# Canning w/ Metal Cans



## NotAGrasshopper

A recent post by Freyadog reminded me of this...

I have several can seamers that I've scored on Craigslist, including an electric model that does everything from a #1 can up to a #2-1/2 and a hand-cranked #10 sealer.

While trying to figure out how to can wet food, I stumbled upon the web site for the University of Alaska's Cooperative Extension Service. These folks have a number of publications (most of them free) that describe how to set up and use can seamers along with instructions for canning various types of food like meat and fresh or smoked fish.

Just select the publications you want and they'll mail them to you. Some are available online as PDFs. You don't need to be an Alaska resident and they don't even ask. If you aren't an Alaska resident you might consider ordering your publications by mail and including a small ($5?) check to help support the service but you certainly don't have to.

IMO, all preppers should own a can sealer, scads of cans and a pressure canner. How else are you going to preserve that elk or stringer of fish? Jerky is going to get old quickly.


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## The_Blob

NotAGrasshopper said:


> Jerky is going to get old quickly.


BLASPHEMER!  :lolsmash:

seriously tho... thanx for the info


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## Freyadog

Wow Notagrasshopper excellent site. Loads of great information. Thank you so much.


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## jbjr829

*Used #10 Cans*

I have found that it is very easy to obtain #10 cans at local schools and restaurants, however, finding the lids for the cans is a little harder. You can find #10 can lids at the site below:

#10 Can Lids

If you do not own a the canning equipment, many times the LDS churches will open to the general public and they have fairly decent prices on cans, lids and grains.


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## NotAGrasshopper

jbjr829 said:


> I have found that it is very easy to obtain #10 cans at local schools and restaurants


I don't get it. You're getting used cans and reusing them? Reflaring them?

BTW, lids can be purchased from LDS Bishops' Storehouses for $0.17 each (IIRC). Cans about eighty cents.


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## jbjr829

NotAGrasshopper said:


> I don't get it. You're getting used cans and reusing them? Reflaring them?
> 
> BTW, lids can be purchased from LDS Bishops' Storehouses for $0.17 each (IIRC). Cans about eighty cents.


Yes, we are reflaring them. We have a machine that cuts the top off and reflares the cans.


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## Herbalpagan

could someone reccommend a site that will educate me on can machines, cans, packing in cans and where to get the materials, including the can sealer?


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## TheWoman

jbjr829 said:


> Yes, we are reflaring them. We have a machine that cuts the top off and reflares the cans.


Please, we need more information.......how, where to buy equipment, etc. Thanks


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## NotAGrasshopper

> could someone reccommend a site that will educate me on can machines, cans, packing in cans and where to get the materials, including the can sealer?


The link I posted that started this thread was precisely that, which was sort of the point.

Canning with cans isn't all that different from using jars except the cans are manually sealed after reaching 170 degrees and then the pressure canning proceeds as with jars.

The first thing I'd do is download/order the materials available on the Alaska link I posted.

As for can sealers and cans, Google is your friend. I don't have specific sites. The manufacturer of the most common manual can sealer (Ives-Way) doesn't appear to have a web site (!).

There are various sites for cans. Wells Can Co. is where mine came from. Buy the nesting salmon cans unless you want to pay for shipping air.


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## Olefaithfull

jbjr829 said:


> Yes, we are reflaring them. We have a machine that cuts the top off and reflares the cans.


Is this a homemade machine? Modified exhaust flaring machinery? Manual or hydraulic?

Please tell me more!


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## CapnJack

I may be a couple years late here (LOL) but thanks for the info, OP. Definately something to look through.


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## streetwise23

Hi my name is Robert I'm from los Angeles CA I read a lot about the #10 can sealer I have one I've had for about 3 years never knew what it was for till now its in excellent condition it runs and it does the job if anybody would like to buy it. 

Contact via PM


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## IlliniWarrior

streetwise23 said:


> Hi my name is Robert I'm from los Angeles CA I read a lot about the #10 can sealer I have one I've had for about 3 years never knew what it was for till now its in excellent condition it runs and it does the job if anybody would like to buy it.
> 
> you have any info on the manufacturer and model number .... posting pics of all various adjustable parts would be necessary also ....
> 
> lots of can sealer manufacturers over the decades and most are out of biz .....


