Hi Dave,

Thank you so much for replying so quickly! Well I just completed another practice run, no jars. Didn't set it to HIGH but to about 7.5 to heat up. It took longer to get up to the steady stream of steam phase but that's OK. I vented for 10 minutes and added the weight. It took a few minutes before the weight popped up, vented , hissed and jiggled. At this point I slowly turned down the heat just below 7 and started counting the "pop up, hisses, spins and jiggles". Over the next couple of minutes I had it down to 6 and timed over the next 15 minutes. I averaged between 3-4 "pop up, hisses, spins and jiggles" per minute...so I think I found "the number" or close to it.

Five is MED so with a full load perhaps I might have to adjust down closer to 5 or a little less but at least I now have more confidence that slowly moving down to 6 won't cause a huge pressure drop. The canner also took about 15 more minutes to depressurize than my other runs so I think that would indicate that a higher pressure was maintained during the test and is within the manuals 35-45 minute cooling period.

I've decided to reprocess the 12 pints from yesterday bringing the sauce back up to boil in a pot (it's a roasted sauce anyway) and recanning using fresh jars, lids, bands and reprocessing in the canner. I figure I can use up these jars within a couple of weeks then by making some lasagna, etc....

If this batch leaks...into the fridge and I'll be making alot of lasagna tomorrow!

The Mirro was on sale which was my reason for buying it a few weeks ago. I'll give it another few tries since I still have close to 90 days to return it anyway.

Thanks again for your help and advice!!!

Ro

Honestly, the Mirro are not that good of quality. They sold out the company. The new ones have springs in the handles that keep breaking. New parts are getting harder to find.
If it were mine, I would take it back and get the Presto 22 quart one and buy the 3 piece weight set. Then you can use it as a weighted gauge canner.Plus, it will jiggle the whole time and takes the guesswork out of it.

They are better quality.

My instruction book for my Mirro 92022 says to "place the control on vent tube"... but it has a screw on thing on top. I find it very hard to screw the control on with the steam coming out! I know the year after I bought it the system was changed to something easier. I don't know if I can buy a piece to change it to that new system... would be a lot easier (and cooler!)

I have that canner, and developed so much leakage during processing, that I started freezing everything instead. I have an electric stove and I couldn't get the "hisses" to do their thing at the right frequency.
It would hiss too often, so I would turn the heat down just a little.........then it would quit hissing altogether for several minutes, and I would be afraid I wasn't processing enough. Such a drag.
I would love to get back into canning, but there's no way I'm going to fight with this Mirro canner again.
I think I might go back to the water bath canner and add some citric acid to the tomatoes.......but not sure yet.

The older Mirro canners such as this are really quite easy to fix and even to upgrade.

Leaking how? From where on the canner? Hissing at the right frequency - how often? 3, 5, 8 times a minute? It hurts nothing if it hisses/spins/jiggles at a slow continuous rate. It does more harm to play around with the heat than it does to let it jiggle continuously although that is normally controllable.

Dave

Dave

My Mirro 22 qt is 40 years old and built like a bulldozer, also has the round 3-hole weight that actually jiggles, audibly rattling, allowing me to monitor canning from another room. (great for those long process's like tuna)

I understand it may be of different weight construction than the new Mirros, but I bring it to pressure/venting on high, and very gradually reduce the heat - aware that its rattling too hard often at the beginning, but I know I may experience siphoning if I drop too much too fast and have to increase the heat again - down slowly better than up and down. My sister bought it when new and used the canner while she was raising her family, and didn't have that issue using it on a gas range, but I do need to proceed with more caution on my electric stove...

The whole operation is so much easier and mistake free since buying a canning element for stove, makes all the difference in the world, the difference between having to baby and play with the dial setting and not having to...

Here is a link that might be useful: Like this one:

I just bought the same 22 qt Mirro canner and had the same issues but with mine the steam vents out the side of the lid by the handle. Customer service said that was because it was over pressured and I needed to turn the heat down to low when the stream started venting out of the weight. This is my first time trying to can and I just dont know about this . . .

