National is now Presto and has been for many years so the Presto website will likely be your best bet. National models are the old ones and the site doesn't list them in parts or manuals any longer but many of the parts and the manuals are interchangable.

gopresto.com

Dave

Mary,

Try the link below.

john

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.manualsonline.com/

Haven't found what I'm looking for... yet. Thanks, guys!

Mary - you won't find one for the National unless someone has an old one they can copy for you. Search using the word 'canner' not 'cooker' pulls them up. But here is the manual for the equivalent Presto model (link below).

But we should also ask what you think you need the manual for? The recipes and canning instructions are mostly outdated in them anyway so if it is canning instructions you are looking for there are other better sources like NCHFP.

If it is parts you need then the parts listed on this page with the manual should all fit.

Hope this helps.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Presto 18 qt canner parts and manual

Could I bother you about something else? I was looking for a manual so I would know the proper terminology. I haven't used this cooker in years, it was my grandmother's, and there wasn't a manual with it. Anyway, the racks are totally different than anything I've seen in any of the manuals I've looked at. Do you have any idea if I should replace them or if I can use them? Wanted to thank you, too, for the great posts on converting the National - awesome!

Hey, it's no bother. ;)

As to the racks, I wouldn't worry about them as long as it is a metal plate of some kind with holes in it that will keep the jars from sitting directly on the bottom of the canner. That is about all any of the racks do in a PC - space the jars up off the bottom of the pot.

Your bigger concern with a canner that old will be the accuracy of the gauge. They are supposed to be tested annually and one that old will either have to be tested or replaced or the canner converted to a weighted one with the 5-10-15 lb weight set.

You may also need to invest in the new gasket set for it.

As for terminology, you can find most any thing you'd need in the How To Use a Pressure Canner publication from NCHFP.

Hope this helps.

Dave

It helped a lot! I'm going to be on the safe side and make the suggested conversions - I don't want to take any chances. Thanks again, Dave!

Mary

Does the National 18 require a rubber ring?

Hello: No, the National Pressure Cookers and like their modern day equivalent do not require rubber rings--they have a beveled lid that clamps down and creates a metal on metal seal. (Which supposedly is much more safe than the ones with the rubber seal and do not clamp down.) I have one that is 90 years old and I still use it to help can large batches of vegetables. (However, I do it outside just in case....also helps keep the heat of out the kitchen here in Florida during the summer).

The metal ring is for hanging it up.

https://youtu.be/TZdKwNlS6zA

Found this one for,$25.00. it even has the inside parts, including racks & extras . Note Now I’m need of the instruction manual. I’m clueless as to how to use this thing .