Honestly, unless you have $$ to burn you don't need to spend all that money on an All American. Market hype aside, they are not "higher quality" than the $85 Presto 23 qt. with a $12 3 piece weight set added. You'll find many discussions here about this issue and most all will agree I think. Many of us are still using our Prestos 25 years later.

That said, assuming you understand the difference between a pressure cooker and a pressure canner then yes, any pressure canner can be used for pressure cooking, as a big cook pot, and as a BWB.

Also, before you make your decision since money is tight for all of us right now, make sure you really need a pressure canner and not just a BWB. Many who are new to home food preservation find it best to start out with just a BWB until they learn the basics and only then advance to pressure canning. What types of food will you be canning and what level of experience do you have?

Check out the link below - NCHFP - the home canners official source. It covers all the basics and be sure to check out the info on "Using a Pressure Canner" and let us know if you have questions.

Welcome to the forum!! ;)

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: National Center for Home Food Preservation

Thanks for the info.
I understand a fair bit about canning but I don't have much hands on experience yet.

Part of my question has to do with my wanting to do both types of canning, acidic and non-acidic. Since I'm in Florida, my choices for preserving food are a little limited since a root cellar isn't really an option (it just doesn't stay cool enough here for long enough.) The freezer is also packed full and I don't think we want to spend the ongoing electricity for an additional freezer especially with the risk of hurricanes and power outage spoiling all the extra food in a freezer.

The reason the All american looked good to me is mainly the lack of a sealing gasket and the very heavy duty weight pot. We will be setting up an outdoor cooking space for canning and I've been reading up on the issues associated with gas burners, wind and such. I'll look for some discussions about the different canners.

Thanks again

Well, I would disagree with Dave on this one. Having both a Presto and an All-American, I would say the latter is definitely a higher quality. Particularly compared to the newer Presto canners, it is much heavier.

However, having said that, I could not argue that the All-American is the best value for the money or that there's sufficient difference in quality to justify a considerable difference in cost.

I think, all things considered, the Presto is the best value on the market. Especially if you find it on sale or on a website that offers a good price plus free shipping, it's hard to justify the additional cost of an All-American. I got my All-American at a super deal, but I think those days are gone. I haven't seen one of those on offer at a discount for several years.

As Dave mentioned, any pressure canner can also be used as a conventional pressure cooker (think extra-large batches of chicken stock, etc.) as well as a stockpot or boiling water bath.

Carol

When I bought my Presto this past summer it was just $79 and free shipping. Keep in mind that the canners are quite tall and if there isa vent over your stove, it may be a tight fit. For the money, Presto is a good choice. Rarely do I can any low acid foods, but instead, freeze. A chest type freezer has a better control over cold as cold travels downwards. Drying some items can also be done. If using the pressure canner as a water bath canner, there should be a rack at the bottom that raises the jars up at least an inch, and has holes to allow for heat to pass through. Recently, I posted a link to another propane burner brand/model that has a controllable flame. The one originally sold by Northern Tool is not available anymore.

You can also do a search for the words Pressure Canner, and only read threads that are originating from the HARVEST forum.

Well so far in my reading I haven't been swayed much about what kind of canner to get. Gaskets or rubber seals that need regular replacing don't suit me very well and a heavy pot for outdoor propane cooking seems the best choice. The height of stuff and my indoor range hood won't matter as I don't think it would be possible to make any of those burners stay level enough for a pressure canner.

Been researching and reading about how to get a propane burner to work well for canning and other outdoor cooking. I'll have to look again but I think I actually saw a more flexible propane burner at a big box store the other day.

Only a slightly related observation...

We went looking at new ranges today for a mutual Christmas present. The old one is getting on in years (as are we) and getting less and less dependable.

Point is, we discovered that for an additional $100 over and above the average price of a new All American canner we can have a whole new stove with self-cleaning oven and lots of bells and whistles.

Just something to consider. :^)

Dave

You don't need such an expensive canner. I have the Presto 23qt for less than half the price. It's well made and I use it as a WB also. I'm very happy with it. I store it in a closet for the winter.

I'm looking at the 30qt All American since it is deep enough for alternative purposes (frying, big cookout pot etc) in addition to WBC and Pressure canning. It is also big enough to do two layers of quarts or perhaps larger jars (I don't know how one deals with half gallon or gallon jars for juice or pickles or even if it is approved for home canning.) When we harvest the citrus trees this season, we could probably can quite a bit of it this time instead of loosing it to waste. We are also raising fish in Aquaponics and I can see us smoking a big batch of catfish or tilapia and canning it since we don't have much freezer space.