Venting from the side, to me means, that the gasket hasn't settled in yet. What I do, first thing is to take the gasket out of the top and wash and gently stretch the gasket in warm water. This helps the gasket to 'fit'. Sometimes it takes awhile, even if the lid/gasket is on correctly.

I just bought the same 22 qt Mirro canner

Same as which one please? There are different models discussed in this 2 year old thread.

If yours is a brand new canner then about all it has in common with the older original Mirro canners is the name The new Mirro canners are made by several different manufacturers and have different model numbers so we need your exact Model number please.

Meanwhile venting out the side usually means the the lid is on wrong, the gasket is in upside down, or the gasket isn't "settled" as mentioned - it is pinched or twisted of something. But no there should be no venting out the side even if your heat was set too high.

This is why we always recommend several practice runs with just water in the canner before trying any foods.

Do not relay on the Customer Service for any brand canner for correct info. They are just young hired phone receptionists given a list of answers to use regardless of the question. They have no canning experience.

Dave

It is a brand new canner. I will try taking the gasket off and washing and stretching it a little in warm water to see if that works better. I haven't put any food in it yet. I am just trying to understand how it works without the pressure of worrying if the food is safe.

miscindy, that's what you should do. why ruin good food by inexperience. I've found the newer the canner is, the more it needs to be worked into settling.

I have the vintage 22 qt Mirro that I realize is nothing like yours. You have the owners manual with this being a new purchase? As well as the little lever lock that drops into place on the new models, there seems to be a second spring that actually holds the gasket away from the edge preventing a seal unless the lid is correctly seated and in place. Is the steam escaping in the area of that Spring feature - if yours in fact does have that, it was not included in my own which closes in the traditional way of most canners.

The owners manual also recommends rubbing a little cooking oil on the gasket the first times you use it, but not more frequently than the first three times used.

Good for you in doing some practice runs before attempting food/canning, so many do not and must face unimaginable frustration when things don't go as planned.

OT - I see the Mirro manual includes the 10 minute vent time now, it's been added. None of my older manuals have that...

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirro manual, drawings of the lid mechanisms

I have a mirro 22qt that i"ve had for about 10 years and never a problem until last year. now it leaks around the rim. I've changed the gasket twice and still have the same problem. I take good care of it and dont see any damage around the rim. Any suggestions? Sometimes it will come up to pressure, sometimes it wont.

Try inverting the gasket. Sometimes the replacement ones are difficult to tell top from bottom on. If that doesn't help try the pre-stretching trick, the heating in very hot water for an hour or so trick, and the oiling with vegetable oil trick. Some of the gaskets have been sitting in the packages so long that they need to be expanded to fit correctly.

Assuming it is the correct replacement gasket - the newer replacement parts sometimes aren't correct since the company was sold and sometimes there are two different code numbers listed for the same canner. One of those tricks should eliminate the problem.

Be sure to do at least a couple of trial runs using just water in the canner before using it with foods.

Dave

I've just tried oiling the gasket and that seemed to work for now. Its identical to the old gasket and I feel silly saying but I don't see any difference flipping it over. But thanks for the suggestions and I might try turning it over.

I feel silly saying but I don't see any difference flipping it over.

Please don't feel silly. We have had several reports from folks about how it is impossible to tell by just looking at it yet when they flip it, for some reason it works. I don't know if it is just a mm thicker on one edge that does it or why it works.

But if the oiling seems to have done the trick that's great.

Dave

I realize this is an old thread but am hoping someone will see and reply . . . I just learned from a friend simple canning using a 30 year old old Mirro canner. I wanted to buy one with the jiggling dial and amazon only has a new version (model number 7114000221 or 7114000228) It is rated 4.2/5 stars on Amazon. I was going to order but my DH found this thread and is using it as an argument against ordering. Is this a canner I should avoid?? Should I consider purchasing an older used one from ebay?? Thanks for your advice!

We generally recommend against buying the new models of Mirro canners. There are just too many problems with them.

If this is the one you are looking at then by all means avoid it. The spring loaded handles tend to break easily, do not always engage, and leak. Plus you can easily burn your hand trying to get the weight in place after venting the canner.

There is no reason why you have to use a Mirro just because the friend has one and the Presto canners sold at amazon for about the same price are much better. amazon also sells the presto 3 piece weight set which works just like the round Mirro weight (what I assume you are calling a 'jiggling dial') does.

