# Pressure canner day 1.



## BTO (Feb 7, 2007)

I bought a pressure canner (30qt, All American) and figured I'd make a batch of chicken broth and can it. I made the broth and put it in jars, all was working perfectly. I took the jars out after processing and removed the canner from the stove. I noticed the stove had discolored from the heat of the canner. I thought I had ruined the stove. Fortunately for me it came off with a little elbow grease. Is this normal and how can I minimize the problem?


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## Ms.Lilly (Jun 23, 2008)

Yes this is normal, it is from the excessive heat. Your burners and trays will eventually burn out and need replaced too. I really don't know how long that will take to happen because my stove was already on it's last legs. You can purchase a canning burner that is heavier duty and will hold up better to the heat. I just purchased a hot plate from the local Target store and use it. Haven't had a problem with it yet and I have the AA 930 and 921, both have been used on it. Oh and congratulations on your canner!

Lillian


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## fetch33 (Jan 15, 2010)

mine does the same thing.. good thing it is an old stove! Also, the inside of the canner and the racks discolor too.


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## upnorthlady (Oct 16, 2009)

Yep - that's normal. Today's stoves are not made for canning, in my opinion. We need those oldies made back in the 1940's! As for getting a canning coil, forget those. They cost about $75 (for my electric stove anyway) and I can buy a new coil for $25 at the hardware store. So I could burn out 3 coils for the price of one canning coil. Also those canning coils use more electricity. I saw one last year, and they didn't look to be much stronger than the regular coils. Just slightly thicker and took more electricity. I have totally darkened a drip pan for my stove, and I just use that during canning season. I'm thinking of getting a propane stove, as we don't have natural gas lines out here. Gas stoves are much stronger and have higher burners.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

There are propane and NG standalone burners available from places like Northern tool. Might be an alternative. I plan on building some sort of "summer kitchen" area for our canning.


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## Marianne (Feb 22, 2009)

I would absolutely LOVE to have a summer kitchen! Maybe in another life...sigh. But I bought one of those 2 burner electric stovetops last summer thinking I'd use that on the side porch when I got ready to do some canning, and then found out I'm not supposed to do that because of the weight or something? Will it still work for canning but is just not advised? I have a propane stove and also got the stovetop due to the price of gas at the time, wound up using it a lot just for saving gas and not heating up the house as much.


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## judylou (Jun 19, 2009)

> and then found out I'm not supposed to do that because of the weight or something? Will it still work for canning but is just not advised?


Basically yes, just not advised, but it can work with care. But it also depends on the size of your BWB and pressure canner. It voids the warranty if that concerns you because the fear is that not only could the weight fracture the burner elements but it will also trap excessive heat under the pan and either melt the burner itself or burn whatever is under the burner. Make sure to have something non-flammable under it - a couple of the concrete 8x8 flat patio stones works well.

And if doing a small batch of pints or half-pints try using a smaller stockpot as a BWB rather than the big canner full of water and quart jars. Lots less weight. If you have a huge All American pressure canner though the weight on the burner is going to be awfully heavy.


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## Marianne (Feb 22, 2009)

I think I'll just use it for the water bath. I don't have the All American but have sure been seriously considering getting one. I have 3 Presto pressure canners and a couple of diffferent sized WB's. And since I do like the burner for summer use when it's just me and hubby, I don't want to ruin it. Thank you!!


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I bought a large costco electric hotplate. It is a comercial unit and designed to hold large stock pots full of soup or what ever. It is also made to last being on all day long. 

I use my 21 qt AA canner on it with no problems. 

I would love to get one of those really heavy duty heaters - the ones designed to hold a 55 gallon drum and keep the contents warm - but they are way too expensive.

I now have an induction cooktop in the house so this is the only way I can do indoor canning.

I have a coil cooktop in the summer kitchen. It has heavy duty coils and handled the AA with no problem and I've never had any problems with discoloration. It is more powerful than the hotplate but it gets too cold to use my summer kitchen in the winter months.

Cathy


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

You can make a support that goes just over the top of the burner to hold the weight of the canner.

I have posted this picture before, but here it is again. It is made from a 4 foot long aquarium stand. Under the shelf are two kerosene cookers. The cookers have 14 wicks and take a little while longer to heat a large canner, but will get the job done. The set up is designed to handle two canners at a time. The top is made from open grid aluminum, like the kind of steps you see in industrial places.










Here is another kerosene cooker. It took me nearly a year to find out what it actually was, as there is no info on the web about it. It is made of cast iron and has two wicks. It stands about 13" high and the square section of the base is the kerosene tank. This is what people used to use before electricity and gas was popular.












This is a picture of the top. The little pointy things are the supports for the pots.










I like antiques, so I found this thing to be very interesting - very Gothic-looking.


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