# What size canner should I get?



## aaiya (Feb 3, 2011)

I've never really pressure canned before...but there is a pressure canner in my future. I'm considering an All-American like this. I'm just not sure if I want the 21.5 qt or the 15.5 qt. What would be pros/cons to each? I think I like that there's no gasket....but is there anything else I should be thinking about here that I just don't know enough to even ask?


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I love my AA canner! So well made, will last generations. I have one size down from this. Mine fits 7 quarts and 8 pints (wide mouth). This one is taller so you can stack pints. Think about what you are going to be canning and how much you plan to can at a time. 

My reason for getting a smaller one is I can only handle so much beef, chili, meatballs, chicken stock at a time. If I canned more veggies cold pack (which is super easy to prep) I'd get a larger one. But I don't like most canned veggies. Other people will probably tell you to get the biggest one you and/or your stove can handle.


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

Easier to find a place to store the shorter one. They appear to be the same but the height. The larger one will let you do more pints but the quarts are the same. I only use quarts so I would buy the shorter one. Less expensive.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2013)

I have the 921 All American Canner..I just started canning last year when I got over my fear of it.. Since I tend to go overboard on everything I do.. Like I just bought 20 pounds of hamburger that I intend to make Taco meat & Tomato sauce with the hamburger I had wished that I could can 14 plus quarts at one time instead of only 7! However, when my boys start leaving the nest pint jars will be more reasonable for just a couple people to feed.. So I would suggest the AA canner that holds more than the 7-quarts for a large family..jmo..


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## hercsmama (Jan 15, 2004)

I have the 921 and love it!!:goodjob:
I can do all the pints I want in a session, usually without having to reload. I actually have 2 of them for when I'm doing pasta sauce and Soups. I hate having to do multiple batches and spend hours on processing. But that's just me, you need to get whichever one will do the amounts that ya'll will eat. 
Also if weight is an issue, obviously the smaller one will be easier to move when full.


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## Fire-Man (Apr 30, 2005)

Love my 921!!! But, I agree with Raymond-- if you are only going to do just quarts---a shorter one would be better/lighter/easier to store. Its just my Wife and I---so we mainly can pints---The 921 takes care of the pints for sure.


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## standles (Apr 12, 2013)

Consider what type of stove you are going to be using it on. Most of the bigger ones do not recommend glass top stoves due to weight and heat on the glass. My AA does not recommend but I have used it and it worked ok. Takes forever to come up to heat though.

Last night I moved it outside to the fish cooker and got great results. Little ticky on setting the cooker flame (needed to be almost off) to get the correct pressure release (jiggle) after bringing up to heat and venting.

Get AA you will not regret it. I had two others before I bit the bullet and bought the AA. Never regretted that decision.

Steven


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## MichaelK! (Oct 22, 2010)

Sure the All American one is very high quality, but with all that extra money you're spending you could buy enough extra gaskets to last 10 lifetimes.

I myself have a Presto 23 qt that I'm very happy with. I use a 16 qt more frequently, but my Presto 23 is the only one that fits taller quart jars.


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## arnie (Apr 26, 2012)

I think I have every type of canner except an aa because I could only afford to purchase one at second hand stores . if you are planning on putting up a lot and have a stove(those one or two burner propane stoves available at harber freght or on ebay work great for canning and let you move this hot job out side) that can handle the bigger canner get that one I find myself using my smaller canner as a cooker for whole chickens to debone when cooking chicken n dumplings for a croud or chicken soup


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## Terri in WV (May 10, 2002)

Like others have said, it depends on what you're going to do as to what size you want.

While I have a larger family(5 of us), I tend to do more pints and have a Mirro to cover double stacking, but I also have the regular Mirro for doing quarts. I like having both sizes so that I can choose and also run them at the same time when I have a lot to can.


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## aaiya (Feb 3, 2011)

I'm going to be using a camp chef stove so I can keep the heat and mess outside. My engineer/machinist husband thinks the no-gasket style is great, sooo that's what we're going with  I think I'm going get the 15.5 qt. I just found out my mother-in-law has the 21.5 qt....so I can always borrow her canner (and maybe her, too) for a day or two if the need to can lots and lots of pints arises. Thanks, all, for your input.


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## Guest (Jul 27, 2013)

aaiya said:


> I'm going to be using a camp chef stove so I can keep the heat and mess outside. My engineer/machinist husband thinks the no-gasket style is great, sooo that's what we're going with  I think I'm going get the 15.5 qt. I just found out my mother-in-law has the 21.5 qt....so I can always borrow her canner (and maybe her, too) for a day or two if the need to can lots and lots of pints arises. Thanks, all, for your input.


Congratulations! Im so jealous!


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

Your machinist husband is going to love the quality of the AA! And it's made in Wisconsin :dance:

Enjoy!


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## PackerBacker (Jul 17, 2013)

MichaelK! said:


> Sure the All American one is very high quality, but with all that extra money you're spending you could buy enough extra gaskets to last 10 lifetimes.
> 
> I myself have a Presto 23 qt that I'm very happy with. I use a 16 qt more frequently, but my Presto 23 is the only one that fits taller quart jars.


