Frequent question here and the 2 models most frequently recommended are the Presto 16 qt. and the Presto 23 qt. plus the optional 3 piece weight set.

The 3 brands available approved for canning are Presto, All American, and Mirro. The current Mirro canners are not recommended for many reasons.

Dave

I've got the Presto and the 3 piece weight set that Dave recommended above. I'm a fairly new canner, and have only pressure canned a few times now. I highly recommend the 3 piece weight set if you go with the Presto, it makes it so much easier.

My local Extension office does not test canner gauges, and I don't intend to mail it to Presto every year for testing, so the weight set is essential for me.

There are many people who will disagree with me but I use a Fagor pressure canner. It doesn't have a gauge, which tends to freak out canning purists. For the amount of canning I do, it works great for me. It cans 4 quarts at a time.

The nay-sayers will say you cannot determine whether the pressure has reached the correct level without a gauge. The Fagor has a button that pops when it reaches 15. That's good enough for me and my results have been fine.

The objections to the Fagor brand isn't that it doesn't have a gauge. Many approved pressure canners do not have a gauge.

The reason the Fagor isn't approved is because it only allows lower pressures 4, 7, or 15 lbs, (depending on the model). That means everything has to be canned at 15 lbs to be safe regardless of your altitude. For the vast majority of folks who only need 5 or 10 lbs,, the 15 lbs is heavily over-processing and quality is affected and extra energy is wasted to maintain that pressure.

If you live at an altitude where 15 lbs would be required anyway then that model is fine.

Dave

I am totally confused. MyUSDA complete guide to pressure canning has no recipes that call for more than 10 or 11 lbs pressure unless you are high altitude. I do have presto cookers and a canner.

That's what Dave was saying - you don't normally process at 15psi unless you're at high altitude. That's why the Fagor or other "cookers" (as opposed to "canners") aren't recommended.

If you have a canner, do you have a weight set or just a dial and the same regulator (1-piece) that the Presto cookers use?

I have a Fagor that I use for cooking loose foods only, and I love it for that. But, with no weight, no gauge, I'm not taking the manufacturers word for it that it's really canning at 15 pounds when I have no way to verify that. I know when foods are done to my liking, but I don't know what pressure jars would be exposed to. With my luck....? It wouldn't be the first time I've bought a brand new appliance with a malfunctioning part - like my $800 freezer that had a light bulb that did not turn off with the door closed, and thawed the food immediately in the area of the light....who'd have guessed.

I have the dial gauge and just received the weight set as a "just to be sure".

Good, now you won't have to worry about watching the dial, or getting it tested every year.

Back to the original question. I just started pressure canning this week with the Presto 23qt. Ordered the 3 piece weight (even though I am at high altitude and pretty much need the 15 only) and an extra rack for stacking along with it. Have used twice--once with colored water as a test run, and a batch of crushed tomatoes. Some minimal siphoning with each run, but will hopefully get better as we go. I did find it very easy to start using--the manual is decent, and I used NCFHP instructions along with it. Am very happy with my choice and look forward to using more as we go along.

Just FYI, I did also go for a propane dbl burner to use outdoors with it. Was a little concerned by the instructions that say not to use with that type, but figure that as long as I don't run the stove at full BTU I won't harm the canner.