# Can't open PC after 86+hours. Help!



## grayson6 (Feb 8, 2007)

I wanted the 10 minutes, couldn't open. I tried that night and still couldn't. Still working on it days later! I tried a hammer finally on the handles, broke them. Then tried the seal up ways, down ways. Anything I could think of. I did buy it used. So after reviewing the manual, I think the previous owners let it boil dry which warped it. I have 7 qts of some great vension. My hubby and I really want that out. So the next thing we can only think of is take a reciprocating saw to the lid. Any more ideas? Thanks!


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I'm not sure that boiling it dry warped it.

Anyway, try pushing down on the lid (this may take two people, one to push down, the other to turn) and try turning it both counter-clock-wise and clock-wise, sort of like rocking it. It's not pressure that's holding it tight, but a stuck gasket. When you get it loose, and I know you will, oil the gasket. NEVER beat on the PC, they are precision instruments.

edited to add: Put the canner on the floor to push down on it in order to get more "umph" in it.


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## StaceyS (Nov 19, 2003)

Wow - never heard of this. Don't think the buying used thing had anything to do with it - if it did, then they got it to open...
Hope you get it open soon!


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## VT Chicklit (Mar 22, 2009)

That happened to me with my Mirro 22 last year. It took alot of effort. The hubby held the handles of the bottom part of the PC and I pressed down and tried to twist the lid. It didnt work at first. It took many attempts, but then it finally let loose. It was a stuck gasket. Since then I always oil my gasket with a little oil. I just run the gasket through my oily fingers before I use it. It has not stuck since. Just have patients. It is kind of like opening a stubborn jar lid. You try and try and then it just gives.


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## Ann-NWIowa (Sep 28, 2002)

I agree don't beat up the canner because its the seal. I've never had mine stick to that point but I have had my dh exert great effort getting it open. If you still can't get it open call your local extension service for suggestions or even e-mail the company that manufactured it. I have very bad arthritis in my hands and have on occasion been unable to lock the lid on without oiling the seal a bit.


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## NCLee (Aug 4, 2009)

I have a Presto, and according to their directions, don't put oil on the gasket. Put oil on the metal surfaces that slide by each other to open/close the canner. Oil on the gasket, itself, can lead to premature failure. (The instructions for your canner may be different.

BTW, your canner may not use a gasket. 

Try this. On the floor set your canner in a large container of ice water. Container can be a plastic storage tote. Let it sit for a few minutes until the canner body gets cold. 

Next, dip a bath towel in water as hot as you can stand it. Wear kitchen gloves. Wring out the towel and wrap it around the top of your canner. Repeat, if needed to heat the top, as much as you can. As the heat causes the top to expand, that may be enough to break the seal that has formed between the two metal edges that interlock to hold the two parts of the canner together during processing. 

Also, look up your model canner on line. Most manufacturer's have manuals on line, even for the older models. There may be instructions in the manual specific to your model with regards to opening/closing it.

After you get it open, you'll probably see why this problem happened. For example, there may be old oil residue left on the locking surfaces that acted as glue. To use the canner again, that'll need to be gently removed. 

If indeed there's so much warping that the lid doesn't fit properly, I wouldn't use it again for pressure canning. It'll still work for water bath or as a large stock pot. You can make a lid for it from foil, if you don't have a regular pot top to fit it.

If you do get it open without any more damage, AND, you determine the source of the problem, you may be able to order replacement parts. That includes a gasket, IF YOUR CANNER USES ONE. Definitely replace the pressure gauge, or order a weight (regulator) that can be set for 5 lbs, 10 lbs, 15 lbs. 

Hope this helps you to get your canner open without further damage to it. 

Lee

Edit: One other thought.... If it's a vacuum seal created in the canner, try running a small wire down the hole where the weight/regulator sits. There may be something plugging up that hole, thus not allowing air to get inside to break the vacuum.

If you're definitely not going to use the canner again, for pressure canning, try using a plumber's torch (or a kitchen torch) to heat the lid around the edges, after sitting the canner in ice water. Don't get that torch near anything that's not metal, as you don't want fumes from melting rubber/plastic. Keep the torch moving. You don't want the metal in the top to get hot enough to also expand the metal in the base of the pot. 

Do let us know how this turns out. Your experience may help others.

Lee


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## StaceyS (Nov 19, 2003)

NCLee said:


> ...
> 
> Try this. On the floor set your canner in a large container of ice water. Container can be a plastic storage tote. Let it sit for a few minutes until the canner body gets cold.
> 
> ...


What a GREAT tip! Hopefully, I'll never need it - but thanks!