All canners come with a dial gauge+ a weight, or a dial gauge+a counter-weight, or just a weight depending on the model.

So tell us, what did your friend teach you and what are you interested in canning?

Dave

I'd second what Dave has said about the new Mirro canners. I can with one purchased new in the early 70's, its a completely different product. I've struggled a little finding the right gaskets for it, when parts are clearly too much of an issue I'll replace with Presto, or All American if that fits my then budget (two very different in price).

I looked on Ebay and find just three vintage. One looks well used and in questionable condition IMO. The second looks fine but with almost $35 shipping added to whatever the auction price may end with. The third is a 16 qt and becoming somewhat expensive with bids, and another day to go before auction end.

I'd be interested in how you answer Dave in what about the Mirro brand appealed to you and what you are interested in canning. Your friend may not be aware of the change in Mirro ownership and quality.

Thankyou so much for your prompt replies Dave and morz8! Mirro has been deleted from my Amazon cart (-:
To answer your questions . . . my parents grew and canned/froze all their own veggies but my mother always kept us out of the kitchen in case it exploded. So I prefer the taste of canned veggies (and think they're healthier than store bought canned food) but have been scared to teach myself canning through a book (although Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving is on order) and have been freezing everything. I have a family of 7 so we run through a lot of food and I would probably be canning large batches at a time. I also have the luck to live next to a 12 acre orchard that is on the market and the owner said we could harvest as much as we wish (although since he's not caring for it there isn't a huge harvest and once it sells I won't get anything). Mostly I would want to can veggies like green beans, peas, etc, some high acidic foods like tomatoes (we eat them 2-3 times a week), occasional fruits and soups, and down the road possibly chicken and goat meat. We tend to lose electricity here quite a lot so this is sort of my back up against food spoilage when it comes to the meat and soups especially.
My friend has canned for 60 years, but she only showed me green beans, tomatoes and peaches. This fall she is going to teach me how to do sauerkraut. I have three pages of notes. Off the top of my head . . . she told me to follow the poundage and times in my cooker's book for the food I'm canning . . . fill jars to the neck and clean the top edge, to boil the sealing lid and rings slightly, tighten lids finger tight, boil the water in the canner and then add the jars, keep the rubber gasket dry and clean and not to oil it, listen for the rattling to be fast and then slowly turn the heat down until it rattles about 4 times a minute and start timing from that point. Once the time has passed remove from heat and let it sit 4 hours to overnight before opening. She insisted the Mirros were the best so I was going to go with that but hers is very old so I am sure she has no idea the current quality. Oh, and she said to make sure the canner was the same size as the burner I put it on . . . I have a ceramic cooktop so to act like it was a glass cooktop. Thankyou so much for your help!

Off the top of my head . . . she told me to follow the poundage and times in my cooker's book for the food I'm canning . . . fill jars to the neck and clean the top edge, to boil the sealing lid and rings slightly, tighten lids finger tight, boil the water in the canner and then add the jars, keep the rubber gasket dry and clean and not to oil it, listen for the rattling to be fast and then slowly turn the heat down until it rattles about 4 times a minute and start timing from that point. Once the time has passed remove from heat and let it sit 4 hours to overnight before opening. She insisted the Mirros were the best so I was going to go with that but hers is very old so I am sure she has no idea the current quality. Oh, and she said to make sure the canner was the same size as the burner I put it on . . . I have a ceramic cooktop so to act like it was a glass cooktop.

Welllll, this was what I was kind of worried about. Often when friends learn from friends who have been canning for years they have to un-learn some of what they were taught because the friend hasn't remained current with the research and guidelines.

I'm glad she got you over your fear of pressure canners as that is the first step and not a valid concern. Bet your Mom's never exploded. :)

So next step is resolving the issues of the ceramic cooktop and how to can on it and that will determine what PC you can buy to use on it unless like many of us you want to go with a separate burner for canning to eliminate those problems. So don't buy until you read through all the discussions here on which ones will work on glass-top stoves and find out if your burners cycle off and on or not. Check with your stove manufacturer.