What is the largest presto canner? I think the 23qt is only like 11 inches deep or something?

I am slightly tempted by the lower cost to begin with but I'll need to hear some pretty strong reasons to convince me that buying new seals each year won't add up over time (for some reason rubber, elastic, and many other replaceable materials seem to go bad down here faster than I seem to remember them wearing out up north as a kid, but that could just be the strange scale of memory too.)

Please keep the comments coming though as I would like to learn as much as I can before I make the purchase!

Notes,

Want a big pot that will be sturdy enough to handle being used on an outdoor propane cooker and do double duty cooking corn or frying fish.

Want a pot deep enough to make WBC quarts or perhaps even bigger jars easy. I don't want to constantly worry about boil over or not having enough water to sufficiently cover the jars.

Want heavy duty stuff (the other half is really good at breaking things.) I expect this item could be in use as often as monthly and during certain seasons weekly.

Play me some more pros and cons of the different units this will likely be a big investment.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

It currently looks that Amazon has pretty good prices on Pressure canners currently. Kinda doubtful that one will get a better price on ebay once the shipping is figured in though there might be a chance of it with a few of the auctions on the presto 23qt model that have free shipping. I suspect the bidding will go up to the amazon price and stop there.

Here is a link that might be useful: TCLynx

Yeah 23 qt. is the biggest Presto. Keep in mind that the larger the canner the longer it will take to bring it up to pressure and to cool it down so more energy and time will be used. Also keep in mind that it is going to be VERY heavy when loaded - the Presto 23 qt. when loaded is already a chore to life and move - so a 30qt. All American loaded with a double layer of quarts (if that is even possible) may require a fork lift. ;)

buying new seals each year

You don't have to do that. Maybe every 5-10 years. And even if you did want to you are talking about $6.00, maybe $7.00 for the set.

I expect this item could be in use as often as monthly and during certain seasons weekly.

How about several times daily during canning season? ;)

Want a big pot that will be sturdy enough to handle being used on an outdoor propane cooker and do double duty cooking corn or frying fish.

Been there and done all that and posted pictures here using the Presto 23.

Want a pot deep enough to make WBC quarts or perhaps even bigger jars easy. I don't want to constantly worry about boil over or not having enough water to sufficiently cover the jars.

Been there and done all that using the Presto 23 as have several others here. Believe it or not, most of the regulars here use Presto 23. And just for clarification, the correct term is BWB and larger than quart jars are not approved for either BWB or pressure canning.

Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with an All American except for the horrendous prices which I'm convinced are wholly unjustified - you are paying for the name in part - but if I got one for a gift I'd sure use it.

I just hate to see someone new to pressure canning investing that much up front based on their assumptions about pressure canning and how they think they "might" use it. Better to buy the Presto and try it for a year or so to learn pressure canning. As many problem posts here will confirm, it isn't as straight forward as it may sound and many discover that it just isn't for them after all. A lot is learned in that first year - problems that all will experience and need to resolve - and many discover that what sounded good on paper ain't that great in practice. Better to be stuck with an $89 mistake than with a $300+ one. ;)

Dave

PS: citrus only requires a BWB of 10 mins. Instructions for PC are provided but the consistency will be very different.

Fish requires PC for 100 mins. and pints only. That's a long time and lots of energy for small jars of a mushy product, so smoking or freezing is the recommended procedure.

Just some points to consider. Not everything can or should be canned at home, even with a pressure canner.

Dave

Points well taken.
Amazon has the Presto 23 for $85 shipping included. I might be able to convince the other half that a less deep pot will be ok for the first year (truth is he does most of the actual cooking and I just have to do some of the preserving since I'm growing so much stuff in the garden and have run out of freezer space.)
The All American 30qt is available with free shipping for $230, ya don't actually jump up over $300 till you go for the 41qt. $230 is high though. I suppose the fair comparison would be the 21 or 25qt All American and those are still over twice the cost of the presto at $209 with free shipping.

Hum...
I suppose if we get the presto and find we need more capacity after a season, we will want an additional canner anyway........ of course that means an additional stove burner too.......Choices hum.