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

I assume you know that the meat inside is long past safe to keep/eat after all this time in that canner? If you do ever get it open - any many times you never can - that moist anaerobic environment will be full of bacteria both inside and outside the jars.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

Before you do Lee's method, check how your canner goes together. My AA lid fits INSIDE of the canner, while my Presto fits OUTSIDE of the canner. You want to cool the inside and heat the outside parts.

My Presto has a little valve that drops when it gets back down to zero, so it won't "suck in" the lid if I forget to take it off. My AA does not have that featuer, and if allowed to cool down more after it reaches zero pressure (says to wait two minutes only) then it starts creating a vacuum inside the canner and sucks the lid down even tighter. I use a small rubber mallet and give a tap to loosen it, but I've never had it seriously stuck. The directions say to cool to zero and wait two more minutes, then remove weight and take off lid, then wait ten minutes and remove jars. If I waited ten minutes after it hit zero before removing at least the weight, I'd have a heck of a time getting that lid off. 

I've never had even a slight problem getting the lid off the Presto. If the lid went on easy it should not be a problem with warping. 

So, which type of canner do you have?

Judylou - if the jars are sealed when the canner is opened, why would it make a difference? Is it because she would not know for sure when the jars sealed and they may have sucked something inside before sealing? Some times directions tell you to do something, but they don't tell you what the problems will be if you don't.

Cathy


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

judylou said:


> I assume you know that the meat inside is long past safe to keep/eat after all this time in that canner? If you do ever get it open - any many times you never can - that moist anaerobic environment will be full of bacteria both inside and outside the jars.


This is simply not true. Just because the canner lid is stuck, by no means does it mean the pressure inside has not subsided to zero, which would cause the jars to seal just as they would if they were outside the canner. It just takes a lot longer.

If the canning process was done properly and the food was processed at 10 lbs. pressure, all the harmful bacteria, including any botulism, would be deemed dead and gone - thus the reason for using the canner in the first place. There is no anaerobic environment outside the jars (inside the canner itself). When the pressure drops it allows an equillibrium between the inside and outside of the canner, which means AIR has re-entered the canner allowing the pressure to drop.

Let's not needlessly scare people.

BTW, did you ever get that canner open? You could always take it to the place where you air up your tires and inject air into the canner via the little tube where the weight sits (I forget what it's called). That could cause the top to push up. It shouldn't affect (effect?) the jars.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> Let's not needlessly scare people.


Not my intent at all. Simply pointing out the standard teaching - that the prolonged time in the warm moist environment has rendered the food unsafe. But that will likely be obvious if they ever get the canner open as the odor alone will set off alarms much less the condition of the water inside. If any siphoning of the meat juices took place then the water inside will rife with bacteria after all this time.

Not only have I seen it but it is one of the first things taught to you in certified canning classes - never leave jars in the pressure canner or even the BWB overnight, much less 86 hours, as that warm moist environment is the perfect environment for bacterial growth. NCHFP has published the results of cultures taken from inside the jars and inside a PC post processing at stages over a 48 hour period and those studies are the basis for the class instruction. 

The pressure canner has no access to the outside air unless the weight is removed and even then it is limited but it is enough for bacteria to contaminate the water in the canner. Yes it returns to zero pressure but it retains an anaerobic environment for several hours. Further you have no way of knowing if the jars had sealed, if siphoning had happened during processing, or if the vacuum in the jars was lost during all the pounding etc. 

IF the canner is ever opened, and it may well take a saws-all to do it, it will likely be obvious that the food is unsafe. But it should be treated as such regardless of its appearance.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

I disagree.


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## AnnieinBC (Mar 23, 2007)

Grayson, did u ever get the canner open?


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

Inquiring minds want to know.


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## Bonnie L (May 11, 2002)

I'm getting here a bit late, but when my canner locks up, I just put the tip of a screwdriver between the lid & the canner (I have an AA) & give a a bit of a twist. Works every time. I would think that would work with a gasket, too.


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## mnn2501 (Apr 2, 2008)

Checking where I'm at, -- yup Computer forum. I am trying to figure out how (any why) someone boiled a computer (PC). I got it after reading a couple more posts: PC = Pressure Canner not Personal Computer.

I think this needs to be moved.


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## arabian knight (Dec 19, 2005)

Geesh I just read the complete post and couldn't for the life of me figure out what the heck this has to do with Computers. Yes Please Move it. Thank You.


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## HermitJohn (May 10, 2002)

Yep, letting your pc boil dry will surely warp it and lock it up...... And I just hope you had your anti-virus program properly installed and updated so the meat didnt spoil..... But then maybe you can just upgrade from Mirro View to Presto 7. Mirro is all outdated and soon to be unsupported anyway....


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## Speckledpup (Dec 3, 2004)

This has been over in the preserving the harvest forum until today, LOL 

Can we get it moved back?


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