All American 1930: 10.5qt Pressure Cooker/Canner (The 910) - Exclusive Metal-to-Metal Sealing System - Easy to Open & Close - Suitable for Gas, Electric, or Flat Top Stoves - Made in the USA

This canner is no joke. It is big, it's heavy, and it is solid American-made construction. I've been using mine for 2 years now. I typically can at least 200 quarts of various vegetables, meats, 'meal in a jar' and meal starters annually. This canner is easy to operate, has great videos and clear written instructions to troubleshoot any issues you may encounter, and it holds A LOT of jars, making processing move along more efficiently. This is an investment, for sure, and a worthwhile investment to anyone looking to stock their home pantry. I look forward to using it for many more years.

To be clear, if you are going to can anything, stop, and think it through. If your intent is to put up a quart of beans with no expectations for success, you could probably do just as well with a cheaper model. If, on the other hand, you are intent on putting up your chosen harvest with a high expectation of success, you are in the right place, looking at the right model.First, it must be understood, that this is not an inexpensive device. Poking about the internet you will find several manufactures of various prices and constructions, not all necessarily bad, however, not all necessarily good either. What sets this device apart from the rest is the "no-gasket" configuration, and, YES it makes a difference. Fighting with a big rubber gasket on a simmering pot on the stove is not exactly conducive to a positive canning experience, and, the experience of your first batches will likely determine if you ever do this again. So, why start with cheap equipment? Look on the internet, and, see who the experienced canners use as the benchmark, then, you decide for yourself.Out of the box, you will be struck with the sheer weight of the device. The saying goes, "You get what you pay for", and you certainly are not left with a feeling that you lost anything on this purchase. It is industrial grade aluminum, and, thick enough to survive a flaming re-entry if it fell from the shuttle. (OK I exaggerate, but, you get the point.) To seal the deal, it is made in the U.S.A. !The manual is actually printed in English, on good quality paper, and, inherently thick enough to survive a lifetime of reads.The unit itself, upon inspection, exudes quality. The machining is first class, the fit and finish is first rate, and, you are left with the gut feeling you made a wise investment. You will, however, at his point be pummeled with jokes by other family members regarding the size, shape, profile, purpose, blah, blah, blah. Just laugh and move on.What my dear wife and I discovered was this. It is all about your physical strength. DO NOT OVERLOOK THIS POINT. The canner is heavy--- EMPTY, now, add 7 quarts of you favorite substance, 3 inches of water, and, what you will find is that you are not as strong as you believe yourself to be. Lifting this thing with outstretched arms to the stove at chest height is not an easy task. (Yes Mr X, that goes for you too....) Respect this fact and all will be well. All loading of the device MUST occur on the stove, as I have said, you won't be able to do it afterwards, at least NOT SAFELY. Observe the fact it is NOT intended for glass top stoves for an obvious reason. OK, now onward>>>>Using the canner could not be any easier. Leave the explosion stories for Hollywood, and, be assured they WON'T happen in your kitchen. It is equipped with an overpressure device (fail-safe), and, unless your bent on breaking the thing you won't hurt it, or you.Our experience with the ever so scientific "1-4 jiggles per minute" is this... it is not that critical. What we found is that once you have a steady steam stream coming out of the weight stack (be patient IT TAKES TIME), put the weight on, keep the heat on high until you get to the 5, 10, or 15 pound reading ON THE DIAL. Let it heat until you get the necessary 4 "jiggles" a minute (the weight - I thought it necessary to clarify) then turn it down SLOWLY to moderate. Trying to start on the "cold side of the jiggle" and regulate up is fruitless. The mass of the pot prevents successfully regulating in this manner. You will just keep overshooting the mark in this manner.Some have complained about the lid sticking..... never happened, not even close. Manual suggested olive oil on the rim, and, I can tell you it works perfectly. Remember, the lock downs are not lug nuts, so you do NOT need much torque to firm the lid down. Following directions will yield promised results.Finally, be careful when you open the lid. As I mentioned the mass of this thing holds heat... and lots of it. Allow yourself at least an hour for the pot to cool down AND verify there is no pressure in the pot before loosening the lid.All in all, while expensive (relatively speaking) I think this canner will serve us for years and years and years, our kids for years and years and years, and the grandkids for years (you get the point) I figure by this time, noone will really remember the price, but, in all likelihood will thank us for a quality product. Now, on to the beef stew....