Yeah 23 qt. is the biggest Presto. Keep in mind that the larger the canner the longer it will take to bring it up to pressure and to cool it down so more energy and time will be used.
*I see your point here on the pressurization time since there is the bigger volume to pressurize. On the other side of it, I know that a larger water volume will return to boil faster after jars are added and so on the BWB side of things it evens out.

Also keep in mind that it is going to be VERY heavy when loaded - the Presto 23 qt. when loaded is already a chore to life and move - so a 30qt. All American loaded with a double layer of quarts (if that is even possible) may require a fork lift. ;)
*On this NOTE, I'm too small to work harder, I never intended to pick up and move a large pot of jars and boiling water, I always thought you left the thing sit right where it was and loaded it with jars in place and unload the jars in place to let them cool off to the side.
Now when using a pressure canner there isn't as much water in it so I suppose one might wish to move it out of the way to let it cool and depressurize but I was under the impression that it is far better to turn off the heat and let it cool in place (and not be shaking up the jars inside) and then once depressurized take the jars out to cool on the counter some more before moving the big pot.
These things I suspect I would need to do no matter what size the canner (unless we were talking about some tiny little thing which I'm not interested in) because thought I am quite strong, I'm still not a large person and I'm not into risking dumping 5 gallons of boiling water on myself. Or in the case of pressure canning, lifting a very hot heavy metal object that I would likely need to lift againt my body causing all sorts of burns, "Nope, not gonna do it."

One issue some people forget is the height. The bigger ones tend to be quite tall and if they are, and you have a hood above the stove, it may be tough to deal with if its very tall.

I never intended to pick up and move a large pot of jars and boiling water, I always thought you left the thing sit right where it was and loaded it with jars in place and unload the jars in place to let them cool off to the side.
Now when using a pressure canner there isn't as much water in it so I suppose one might wish to move it out of the way to let it cool and depressurize but I was under the impression that it is far better to turn off the heat and let it cool in place (and not be shaking up the jars inside) and then once depressurized take the jars out to cool on the counter some more before moving the big pot.

You said you were looking for an outdoor cooking system - propane or such. If so then prep becomes very different then when using the stove inside - there is much more toting back and forth.

You wouldn't want to have to tote each jar out to the canner heating on the burner and you shouldn't as they will cool too much or your product will cool too much while you are running back and forth and you'll have to keep reheating it to fill the jars. And you can't fill the jars outside.

Also depending on the burner height, as Ken said, then you may have to lift the canner off the burner to be able to lift out the jars or climb a ladder. And once the jars are removed you still have to lift and tote it to dump out all the water. Wife calls me everytime.

The logistics of canning, be it BWB or PC, take some hands-on experience. No way you can anticipate everything. ;)

Dave

You said you were looking for an outdoor cooking system - propane or such. If so then prep becomes very different then when using the stove inside - there is much more toting back and forth.

You wouldn't want to have to tote each jar out to the canner heating on the burner and you shouldn't as they will cool too much or your product will cool too much while you are running back and forth and you'll have to keep reheating it to fill the jars. And you can't fill the jars outside.
*If we do go for the outdoor canning set up, we will be setting up something like an "outdoor kitchen", as you say, toting hot jars isn't really reasonable. FYI, our indoor kitchen wouldn't be able to manage a canner on the stove along with a pot for lids and a pot of product as well as jars laid out for filling anyway.

Also depending on the burner height, as Ken said, then you may have to lift the canner off the burner to be able to lift out the jars or climb a ladder. And once the jars are removed you still have to lift and tote it to dump out all the water. Wife calls me everytime.
*Here is a prime reason for going with the outdoor burner, I can set it up at an appropriate height for me lifting jars in and out. A big canner on our indoor stove would probably have me on a step stool provided it would even work with the range hood. (Moot point since I can't seem to manage to level the burners anyway.)

The logistics of canning, be it BWB or PC, take some hands-on experience. No way you can anticipate everything. ;)
*I'm sure you are right there. I plan on keeping the set up kinda flexible so as I figure out what needs to be different, I can make those adjustments.

Hum, this thread is kinda taking on a mind of it's own.....
Wondering if I should start a more appropriately titled one...

I have the All American 30 and an old full size Presto (23 qrt?). I like them both.

You don't need two burners for two canners, just use one after the other. Two burners would be helpfull. I have five burners including the electric side burner. Generally most of the burners are used for prepping with one reserved for the pressure cooker(s).

I would start with the Presto 23 qrt and if you find the need for more canning capacity add another Presto or the All American 30 later on.

