# Question about Pressure Canners Lids Sticking



## masawyer (Dec 31, 2010)

I have a Presto Pressure Canner and was wondering how to keep the lid from sticking? We had borrowed one from someone and the lid stuck and we tried to pry it open with a screwdriver, banged it with a hammer and neither worked. 

Thanks,

Marsha in WY


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

Do you mean the rings? Or the lids?

The rings stick if the jars are not properly cleaned after taking out of the canner. Also, it is better to store your jars with lids only, no rings.

If you mean the lids, most of us have luck using a can/bottle opener


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## masawyer (Dec 31, 2010)

Actually, I meant the lid of the CANNER! It stuck so bad we couldn't get it off with a hammer, screwdriver or anything. We lost 7 jars of chicken and had to trash it all! Boo Hoo!

Soooo, I was wondering if there is something we should do with our current pressure canner lid or gasket to insure this doesn't happen again! It is a used one I bartered for.

Thanks,

Marsha in WY, Christian Homeschooling Mamma to 9, Grammie to 2


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

There are 2 possible causes for your problem and while it is rare, it does happen. Usually with the same results you had - having to throw it away.

The first and most likely is warping of the canner itself. While it can be caused by severe abuse of the canner in storage, it is almost always the result of letting the canner boil dry during processing. 

Either it wasn't loaded with enough water to begin with - vitally important when doing things with long processing times like meats. Or it was set at too high a temperature which caused too much jiggling/rocking in the counter-weight letting too much steam escape. When this happens the canner is ruined and can't be salvaged. Warping is the most important thing to check for when buying a used canner. You also need to carefully check the metal rim edge of the canner base for any rusting, pitting, damage of any kind

The second cause is the creation of a negative vacuum inside the canner. This is very rare and is usually caused by (1) using the wrong gasket or (2) using an old degraded gasket or (3) excessively overheating the canner during processing causing the gasket to melt. 

Old or wrong gaskets can slip in the groove and cause the lid to seize up on the canner bottom. Sometimes, if the entire canner is submerged into very cold, iced water the metal will contract a bit and relax the seal just enough to get it off. But usually the result is the same - toss the whole canner. And even if you did get the lid off the food inside wouldn't be safe to eat because of the time exposed to the thermopile bacteria growth.

So it all boils down to understanding how pressure canners work and then using them correctly.

IF you have the correct gasket and IF it is in good condition and IF you don't process at higher temps than are needed and IF you don't allow the canner to go dry and IF your bartered for canner isn't already warped, then you shouldn't have any problems.

I hope this helps.


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## masawyer (Dec 31, 2010)

Thanks, Judylou, for the info. I will have to see if this canner is warped.

Marsha in WY


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

masawyer, all you need to do is take a little petroleum jelly and smooth it around the area where the lid fits onto the canner each time you are going to put the 2 together. The jelly will not affect your jars. It will not stop your canner from sealing properly for the canning process; and it will stop any sticking!


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