Then you can start a new thread and we can all talk about some of the things your friend taught you that will need to change, ok?

Dave

Edited to add - in the mean time please go to NCHFP, the recognized authority in safe home canning, and begin to do some reading there on the canning guidelines. They also have an online course you can take if interested.

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

This post was edited by digdirt on Wed, Aug 6, 14 at 10:39

Groan. I actually have two cooktops and had called prior to starting this and was told the older one wouldn't hold the weight but the newer one (a Frigidaire) would be OK as long as the canner had a flat bottom and it was sized appropriately for the burner. BUT after seeing your post I pulled the manual out. There's nothing about canning in it but I saw it has radiant burners. So I just called again and the woman says there's no warning not to can on my stove. I then asked about radiant burners and she said that it does mean heat cycles on and off. So that sounds to me like no pressure canning?
Thanks for your help Dave. Feeling defeated right now )-: Which burner do you have??

No need to feel defeated as there is always a solution. I use propane burners to can as do many others but there are also many different electric coil burners available. Several different models discussed in the other threads here.

Smooth top stoves are great for keeping clean and ok for cooking most times but they just aren't made for those of us who do lots of canning.

Others have reported they can do pressure canning with the Presto 16 qt as it has the right shaped bottom and pot diameter. No personal experience with it.

Dave

I found this thread while trying NOT to make myself bald by yanking out all of my hair. This is the worst instruction manual ever printed!

My problem seemed to come from the steam leaking out the pressure indicator button (red one on the handle). I tried all of your suggestions and I finally got it to go this morning with just water in it. Therefore I knew it was possible to make it behave like a respectable PC should.

I then loaded it back up with the pints of string beans and tried again. I got more leakage from the same spot. I tried to get the button to pop up using various methods that I am sure were not endorsed by the manufacturer. Finally out of frustration I jammed the weight down on top of the vent.

POP! Up went the indicator button and the leak in the handle stopped. So far it has continued to perform like one would expect a properly behaved pressure canner should.

I really didn't want to take it back to the store and wrangle with them over the return since it was beyond the 90 day return policy.

Thanks for all of your help in getting this resolved so far. I'm keeping my eyes open for one of the All-American ones like my cousin suggested. Until then I think I can make this one tow the line.

I hope you vented it for the 10 min. first before putting the weight on. Next time try turning the heat up more until the red button pops.

Dave

Sorry Dave for the lack of clarity there.

I DID!
Once the button popped up, I pulled the weight off and waited for the strong vent of steam, and timed it for the 10 minutes. I then proceeded as directed with the weight and time, etc.
As for the heat on the stove top; it doesn't go any higher than 10. That's where I start it, then after the venting starts, I can lower it to about the high side of 7ish.

Apparently, the canner really doesn't like to run the double stack of pints like it claims it should. So far, this is when I have trouble with the pressure button popping up on it's own.
The test run with just water and the two loads of single-layer 1.5 pints had no trouble. I have yet to try half pints of either type to see how they react.

I have had pressure cookers, with weight system. The one I have now is a Presto make. They are just smaller version of PC in principle. I actually do PCing pints and half pints in it. Not often though, as my applications require BWB.

Anyway:
It take a little while for the handle locking system and the safety vent on the top to shut close. They need some initial pressure build up. So I used to get nervous in the beginning. But now I know how they work. Just make sure that the seal band is good, oiled, the lid is fit correctly and it is fully closed.

AND read, follow the instructions in the manual.

As long as you understand that canning in a pressure cooker isn't recommended as it invalidates the processing times called for then it is your choice. The small cookers heat up and cool down too fast so the food ends up under-processed due to insufficient time.

Dave

First Dave I must THANK-YOU for your excellent information! I am new to Pressure Canning + your information has been invaluable! I have managed to work through all of the steps for canning tomatoes with the Mirro 22 qt canner, but I seem to have double the head space after processing - I was sure to cold pack the jars tightly, wipe the rims and leave 1/2 inch of headspace, but now I have an extra inch of headspace and you can see tomatoes floating above the liquid - the jars are sealed but will the extra headspace hurt the tomatoes or cause spoilage? See attached photo. Thanks in advance!