If you want a lot of cooking capacity I would go for a big stainless pot. Pressure cookers are limited for cooking as they are made of aluminum which can react with acidic foods. You can get a nice 35 qrt stainless steamer pot for a hundred bucks. The steamer pots linked below have the trivet which is required for use as a boiling water bath canner.

A Presto 23 and a 35 qrt stainless steamer would cost you less than the All American 30 and the combo would be more usefull.

I opted for a fifty qrt stainless pot. My 20 qrt stainless pot was just too small for making tomato sauce. I want all the sauce in one big pot and the larger surface area helps when boiling off liquid. Fifty qrts may big a little overkill, 35 qrts would probably be adequate.

I am considering using the All American 30 for cooking turkeys. I have 5 in the freezer after the Thanksgiving sales. I cook chicken in a pressure cooker and like the way they turn out. To use the All American 30 for cooking I plan on getting a stainless insert. I am going to get a $20 stainless 16+/- qrt stock pot and take off the handles so it fits inside the pressure cooker. Then the turkey won't touch the aluminum.

Zeuspaul

Here is a link that might be useful: Large Stainless Pots.

FYI, our indoor kitchen wouldn't be able to manage a canner on the stove along with a pot for lids and a pot of product as well as jars laid out for filling anyway.

It doesn't have to. Lids only need good warm water. Heat a small pan, put in the lids, remove the pan from the stove. The canner, if PC, doesn't have to sit on the stove until you are ready to run it. You fill it with 2-3" of boiling water and set it off ont he counter till ready to use. Stove is reserved for the products and the jars are arranged on the counter beside the stove. When filled and set in the canner, you remove the pot with the product and set the canner on the stove.

A big canner on our indoor stove would probably have me on a step stool provided it would even work with the range hood. (Moot point since I can't seem to manage to level the burners anyway.)

How un-level can your burners possibly be? ;) The average stove burner is fine when it comes to being level. Outdoor propane burners, even electric ones, have to have a fireproof base/counter to sit on and a well stabilized but adjustable windscreen but you are right that its height can be adjusted.

If you are going to all the expense and trouble to build an outdoor kitchen then it is even more important to first get some practical, hands-on canning experience. You are going to discover many problems from practical experience - everything for proper BTU's needed, finite heat controls, breaking jars that require extensive clean-up, siphoning problems, not to mention the need for wind shields, dust problems, and flies associated with outside kitchens.

I don't say this to discourage you, just to remind you that often our up-front ideas don't jive with reality. It's best to learn to swim before jumping into the deep end of the pool. ;)

Dave

Thanks for the reminder about the aluminum being reactive. Even more to think about.

Dave you too for persisting in urging me to start small. You are having an effect.

I'm thinking about the other extreme now, looking at some smaller canners that could still manage enough quarts to be safe pressure canners. Any opnions or suggestions along those lines? Something in the range of 10-16 qts. Would be
too small for most boiling water bath uses I suspect. And about the BWB, do they make smaller racks for that or are they all the 12 inch (aprox) across type?

Are there any real size restrictions on BWB canning? We have one stock pot in the house that I suppose I could use for a small batch of fruit canning just to start gaining experience. Scratch that, the pot is not as deep as I was thinking.

Thanks again!

The 23 quart Presto holds 7 quart jars, and cna take stacked pints. There is also the All American brand, a bit pricy, but no gasket needed. According to another post that was just typed in, they are also looking for the same thing you are. Looks like this week its many threads for the same topic..

smaller canners that could still manage enough quarts to be safe pressure canners.

Small pressure cookers can't be used to can as they heat up and cool down too fast so the approved/tested processing times aren't valid in them. To qualify as a pressure canner it must hold a minimum of 4 quart jars. I think the smallest allowed is the Mirro 12 qt. size - it is a weight only, no gauge. Presto sells a 16 qt. size for about $8-10 less than the 23 qt. size which is why most buy the 23 as it can be used for both. Both the Mirro and the smaller Presto aren't deep enough to BWB quarts but they will do pints.

Are there any real size restrictions on BWB canning?

