# Problem with jars leaking when water bath canning



## coaldust (Jun 24, 2013)

I canned some ripe tomatoes yesterday in quart jars for 40 minutes in hot water bath and all of them leaked, Burped out liquid, not sure what I did wrong except maybe had too much heat for the entire time, any suggestions??
Over the last month I have been canning, jellys, bread and butter pickles, hot salsa, and green tomato pickles and have not had any problem, of course the prossessing time is only 10 minutes or so.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

How much head space are you leaving? It should be at least half an inch.


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## Davarm (Oct 22, 2011)

With water bath canning there can only be a few reasons for it.

1. As Ezmerelda said, the jar may have been too full.

2. The lids may not have been tight enough.

3. The jar rims may have been damaged.

4. The lids you used may have been defective.

Too much heat is not an issue, the bath water will only get up to 212 degrees. Not much else could be happening unless the jars fall over while in the water bath.


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## ZoomZoom (Dec 18, 2009)

Davarm said:


> With water bath canning there can only be a few reasons for it.
> 
> 1. As Ezmerelda said, the jar may have been too full.
> 
> ...


Could they leak if the rims of the jars weren't wiped clean before putting on the lid?


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## readytogo (Apr 6, 2013)

had the same problem with pressure canner, jars to full and lids to loose.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

ZoomZoom said:


> Could they leak if the rims of the jars weren't wiped clean before putting on the lid?


Absolutely! Anything that prevents a good seal can cause leaking.


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