# Not Happy with Tattler



## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

I went out on a limb and purchased about $120 worth of the Tattler reusable canning lids in January, after reading good things about them here and in Backwoods Home magazine. Thought it would be a great thing to be able to reuse the lids indefinitely.

I canned some carrots with the lids soon after receiving them and had several jars that didn't seal. I chalked it up to being a newbie. Over the last 2 days I canned 21 jars of carrots and soup veggies using the Tattler lids. Out of 21 jars, 12 didn't seal. Two of the jars that did seal were the non-reusable ones that I wanted to give away.

I am following the instructions. I have been canning on my own for over 20 years and before that I helped my parents can. I know what I am doing and I just want to cry after finding so many jars that didn't seal. That was a lot of money to spend on something that I don't feel is working...not to mention all of the work I did to get the veggies ready.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Tattler lids and found that they were doing something wrong? or have you used them and had no problems? I don't know if they will take the unused boxes of lids back and I don't want to give up so quickly...but I sure don't want to spend this much time on canning things that I will have to turn around and use right away because they didn't seal.

Thanks for any suggestions.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

I have not tried them, but if I were you, the first call Id make would be to Tattler. The owner himself has posted on our forums. I am sure he would want to help you , and if there is a problem, make things right.


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## PixieLou (May 1, 2010)

lisa's garden said:


> Two of the jars that did seal were the non-reusable ones that I wanted to give away.


What's a non-reusable jar? I've never heard of that.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

I think she meant the disposable lids, that is how I read it.

I too would contact tattler. I haven't had any experience with them, so cannot help you there, but am very interested in the outcome as they have been something I had hoped to purchase one day.

That is a bad fail rate and not being a cheap item I would be unhappy too.


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## goatlady (May 31, 2002)

I've used the same set of Tattlers twice now on pints of canned meat with absolutely NO problems. Love them except for the fact I really have to simmer the plastic lid part quite a while to get the curve out so they sit flat on the jars. I also had one of the white "rubber" covers get sucked down into a jar, but I apparently did not have it on evenly. I'm wondering if you are not screwing the metal ring down tight enough? If it is just finger tight the liquid from the veggies may be bubbling up onto the white rubber sealing circle and that stops it from sealing. I don't use any added liquid with my canned meat. May also make a difference if you are waterbathing versus pressure canning?


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

I've heard other people say the same types of things about them not working well. I have to admit, I just wouldn't spend that type of money on a new product. It's just so easy to buy the regular lids by the dozens and keep them. It seems that you could buy a years worth of lids for the price some people pay for a few dozen of the tattler.
Maybe the "good things" posted about them were just marketing in many cases?


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## motdaugrnds (Jul 3, 2002)

WOW After reading about these experiences, I am sure glad I have not ordered the tattler lids yet. (I was just about to send off for a few dozen.)


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

No personal experience but in some of the previous discussions about them others have mentioned that they come with very specific use instructions that differ from the standard instructions for canning with the metal lids. If I remember correctly it had to do with how much you tighten the band on them?

But there are several possible causes for jars not sealing so it may or may not be the lids. 

I agree that contacting the manufacturer for assistance is the logical next step. He has always been very forthcoming in his posts here so would likely be more than willing to assist you.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

Well, I was planning to call the company on Monday to see what the problem might be. I re-read the instructions and I decided to try another batch today making sure that I follow everything to the letter. After canning for so many years, it is easy to get complacent, so it is possible that I made a mistake. 

I know that the first time I used the lids, I tightened them and then turned it back a 1/4" like the instructions called for. When I took the metal bands off, some of the rubber rings had been pulled out from under the white lid and those didn't seal. So this time I just didn't tighten as much. So I'm not sure how tight to make them. I also forgot to tighten the lids after removing them from the pressure canner. So that may have made the difference.

I will let you know what happens with the next batch.

The reason I ordered quite a few was that they do not contain BPA and I hate to think that my organic, homegrown veggies are being polluted with a cancer causing chemical.

I was talking about the disposable lids...sorry! I only had one cup of coffee when I posted the first time. I was also very upset to find so many unsealed jars this morning after thinking that I had a couple of productive days.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

By the way, I would just suggest that you place a small order and make sure that you like them before ordering a whole bunch.


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## Our Little Farm (Apr 26, 2010)

Hope you can figure it out. It must be very frustrating.

I know that just one jar that has not sealed is a disappointment for me. There is so much work involved in canning, you want to get it right the first time. 

