# Melted My Canner!!



## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

Oh my goodness.
Had an epic canning fail last night, hoping if I share my process some here can help me figure where things went wrong.
Using a 12 qt. Mirro pressure canner I've had for several years, never had any problems.
This was my first attempt at canning meat. Smoked two pork shoulders, cut up into chunks.
-Heated my jars
-Filled each jar about 1/2 full with meat, added apple juice to fill line to half, others I added about 1/3C. bbq sauce.
-wiped rims and filled canner (which had the water added)

Used my outdoor propane campstove. It was HOT outside. Turned up fairly high, to begin steaming. I walked in and out a few times, it was really steaming away. After 10-12mins., I put the jiggler on 10 lbs. 

After this, is when it just never went right. The steam was really blasting out, the jiggler wouldn't rock. I gradually kept lowering the heat, but even after 30+minutes, it would only calm down enough to rock 30+ seconds at a time. I had the burner as low as it would go. 

Then I started hearing clicks and pops inside the canner. Like the lids were sealing. 
I never saw steam coming from anywhere but the vent on top.
When it was all done-all the liquid was gone from the canner, the jars with bbq sauce were burned black inside, and the bottom of the canner was bowed out like a bowl! Whooooeee :runforhills:

Since this was my first try with meats, did I do something wrong?
Shouldn't the relief valve have popped if the temps were high enough to bulge the canner? Could my gasket have been bad?

Sorry for the long post but I know details are important.


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## TNnative (May 23, 2004)

I don't have any experience with this so no suggestions, but I sure am sorry to hear it.

This is making me nervous. My husband is putting the new parts on my old canner right now.


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## rancher1913 (Dec 5, 2008)

I've never had it get that bad, but I have run my canner dry and that is what happens. I tend to put in more water than is called for simply because I don't want to run it dry, especially with really long processing times. Your canner is probably toast - I'm sorry. Just chalk it up as an (expensive) learning experience. 

Moldy


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Did you have enough water in the canner?


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## akaRach (Sep 29, 2009)

I've seen warnings that propane burners can burn too hot, but I have never used one.

I should add, the one time I boiled my canner dry I knew it immediately as the pressure started instantly dropping (no harm done thank goodness). Was the pressure good the entire boil?


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

At my altitude the 3" of water my canners directions calls for will leave me with 1/4" of water after canning meat. I always add more because I'm afraid of boiling my canner dry. That's what it sounds like happened to me.


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## 7thswan (Nov 18, 2008)

You let it go way to long before you put the jiggler on. It's not nessassary to go 10-12 min.


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## Packedready (Mar 29, 2011)

I just canned potatoes with my propane hurricane 2 burner stove for the first time. Each burner has 35,000 max. I liked it because it heated up the canner quickly, I exhausted it for 10 minutes like we are told to do (I don't think it needed it because there was a lot of stream) and then I turned it down almost to the lowest setting to hold 12 lbs. I canned for 4 hours and used almost 5 gallons of propane. With the cost of propane I called the manufacture and they sent me a new manafold that is natural gas. So I have both incase of a natural gas outage.

I really liked canning on this stove, my house stayed cool, I didn't have the cleanup and it was much faster.

I can see how you could run it dry if you were not really careful and I also fill with more water than what the canner calls for.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Probably what happened is during the initial exhausting, you vented most of the water out.

Most canner manufacturers say not to use a "turkey fryer" propane heater because of the high heat required to fry the turkey. I'm assuming this is *not* what you used. If that was what you used, the manufacturer says to not let the flame get lower than 5" high - that's waaayy too much heat for a canner.

I'm assuming that the heat control was not working properly. I use an electric stove, but last year I was canning and once the weight was put on the vent pipe, I turned down the heat, but it just kept blasting away. I looked under the canner and even though I had turned it to medium, the burner was red hot. I just turned the control a complete 360Âº and the heat went down to where it should have been. Electric burners are nothing but a reostat, so I don't understand what went wrong.

I assume your canner is history. 

I see nothing wrong with the way you did the meat.


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

7thswan said:


> You let it go way to long before you put the jiggler on. It's not nessassary to go 10-12 min.


Respectfully, 10 min. _is_ the correct time to let it vent.


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## PaulNKS (Jan 11, 2009)

Karen said:


> Respectfully, 10 min. _is_ the correct time to let it vent.


Only on some canners. Times vary with brand. So, if that's the case and I went 10 minutes, it would vent all the steam.

If you watch the steam as you vent, you will see when the air is all out. Do a test and see how long it takes for that to occur.

I think you vented on too high a temperature and for too long. Or maybe you didn't start with enough water, or all three.

I never time the venting. I do watch the clock, but when I see there is no more air and if it has been at least 6 or 7 minutes, I put the weight on.

I think you either had the burner too high or actually lost time of how long you vented since you said you were going in and out. I NEVER leave a canner unattended.


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## kasilofhome (Feb 10, 2005)

I can salmon (in the last 24 hours I have canned 96 pints) I canned it all on my wood stove (note my stove is very large I could put up to 4 canners on it at once).

Starting with 3 inches of water vinger mix I have at least 2 inches of water left.
The longest batch took over 4 hours and 48 minutes from placing on the stove till removing. It took Since it is under pressure for 90 min the bulk of the time was spent getting it to boil with cans, fish, and water at tap temp ( 36 degrees) I have never had that happen but. 

