not havind unsealed jars. We have canned close to 100 25# boxes of tomatoes this year. Salsa, Stewed, Chili Sauce & Spag Sauce to name a few. We have followed the new rules to a T and still have several in a batch that do not seal with these new lids. We did 34 jars on Monday, waited the 24 hours before moving or washing them. Checked several times and found 5 that did not seal so I put new lids on and reprocessed them and they seemed to have sealed. When I went to wash the jars to store them, removing the rings found 2 more that had not sealed but I had previously checked the lids by touching and they were all sealed and indented. We want to make vegetable based soup to store for the winter but am afraid now to do it and put them on the shelf for fear the lids will pop and they will spoil. TRASH THESE NEW INVENTIONS AND GET BACK TO THE BASICS.

Yup having the same problem here did out pickles and tomato sauce 14 jars of each an 9 didn't seal ball canning lids

Im so glad someone else asked this question! i am canning using a pressure canner, and i noticed an abnormal amount of my jars werent sealing, in many different types of food (chili, tomatoes, tomatoe bisque, and corn.) i thought it was me but noticed everytime i switched the lid it sealed just fine. so i canned approx 35 jars of corn , all new jars with loss. i removed the lis they came with and used a new one from a box and the issue stopped. such a waste of lids , of course ill save the ”dud” lids for freezer/fridge use use.

My large ball stackable lid doesnt seem to fit tight? why

When this happens, do you have to re-process them all again........which sort of probably over-cooks the contents?

They used to come upside down keeping the seal untouched. Some one probably complained about it not being clean so now we throw away the lids and buy new replacement lids in the box