Good luck!


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## Pelenaka (Jul 27, 2007)

Please do a follow up on how your conversation with the manufactur and the next batch of jars.


~~ pelenaka ~~


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

I got over 2,000 lids from Lehmans. Regular lids. It was $487 with shipping. Should last me about 7 years I figure. How does that compare with Tattler lids and rings ? I would need probably 600 or more Tattler. 
They are solid gold color inside and out with a red sealing compound. I think it is the white coating that has the BPA. These have no writing on them. Also made in USA, same as Tattler says . 
What about the formaldahyde in the Tattler plastic lids ? I am not personally convinced that is any better yet. 
It is interesting to read the comments about the Tattler before buying a bunch. Thanks for your comments.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I, too, have had a high seal-failure rate with Tattler lids.

Another thing that I'm not happy about: yesterday I opened a jar of Chicken a-la-King that I processed last year and the smell and taste of RUBBER was a complete turn off. The smell was not only in the jar, but in the food. I wish they would make the rubber seals out of something other than rubber. I know these things were invented in the 70's, but technology has improved seals on commercial seals so I would think they could make the seals out of something other than rubber.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

I haven't heard anything about formeldahyde in the lids, I hope that isn't true. I don't want to trade one poison for another, sigh.

I also haven't any experience with the taste of rubber in my food. But I just started using them recently and the only thing I tasted that was canned with these are the carrots that didn't seal properly. They tasted fine, but after a year?...I sure hope they don't taste like rubber.

I turned the pressure canner off a little while ago and I am waiting for the pressure to go down so I can open the canner and tighten all of the lids according to the instructions.

If anyone has further info about the formeldahyde issue, please let me know.

Thanks


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## kkbinco (Jun 11, 2010)

lisa's garden said:


> I haven't heard anything about formeldahyde in the lids, I hope that isn't true. I don't want to trade one poison for another, sigh.
> ...
> If anyone has further info about the formeldahyde issue, please let me know.
> 
> Thanks


From the Tattler site


> What about Formaldehyde?
> 
> Many questions have been asked about the existence of formaldehyde in Acetal Copolymer. While it is true formaldehyde is present in trace amounts, research proves it is only released at very high temperatures, well above any temperatures found in home food canning. Here are the facts.
> 
> Heating our brand of acetal copolymer above 460 degrees F (238 C) should be avoided. At these temperatures, formaldehyde, a colorless and irritating gas that can be harmful in high concentrations, is generated.


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

One site I read said it was harmful at 250 degrees. 15 lb. of pressure would reach that temp. 
I am sticking with regular lids.


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## lisa's garden (Apr 1, 2010)

I will have to look at my pressure canning book to see about the temps reached, but so far, all of the foods I can call for 10# of pressure. So I hope that there is no formeldahyde being released.

I finished the batch of carrot yesterday...7 quarts, 6 of them with the Tattler lids and 1 with a disposable lid (so I can give to my neighbor, without worrying that he will throw away the reusable lid). Out of the 7 jars, all but one sealed and that was a Tattler lid. 

When I canned this batch I followed all instructions, but I made sure that the lids were in scalding water shortly before putting them on the jars (in case it made a difference that the temp had cooled to just sorta hot), and I also pulled the jars out of the canner as soon as I could to tighten the lids. Now, when I tightened the lids, they barely budged, so I'm not sure if that made the difference or not. 

At this point, every batch of food that I have canned with the Tattle lids has had a minimum of 1 jar that has not sealed. I still consider that to be too many. When I can with the disposable lids, I seldom have jars that do not seal (probably 1 in every 3 or 4 batches).

I will continue to experiment to see if there is anything further that I can do to prevent the failure to seal and will report back if I find out why I am having this problem.

Thanks for all of the input!


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## Lucy (May 15, 2006)

Are you still letting them sit in the canner an additional 10 min. per current guidelines, after the pressure has dropped and you take off the weight/or counterweight ? 
That is before you open the lid. Just wondering if this has any effect on them. 
Good luck to you and happy canning !


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## kenworth (Feb 12, 2011)

With a lot of my thoughts going on about my own canners, I wonder if it's your canner and not the lids? I'm in no way trying to defend the lids, because I don't own any and haven't seen any in actual use.


