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| I am using a Presto 23 Qt pressure canner, dial gauge is installed, I will be using my weight set rather than relying on the gauge. This is a test run. I have three quart jars with colored water loaded in the canner, lid on and secured, turned the heat up waited for steam to vent. Water was coming out around the air vent/cover lock, and it stayed in the down position. Water also sputters out of the vent pipe. It is venting steam now, but there is still water sputtering or bubbling out of both the vent pipe and the air vent/cover lock. I am waiting the required 10 minutes to vent and wondering if all of this sounds normal? Thank you. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Normal for a few min, say 5-8 min but should disappear as the pressure builds. If it continues much longer than that then you likely have the heat set to high. Excess rapid boiling inside can cause spitting from the various openings so reduce the heat a bit. Assuming the water was up to heat (approx. 180) as it would be when using for food before putting jars in then it is always better to bring the pressure up gradually rather than going for broke with max heat Full 10 min venting count begins once the lid lock has engaged. Dave |
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| Thank you Dave. I must have had the heat set too high to start with. The owners' manual said to turn it to "High" but I started at about 3/4 heat and gradually (very small increments) turned it down. Thank you for telling me about timing once the lid lock has engaged. I didn't read that in my manual or in the NCHFP info, although I probably missed it. It maintained a nice steady rocking throughout 30 minute test period. When I took the jars out of the canner - SUCCESS! The 1" headspace was maintained, and the water in the canner was still clear! My kids asked me what was up with the red, yellow, and blue colored jars though. :) Two jars are sealed, the 3rd may not. I used a Mainstay lid on that one, and it is buckled. I don't use those for canning, but didn't want to waste a good Ball lid for my test run. Thanks for all the help! |
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| I never knew about excess heat causing the spitting - my vent spits at first and the lid lock starts sputtering and hissing and rattling. But it never locks all the way until after I've vented and put the weight on (sometimes it comes up a little when I first put the lid on after I've got the jars loaded and I can't lock the lid in place, have to try a couple of times). I just got my first PC a year ago, I've got 2 Prestos and a Mirro now and have run them all (Mirro just water, not even jars, to see if it could hold pressure, Prestos multiple times first with colored water and then food). I never really SEE the steam with any of them - I don't know if it's my lighting, or the color of the wall behind my stove? So I start holding my hand about 8" above the vent once it stops spitting water and I can hear steam coming out. After a few minutes if it's still feeling steady on my cupped palm, I set the timer and make sure I feel it the whole 10 minutes before putting weight on. Last night I tried waiting until I could SEE some steam, it took about 4 minutes after I was feeling it and I saw a funnel but then I couldn't see it at times even though I could still feel it. And I almost ran the canner dry (it was the 2nd load and I figured I still had at least a quart in there so only put 2 qts of fresh water in). Is it OK to feel for the steam if you can't see it, just make sure it's steady? |
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| The venting steam should be easy, very easy, to see so it must be the background or light in your kitchen or you are rushing the process. Depending on your heat setting it can take 10-15 min for the 180 degree water to reach a heavy steaming 212 and visible as all the air has to be evacuated first. Just hold up some sort of dark colored object behind it to see it. Once you see a steady stream of steam it will continue on its own. Then set the timer for 10 min. Dave |
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| My lid lock popped up at 9 minutes after I first started seeing a really steady stream (turned off the lights except 1 over the sink and then kind of angled myself so there was no glare. There was a lot of steam from the lid lock but also the vent. So when to start timing? I'm afraid of venting too long and running the canner dry. |
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| As long as you start with the correct amount of water and operate the canner even semi- correctly it is really difficult to run a canner dry. I've come close maybe once or twice in over 50 years of pressure canning and that was due to me trying to rush batches and not replacing any water lost in the previous batch. So the real issue is using the proper amount of water (3-4") to begin with before setting the jar inside and adding a little more when canning things with long processing times. Unless you get overly carried away, an extra 1 or 2" of water over the 3" doesn't hurt anything. One need only put 3" of water in a similar size pot with a lid to time how long it actually takes to boil away that 3 inches of water and in a PC it would take much longer. The purpose of the venting is to exhaust all the air out of the canner so when the lid lock pops that would be a good indication that the majority of the air is out when using a Presto. That's why i said begin your 10 min timing from when the lid lock on the Presto engages/pops up - one advantage to Presto over the AA and Mirro is that visible indication. The following 10 mins will exhaust any remaining air. Dave |
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| The canner got really low when I put only 2 quarts in after the first load earlier this week (manual says use 3 quarts and I figured I had at least a quart in there after starting with 4 qts and running a load for 75 minutes). That was running it for 4 minutes longer than usual, b/c I started the timer when I felt the steam steady and then 4 minutes later saw a little and restarted it. I'm afraid that if I waited until the lock popped up it would have run totally dry last night b/c it didn't pop up until 9 minutes after I saw the stream and started the timer b/c I was running 90 minute process. So since I haven't been waiting for the lid lock to engage (it rattles and lifts and rolls on its edge a bit) have I been underprocessing everything by leaving air in the canner? |
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| Underprocessing? Probably not. Keep in mind the 10 min venting is a relatively new guideline and foods were processed without it for decades. So while getting it done right is n extra margin of safety, I sure wouldn't toss the food for any reason if all else was done properly. As for the amount of water - the guidelines call for 3-4 inches of water minimum, not quarts. And as is often said here, never use canner manuals for guidelines. In my 23 quart Presto 2 or even 3 quarts wouldn't give me any 3" of water depth. It is barely 2". Measure how many quarts it actually takes to end up with 3 inches of water in your canner and mark it for future reference Dave |
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| Thanks Dave, there is a fill line I can just barely feel etched into the side, I will have to mark it in Sharpie (do you think it will stay?) but I'll make a note in the manual where it says 3 quarts when I find out how much it really takes. I did a gallon for 75-90 minutes, how much more do you add for "extended processing times" and what is considered "extended"? |
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