The pan needs to be deep enough to cover quart jars with 2" of water and not boil over, have a lid, and have some sort of spacer/rack in the bottom so that the jars do not have direct contact with the bottom of the pan. Many use a deep stockpot with a cake cooling rack, folded tea towel, or band of canner rings in the bottom of it. Regular BWB canners come in 2 sizes - 1 for quarts and one for pints, are made of blue enamel ware and include a rack for the jars and cost about $20.00.

canningpantry.com and pressurecooker-outlet.com sell all sorts of racks in various sizes and many things can be adapted to the pot to work as a rack.

Dave

On the how small can you go BWB canner question (I know this might be getting a little theoretical but I think it will help get things straight in my head.) I understand that you need a pot big enough for the jars (on top of whatever rack/towel etc) to be covered by two inches of water plus an inch or two to keep from boiling over.
Question is, say I have a sort of tall skinny pot. Could I water bath can say only one or two jelly jars?
-Reason I'm asking here is I know the size restriction thing on the pressure canner is that it must be large enough for 4 quart jars to make it big enough for the timing and temperature to be proper on the processing time. First, does that mean that to pressure can safely in any pressure canner, you need to process at least 4 quarts worth at a time or is that just the size volume needed within the canner?-
So does that same volume logic apply to BWB? our could I can a single jelly jar worth in a pot just large enough and still be safe? If volume logic does apply to BWB, what is the minimum volume needed?

I hope I'm not being too tedious with some of these questions but my ball book hasn't arrived yet and Mom hasn't done any canning in over 30 years.

Could I water bath can say only one or two jelly jars? Sure.

So does that same volume logic apply to BWB? No. It isn't important in BWB because no pressure is involved just time in boiling water. You can BWB 1 jar or 10 jars as long as they fit in the pan and are covered by water.

First, does that mean that to pressure can safely in any pressure canner, you need to process at least 4 quarts worth at a time or is that just the size volume needed within the canner? Yes, it is best to do a full load at a time. I suppose you could PC just 1 jar but it would affect the processing and the quality of the product, be a waste of a great deal of time and energy, and I honestly can't think of situation where you would do it. ;)

Dave

On the BWB size not matter as long as all the technical aspects are covered. Good to know that one.

On pressure canning, I think you just gave me even more reason not to go for a really big pressure canner. At least for now while we are only starting to get into canning, we will need to test out recipes to see what we really like so we won't want to be doing really large full batches of stuff that we have never tried before. Once we discover a few recipes that we really want to do large loads of, we can then make other decisions I guess.

Thanks again.

Water bath canning and canners can be any size that will fit a single jar or up to several jars. As you mentioned, height is necessary for both water above and below as well as a few inces to space at the top for the reduction of water boiling over.

we will need to test out recipes to see what we really like so we won't want to be doing really large full batches of stuff that we have never tried before. Once we discover a few recipes that we really want to do large loads of, we can then make other decisions I guess.

Then I would suggest you first review some of the many tested and approved recipes available that you might be interested in and see what size jar they call for and how many of that size the recipe will make. That will give you a good indication of the size canner you need. Approved sources are NCHFP (think I already gave you its link but if not linked below), Ball Blue Book, Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving, Ellie Topp's book and a few other discussed in various posts here. Books must be current - so old cookbooks and family recipes are subject to review for safety.

All of these points are discussed here in great detial in previous posts.

Keep in mind that (1) you can't make up your own canning recipes and that (2) you can't go to larger jar sizes then the approved recipe calls for (smaller yes, larger, no) and that (3) while you may get 1 more jar than the recipe states you seldom will get less and that (4) while some recipes can be cut in half, only a few can be safely doubled.

So for example if a sauce recipe calls for canning in pints and says you will get 8 pints, you can't can it in quarts. You might end up with 9 pints but you won't end up with 6 unless you made a mistake in measuring. Follow me? If you get extra jars you split the load rather than doing 1 jar.

Approved recipes are geared to average canner sizes. So as already listed above, stick with one of the approved sizes.

Hope this doesn't add to the confusion. ;)

Dave

PS: be sure to check out all the info on using a PC that NCHFP provides too if you haven't already.

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP

Yep, been to that site.

I understand about using tested recipes.

Thanks again for all your help.

First, does that mean that to pressure can safely in any pressure canner, you need to process at least 4 quarts worth at a time or is that just the size volume needed within the canner?

No. Practically speaking it is inefficient (energy consumption) to gear up a pressure canner for a small batch, but technically it makes no difference. The internal temperature and pressure in the vessel is the same regardless of whether you're canning 7 quarts or 1 pint.