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## pmondo (Oct 6, 2007)

Lucy said:


> I got over 2,000 lids from Lehmans. Regular lids. It was $487 with shipping. Should last me about 7 years I figure. How does that compare with Tattler lids and rings ? I would need probably 600 or more Tattler.
> They are solid gold color inside and out with a red sealing compound. I think it is the white coating that has the BPA. These have no writing on them. Also made in USA, same as Tattler says .
> What about the formaldahyde in the Tattler plastic lids ? I am not personally convinced that is any better yet.
> It is interesting to read the comments about the Tattler before buying a bunch. Thanks for your comments.


http://www.fillmorecontainer.com/Bulk-Canning-Lids-Regular-Mouth-P167.aspx
there are better prices for lids 3,132 for $424.00


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## CydN (Mar 5, 2015)

Please don't waste your time and money on this product!

I purchased a large quantity of Tattler lids, thinking that it is a great idea for many reasons. I have had very poor results, with anywhere from 30 to 90% failure of the seals in each batch. I have had numerous emails back and forth with the company, trialing all of their suggestions, but with no substantial improvement. 

Here is a list of the things I have tried:

1) more headspace
2) using only quart jars
3) very slow cooling (putting them in a box covered with towels)
4) various tightness levels to go in the processor, then tightening at various levels when they are removed
5) making sure that any liquid has stopped bubbling before tightening when removed
6) not canning tomato products with them

I have finally given up after 2 1/2 years of trying to make this work, and I don't even want to mention how much money I spent. 

To top it off, they initially agreed to take back the unopened packages if I paid postage plus a 20% restocking fee, then retracted this offer. After the offer, I attempted to achieve a more fair agreement by politely letting them know my point of view, but they responded by taking the offer off the table. They claimed that it has been "too long", despite my documentation of numerous questions and emails to them regarding this problem over the past 2 years.

For a while, I lost my joy in canning due to the worry of wondering if I would ever have success with this product. I hope that by sharing my experience, others will not go through what I had to deal with. Not only is the product unreliable, their customer service person was defensive and outright hostile.
I am back to canning with standard Ball metal lids, with no failures.

Cyd


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## AmericanStand (Jul 29, 2014)

What do you think it is that accounts for the problem with them ?


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## arrocks (Oct 26, 2011)

I really am sorry you had such a negative experience with them and I can't imagine what could have caused such a high failure rate as my personal experience with the lids has been quite good. 

I have had no personal experience with the company so I can't comment on that aspect. But the lids themselves (I use only the reg mouth ones) has been very good and I have several dozen that are now on their 3rd and 4th trip through the canning process with no more failures than I get from name brand lids. Aside from the plastic staining issues from tomatoes I have no complaints with them.


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## claytonpiano (Feb 3, 2005)

I have used tattler lids for years and have about the same fail rate as regular lids. I have no idea why there is a problem with them either. I even re-use the rubber ring. I love my Tattler lids and recommend them to people all the time. The usual issue is the failure to properly tighten the ring AFTER removing them from the canner.


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## K.B. (Sep 7, 2012)

I have re-used my Tattlers dozens of times, as well, and have good results with the lids sealing. I have an occasional failure, but it is usually because I overfilled the jar. 

One thing to think about when ordering is that you may not need nearly as many Tattler lids as you would think. If you generally can 500-600 jars per year, you may only need to have 300 lids (and jars) on hand. I find that I use more canned food more frequently since getting the Tattlers several years ago. This keeps the jars and lids in rotation on a constant basis. 

I have definitely gotten my money out of the lids that I have used. I could have ordered less, but it makes me less reluctant to give jars to friends and family knowing that if I don't get the lids back, I still have plenty to fall back on.


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I've had them seal only to fail later. I think there is a lot of "give" in the gasket and the lids are stiffer.

I keep my canned goods for over a year or more sometimes. I've started wrapping the tops in parafilm after they are done to keep air from drying out the outer edge of the gasket.

I'm keeping my tattlers as spares but I prefer regular lids (which I still wrap in parafilm), they are more reliable and easier to use.


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## CydN (Mar 5, 2015)

I had bad experiences with both the lids and the company. I am very experienced in canning and tried all of their suggestions (plus a few ideas of my own) and never get more than 5/7 quarts to seal, even initially. Then, after storing for a while I find additional failures. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRODUCT!!!. For a while, I lost the joy of canning and can sympathize with the person in the thread who was in tears about it. 

When I tried to get a refund, they initially said that the would only take back unopened boxes, would not pay shipping, and also charged at 20% restocking fee. When I tried to negotiate this decision, they immediately took the offer off the table and did not answer an additional follow-up email from me.


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