Dave's on vacation so I don't know if he'll be checking in. But your tomatoes look fine, floating is normal (esp. for raw pack - is that what you did)? The extra headspace could be due to siphoning - did you see any tomato guts in the canner? But the tomatoes will be fine if processed at the correct pressure for correct time for your altitude. The ones sticking up out of the liquid may discolor but just skim those off and throw them away when you open the jar. They may settle a little - mine looked like that when I tried PCing for the first time last year, I think they settled down - but we must have eaten them all b/c I just looked and all I could find were quarts of tomato sauce and tomatoes & squash.

Thanks so much for your quick response! If Dave is on vacation I hope he does NOT check in :-)
Yes, I did raw pack w 2 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp salt per quart. No - there were no "bits" in the canner - it was a wee bit pink tho - all pressure/time were correct. I guess I am just used to seeing the jars after a water bath, so these look a little strange to me! I will let you know if they settle :-) Thx again 4 your assistance! :-)

Yours don't float when you do a raw pack BWB? Mine always did. Try a hot pack. There could be multiple causes for siphoning (mine is my stove, it cycles but if I do Crushed Tomatoes or Sauce for 10 minutes at 15 psi I don't have problems). Sounds like you did have a bit if the canner water was pink (and the canner was bright and shiny from the lemon juice? The citric acid in mine cleaned the oxidation off my canner!).

Here is a link that might be useful: NCHFP Troubleshooting table

G'morning! They float when processed in Water Bath... there is just not as much head space (top + bottom) so it was not as noticeable. I never had any problems in the past using W/B process, but unfortunately now that many varieties of tomato's have lost their acidity through modern genetic tweaking and hybridizing it is now necessary to add acid to tomatoes, including heirloom varieties when canning them :-( The level of temperature needed to kill botulism bacteria for low-acid foods can only be reached by using a pressure canner. So, I bought a new pressure canner, and now I am going through the growing pains of learning how to use it. I am just above sea level, so I only used 10 psi to process. It is quite the learning curve - it was SO much easier 10 years ago! I've always wanted to try canning Salmon though so now that I've invested in the proper equipment, that will be my next project :-) I did notice the interior of the canner was shiny ... I added a tbsp of vinegar to the water as suggested in the manual but I guess it was the lemon juice? Since I was having so much trouble getting the pressure up (took WAY 2 long on my stove), I've now invested in an outdoor cooking burner so when I get a chance I will try another batch of tomatoes and see if that improves the final outcome. I will also try using citric acid instead of lemon juice because I have a feeling I am not going to like the flavor in a few months once that lemon juice settles in :-( I was trying to avoid doing a hot pack - it is just one more step that makes it a longer process :-( I am almost at the point that I want to freeze them in the future ... seems like a LOT less trouble! I will persist tho - because I have invested 2 much time and $ 2 give up now :-) Thx again for all of your help and suggestions - I really appreciate it! :-) Have a gr8 day!

I'm now pretty sure I made a bad purchase...
I have that problem with the red button on the handle not popping out. I've been waiting for one hour, seeing steam going out from the handlte, and I'm trying to stay calm...

I put the canner on high heat, filled with the recommended amount of boiling water. Watched steam going out from the vent in the middle of the lid for 10 minutes. Installed the weight.
And this is when steam starts going out from the handle, where the red button is. How can I make this pop? How long should I wait? There's nothing moving on the weight, no steam going out from there. Once, the red button almost lifted, i saw it being very little higher, touched nothing, and it dropped at its initial place.

Is my food still safe, boiling for hours with no pressure? Can I keep waiting for pressure to come?

Thank you for your help!

This post was edited by Marie-Anne on Sat, Sep 27, 14 at 21:41

FINALLY!!!
Well, if this can help anyone... I have a flat top oven. I found a forum where they said canning on a flat top oven is not recommended since the shape of the bottom of the canner will not be enough in contact with the oven. Also, they said that the canner must not be more than 1 inch bigger than the burner. I'm two strikes with my canner...
So I just moved a little the canner, which was centered on the burner, to make a biggest part of the bottom touch the burner. It took 5 seconds to the red button to lift, stopping the steam leak by the handle. Steam is finally going out from where the weight stands, and I wait for it to jiggle,