So if you want to heat up a 23-quart pc and can one jar of chicken broth, you can do it and the broth will be just the same as that canned in a full load. However, a big canner takes longer to come up to pressure, so as I mentioned, it's not particularly efficient in terms of energy-consumption to use a large canner for a task so small.

Carol

I posted this on a different message board a few weeks ago, but thought it might be helpful.

This all started when I pulled out my old water bath canner and realized I could not use it on my glass top stove. I had not done any canning for a lot of years.

First off, I have a glass top stove. Originally I was going to get the presto canner, but I read about canning outside, and thought that would be the way to go. So, this fall, I bought an All American pressure canner. It's the 21 qt size. I bought an outdoor propane cooker and use that. Actually, do to a manufactureing problem with the first one I bought, I ended up purchasing a second one while waiting for the replacement parts on the first (veggies wouldn't wait). The second works way better for water bath canning. Since then I bought a nice 12 qt stock pot that I can use for waterbath pints on my glass top stove.

But, then I decided doing this outdoors was going to be a problem with the cold weather setting in, and I want to do smaller batches occasionally. Since I have a big canner, I thought the smaller presto 16 qt would be good to get.

While on a trip to visit relatives in a much more metro area, I found the Presto 21 qt canner. This seemed a bit too big (size of box) and I thought the 16 qt would be smaller in diameter, so I passed it up. The next day, I found the 16 qt pot, and turns out it the same size diameter as the 21 qt. It was the one I had planned on getting, so I brought it home.

Upon use, I discovered that I can't water bath quart jars in the 16 qt. With all the research I did, I never came across that until I read the instruction manual. But originally I was not planning on using it to water bath, so maybe I just didn't "regester" that even if I read it at some point.

I did want a smaller canner, but the 16 and the 21 are the same size with the 21 being taller, so it's not like I got a "smaller" canner. Silly me thought because it worked on the glass stove, it would have a diameter similar to what my 12 qt stock pot has, only taller (if that was the case, then it would hold qt jars for water bath).

So, now I've got two really nice pressure canners, and I still can't water bath qts on my stove! I really like the presto canner, but now I wish I had bought the 21 qt size. But that is the same size as my All American, so then I wouldn't really need that one . . . though I really do prefer the AA to the Presto.

My husband isn't too happy with me, with all I've spent on canning stuff this fall, I would have spent a lot less to get another freezer! LOL!!! At least I've put up enough that the "value" of it if we had to purchase it does offset what I spent - and next year it will pretty much just be the cost of lids.

But my canning equipment and supplies is no where near what he has for his reloading, so he isn't complaining too loudly.

If I had to do it all over again, I would buy the Presto 21 qt right off the bat, and skip everything else.

Added: the Presto canner had a big warning NOT to use it with a propane burner. It does not seem hefty enough to handle that heat.

Cathy

The current Presto PC is a 23 quart model. The smaller sized ones may not be tall enough to handle quarts, or would just handle 4 at a time. In any case, a rack below the jars (about an inch) at the bottom must be used if the canner is used for a water bath.

Agree - there is no Presto 21 qt. model, just the 16 qt. and the 23 qt. so I assume that the 23 qt. is what you wish you got. ;) As we have posted all along here, if you wish to use it as BWB too then the 23 qt. is what you need.

Good luck, Cathy. Sell your All American. ;)

Dave

After reading several threads about using or not being able to use propane burners with canners, I've come to the conclusion that the important part is to make sure the burner is not overly powerful and that it is adjustable down to a low steady flame for keeping a steady pressure or boil. As in, the cheapest turkey fryer burners will not be appropriate but a more adjustable (read better regulator) burner could work provided a wind is planned out.

After reading and discussing here, I've figured out that If I want to do quart water bath canning that it might be just as easy to get a big stock pot if I can get my hands on a all american 915 for a reasonable price. Otherwise, I'll probably wind up getting the presto 23qt for $85 plus the cost of the weight set and shipping.

Amazon has the Presto 23 qt. with free shipping. The weights usually cost about $15. One important issue as the fact the all American can sieze up and be locked closed. A few times, posters here have allowed the pressure canner to cool down to room temps before opening. This can cause the seal to lock up and you are stuck with a canner that you may not be able to open. Most of the time a good lubricant on the seal area is necessary. You cant't use the flat aluminum plate that comes with the Presto, unless its raised off the bottom by about 1/2 to 1 inch. For water baths in a PC, the cover is set on, but not locked down.