A presto 16 quart fits quart jars just fine.


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## PackerBacker (Jul 17, 2013)

aaiya said:


> I've never really pressure canned before...but there is a pressure canner in my future. I'm considering an All-American like this. I'm just not sure if I want the 21.5 qt or the 15.5 qt. What would be pros/cons to each? I think I like that there's no gasket....but is there anything else I should be thinking about here that I just don't know enough to even ask?


Bigger is better.

That's why I just got a 941 !!!!!!!!!! :bouncy:

I have several smaller sizes and if I had to go back to one single canner it'd be the 21 quart.

I have heard the argument NOT to get a bigger canner many times that you can't do enough at once to fill it etc. IMO that is bunk.

Example: I may intend to only can 9 or 10 pints at once. But what if I have 11? You going to run a whole 'nother batch for one? Nope. But if you have the 21 vs the 15 you can can 11 -19 jars at once without an extra run.

Also even if it is something that I use in volume and normally can in quarts but I think it will be a little more than 7 quarts total I can switch to pint jars and get 10 quarts in a single run.

Pros to the AA: No gasket.

Cons to the AA: Cost.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I have a Presto 16 and a AA 941. I haven't used the 941 in years. It was great when the kids were at home and I had to put up massive quantities. But the Presto is just right for us now, and for what we bring in the house. I was afraid at first that I'd have to do multiple runs, but that hasn't turned out to be the case. 

Thing is, I can't bring myself to part with my 941. I like knowing it's there....


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

the one thing I like about the 21q over the 15q is that the 21q can double as a water bath canner for quarts. While the 15 will pressure can quarts, it's not tall enough to allow for the 2" of water over the tops of the quarts for waterbath.


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## mpennington (Dec 15, 2012)

Macybaby said:


> the one thing I like about the 21q over the 15q is that the 21q can double as a water bath canner for quarts. While the 15 will pressure can quarts, it's not tall enough to allow for the 2" of water over the tops of the quarts for waterbath.


I have the AA 15q and really love it. I'm considering getting the 23 quart presto to use as a water bath for quarts and a double stacked canner for pints. I'm using a 16 quart flat bottom lobster pot to water bath quarts now, but it makes a spitting mess on the cook top when doing quarts. The AA 21q is too heavy when loaded for my cooktop.


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## yellowlab2 (Jun 6, 2002)

mythreesons said:


> I have the 921 All American Canner..I just started canning last year when I got over my fear of it.. Since I tend to go overboard on everything I do.. Like I just bought 20 pounds of hamburger that I intend to make Taco meat & Tomato sauce with the hamburger I had wished that I could can 14 plus quarts at one time instead of only 7! However, when my boys start leaving the nest pint jars will be more reasonable for just a couple people to feed.. So I would suggest the AA canner that holds more than the 7-quarts for a large family..jmo..


My wife and I started with a 921, but the abundance of stuff to process became too much, we switched to a 930. The ability to do 14 qts at a time is awesome, plus we can still run the 921 if we have extra. 

That said, if I had it all to do over again, I'd have bought the 930 out of the gate.


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## wannabechef (Nov 20, 2012)

MichaelK! said:


> Sure the All American one is very high quality, but with all that extra money you're spending you could buy enough extra gaskets to last 10 lifetimes.
> 
> I myself have a Presto 23 qt that I'm very happy with. I use a 16 qt more frequently, but my Presto 23 is the only one that fits taller quart jars.


While this is true and I agree, you are buying a product designed to last a lifetime or two that even if guage failed you could still use it. I am generally a frugal person, but I chose the AA after looking at it and handling inside the store, being American made was a plus.

Sent from my GT-P3113 using Tapatalk 4 Beta


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## MCJam (Dec 27, 2012)

I used to have a presto with 7 quart jar capacity but the gasket gave out and the replacement doesn't fit! Bought an All American 930 with 14 quart capacity and absolutely love it! We raise all our own meat (beef, chicken and goat) plus most of our own vegetables. I love it for canning meat, broth, beans (pinto and chickpeas) and soups. If I am going to bother processing these foods I want to do it once and be done with it already! 14 quarts (or 19 pints) at a time is the way to go. Saves so much time and energy with not having to fire up the canner twice. Also, in the event of major power outage, we could can up our freezer stores before it goes bad. There are 7 of us so we go through the groceries!


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## jwal10 (Jun 5, 2010)

We are small people and double stacking does not work for us. Also having to lift and lower everything in is hard, the big ones are so much higher to lift over. Also remember they are so heavy. Getting the lid off the AA is much harder than a Presto when you are short. Getting the big ones off the burner is tough. We use 2 or 3 at a time, we can remove the smaller ones to put another on. Just unsafe for us. Over the years we have had them all....James


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## margoC (Jul 26, 2007)

I like having two smaller ones as well. My 921 is as big as I want to get, I have an old national 7 that cannot stack quarts as well. I frequently use both at once. 

I would try to get a proper gasket for that presto! I managed to get parts for a 50 year old canner off the web. I also have a spare and sealed it in an attempt to stave off oxidation.


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