Durable, sturdy construction and straightforward to use. Be sure to read the instruction manual first. This is an essential tool and a worthy investment for any family looking to become more self-sufficient and preserve food for longer-term storage.As far as pressure cookers go, it is heavy; however, we have used it on our glass-top stove top with zero issues. Would definitely recommend.

After reading about all the issues with the newer All-American canner I was very nervous about what I would get because I ordered a canner that was listed as like new. In the past I have always been happily surprised that the item was indeed like new but just cost less. I saw the condition of some new ones so I worried about this not new one. Well holding my breath I opened the box and found one ding on the outside of the canner. Everything else looked like new and even the forging marks around the top were only noticeable if you really looked for them and there was no pitting in the lid. I used Vaseline around the lid and pot edge hoping that it would keep it from sticking. Oh my wait was especially anxious because it was to arrive on a Saturday and I had lots of produce that I needed to can or it would surely go bad.After a quick read of the instructions which had been supplemented by many YouTube videos about using this type canner. First batch was 7 cans of squash since I figured screwing up on them would not be such a loss and I planned on eating them soon after I canned them. Would use them as a practice run. I have canned lots before but always with a hot bath. In hind site I took some chances. Well first batch I did not screw the lids on firmly enough and a good amount of the fluid came out. One lesson learned.There was a little bit of air escaping around the lid but it held the pressure well. This was described in the manual and said that it would end after a few batches. On my next three batches I did not see this again.I got no pass-by on the safety seal but the steam vent seems to let some air escape. Hard to tell and I was afraid to tighten it a little more. There was no explanation on this but it did seem to lessen on subsequent batches. The weight to maintain the pressure at the desired setting was very different from my other pressure cooker and I think it will take a little time to figure out when I have the heat set exactly right. The pressure stayed pretty constant as long as I kept it rattling every once in a while but I think it will take some time to learn how to control it better. The first batch I had some problems with getting the lid off. But a slight bump with a screwdriver, (actually a chisel) and it came right open. I did not reapply Vaseline prior to my next 3 batches but I had no trouble getting the lid off. When it drops to zero there still is a slight bit of pressure in there so I loosen the screws, pull the weight and then really loosen the wing nuts and the lid comes right off. I never had a release of steam so even if I opened it wrong there was no steam to hit my skin. The gauge seemed spot on at 10 pounds and read just shy of 15 pounds when the weight was set at 15. As the manual says the gauge is just as a reference but if the weight is releasing steam you are at the right pressure.My subsequent batches were tomatoes and unlike when I canned using a hot water bath I did have some bottles that would not seal. Apparently some of the tomato pushed through the lid and deposited some seeds. I did some more research and think that I should have cooked the tomatoes first and I would have had less of an issue but everything else sealed up well so I decided to redo these two bottles which were not full of cooked tomatoes. This time I also used 15 pounds and well both sealed well.Now that I finally bought the canner that I have been wanting for several years I find that thankfully I have no buyers remorse. I guess there might a bit more of a learning curve than I thought but I am always too optimistic and assume that it will go perfect the first time. But in general it is extremely easy to use and compared to my other cooker there is a whole lot less going on where you are wondering if everything is going well. I have a small presto and it seems like it seals in stages so the issue at the steam spout is inconsequential.It cleaned up easily and has me pretty excited about things I will can vs freeze in the future, such as pasta sauce where I always waited for a cold day where I could set the pot outside to cool. No longer, I can do it on the hottest day. Not too sure about canning meats though except I might do some things like chili or cubes so that I can whip a meal up fast. I usually buy meat on the day I am going to use it so not sure how great a savings it would be. I do think I am going to do soups for lunch.I would not hesitate to suggest that someone get this canner vs one of the lesser cost ones. I do not doubt that Presto makes a great product but this really is built for a lifetime and made in the US. It seems like it might be more of a hassle to use but I found it pretty simple.