I used to dumster dive for all items and I found LOT (5 canner in the dumpter that I use for animal that are bowwed. Note that here were I live we have thousand of people canning on the beaches and parks on open fires and propane. I know that it happens. It has never happened to me.


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## stef (Sep 14, 2002)

suitcase_sally said:


> Probably what happened is during the initial exhausting, you vented most of the water out.
> 
> Most canner manufacturers say not to use a "turkey fryer" propane heater because of the high heat required to fry the turkey. I'm assuming this is *not* what you used. If that was what you used, the manufacturer says to not let the flame get lower than 5" high - that's waaayy too much heat for a canner.
> 
> ...


I totally agree the heat was too high.

And* all *reputable canning books, pressure canning manufacturers and websites say you need to vent for 10 minutes. 

Sorry about your loss. That's a lot of work.


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## Welshmom (Sep 7, 2008)

Thank you everyone!
After getting your feedback, I am sure that I did vent it too high for too long.
I was using a standard 2-burner Camp Chief camp-type stove, not a turkey fryer, and I have used it successfully in the past. 
I tend to be very literal, and when the instructions say put in one quart of water, plus one tablespoon vinegar, that is exactly what I put in. I didn't know you could add more water! (Not saying that would have saved me, just I assumed more water would mess with pressure ratio's).
I am pretty good about babysitting the canner, but not that time obviously. Expensive lesson learned, but now I am wiser. And shopping for a new canner.
I appreciate your help.


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## PaulNKS (Jan 11, 2009)

Stef said:


> I totally agree the heat was too high.
> 
> And* all *reputable canning books, pressure canning manufacturers and websites say you need to vent for 10 minutes.


Absolutely NOT true. All American says to vent for 7 minutes and you can't get much better than them.


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## machinistmike (Oct 16, 2011)

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I was thankful no one got hurt. After buying a new canner and READING the directions carefully(something I should have done the first time) it is pretty clear about not using outdoor propane cookers with too high a BTU output. Was this the first time you have used one of those outdoor burners to heat your pressure canner? I am by far a novice using a pressure canner but the burner you used may have just been too much heat. I bought myself a gas stove for $50 off craigslist, converted it over to propane, put it on wheels and keep it in the garage. When I need it I wheel it out hook up the bottle and off I go. Hope this helps.


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## Guest (Jul 28, 2012)

It sounds like you forgot to put the water in the bottom of the canner..


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## Badger (Jun 11, 2010)

I can meat on the Camp Chef with an All American 930 all the time - I usually add more water than called for as I figure this is a minimum amount - as long as your water level is below the rings of your first layer of jars I think you're alright. One thing I have found out and this is only my opinion from my own experience, if I bring the pressure up slowly and take it down slowly I have a better seal rate ( nearly 100 %). If I pressure up or down quickly I loose fluid out of the jars and therefore some of them get food or something on the rim and fail to seal. The actual processing is the easy part and I dont want to waste all that prep time getting in a hurry to process.


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

The canner isn't toast. My bro got a 22qt from an auction that had the bottom bowed. I called my aunt, who had canned for 40 years, to see if it was safe to use. She told me that she had that happen a time or two and it would work. Since I trusted her I decided to give it a try. I've been canning with it for 6 years without a problem, on a gas stove. I don't know how it'd work on flat top though.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I have to put in my 2Â¢ here, regarding the vent time. My best pressure canners are Mirro's (one from the 80's and one from the 90's) and the book says to put on the weight and when it starts to giggle, the air has exhausted.


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## terri9630 (Mar 12, 2012)

suitcase_sally said:


> I have to put in my 2Â¢ here, regarding the vent time. My best pressure canners are Mirro's (one from the 80's and one from the 90's) and the book says to put on the weight and when it starts to giggle, the air has exhausted.


I have a 1yr old presto and a new mirro and they both say to vent for 10 min.


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## Classof66 (Jul 9, 2011)

Years ago I had problems with irregular jiggling. Finally, I called the Extension Service and the home advisor said she bet my stove wasn't level. It seemed like is was, but the level bubble indicated it wasn't. My ex leveled the stove and I never had another problem.


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## Ruby (May 10, 2002)

You said your *12 qt.* pressure canner. Are you sure that is a pressure *canner* or a pressure *cooker.* I have the small mirror canner and it's a 16 qt. I thought you wern't suppose to can in one smaller than that. One quart water don't sound like very much water to keep up steam for the full time for canning meat.


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## JohnP (Sep 1, 2010)

Here's the key. It's supposed to be a _gentle_ flow of steam coming out while venting. You likely boiled all or most of the water away before ever putting the jiggler on which is why it never jiggled after that. There was no water to make steam come out and rock the jiggler.

Here's what I use.









I don't have my canner instructions handy but they give a btu limit for gas stoves/burners. I use the above with an adapter hose to a 20lb tank. I have to take one of the side shields off the stove and always use the left side as it's further from the fuel hook up.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

10 qt is the smallest size recommended to use as a canner. 

I always set the timer because I know how easy it is for me to think it's not been near as long as it has been. I normally turn my heat down once it starts venting, or the canner will start to sound like a steam kettle.


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