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## OldCootHillbilly

streetwise23 said:


> Hi my name is Robert I'm from los Angeles CA I read a lot about the #10 can sealer I have one I've had for about 3 years never knew what it was for till now its in excellent condition it runs and it does the job.
> 
> First post an sellin stuff. Hhhhhmmmmmm


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## JustCliff

These are your best can sealers. You can still get parts for old ones ant they have different sizes and configurations.
http://www.allamerican-chefsdesign.com/Product-Detail.asp?iBrand=1&hProductType=13
http://www.canningpantry.com/all-american-can-sealers.html


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## IlliniWarrior

JustCliff said:


> These are your best can sealers. You can still get parts for old ones ant they have different sizes and configurations.
> http://www.allamerican-chefsdesign.com/Product-Detail.asp?iBrand=1&hProductType=13
> http://www.canningpantry.com/all-american-can-sealers.html


just so no one misunderstands ... American is one of very few home can sealer manufacturers still around - and they have parts for their old ones ....

very doubtful and a very slight chance of American parts fitting other old can sealers manufactured by out of biz companies ....


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## Caribou

When I was growing up many people used cans, rather than jars, to do their canning in. I remember using cans with my grandfather and my mother and I believe Mom still has Grandpa's can sealer. The local canneries decided that there was a liability problem with selling cans to home canners and quit selling the cans. When this happened it became impractical to put up cans due to the cost of shipping the assembled cans. Even finding the cans became problematic.

Everyone switched to jars. They were more expensive but you only had to buy the jars once. Even so I have had problems finding my preferred brand of lids and sometimes there were no lids available of any brand. At some point I stumbled across a box of Tattler lids. I used them, I liked them, so I picked up a case of each size. I still use the metal jar lids but usually only the ones that come with a new case of jars. 

The supply chain has failed me in the past. This is one area where I have been able to get around supply chain issues. If cans were still cheap and available then they would be fine. While I can put up sugar or beans in a #10 can I want a pint or smaller for my meat or fish. Cans have some advantages but so do jars.


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## Woody

According to one of the posts, you have to bring the cans to 170 F, THEN put the tops on? I'm not a clod, but that seems like a disaster waiting to happen at my place! Hot canning using gloves is more than enough of a challenge for me.

If you can more than one thing at a time, how would you know what is in them? Yeah, yeah, some of you can remember, but there are the rest of us. Process in the afternoon/evening, let cool overnight, open the next morning.... What was this layer again? I have a hard enough time when I can see the contents! Was this chili or stew? I can see beans in this one... must be chili? Did I put beans in the spaghetti sauce yesterday? I see big chunks of green peppers in these, sauce or chili or stew? Shake the jar a bit... It looks pretty thick, I'll call it sauce. Heck, it is going over rice or noodles anyway. Same thing if the labels on cans fail. Grab a can.. Is it green beans or fish? With my jars I can at least have a visual check... It is some kind of meat patty.

I'm with Caribou on size (size does matter!). My home canned stocks are in pint and half pint jars, mostly half pints. Being single, what good is opening a quart of anything? My FD, LTS food reserves are in #10's. Once opened, no refrigeration required and if I have to open them, I'm eating the whole can before opening another one. There will be no, we'll have stew tonight, then something different for breakfast, then tomorrow night something different. It will be what is for this meal? What can is open? I don't have children so there will be no 'Again? We've had that for two days now!' It will be 'Cool! I have something to eat!!!


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## IlliniWarrior

Woody said:


> According to one of the posts, you have to bring the cans to 170 F, THEN put the tops on? I'm not a clod, but that seems like a disaster waiting to happen at my place! Hot canning using gloves is more than enough of a challenge for me.
> 
> If you can more than one thing at a time, how would you know what is in them? Yeah, yeah, some of you can remember, but there are the rest of us. Process in the afternoon/evening, let cool overnight, open the next morning.... What was this layer again? I have a hard enough time when I can see the contents! Was this chili or stew? I can see beans in this one... must be chili? Did I put beans in the spaghetti sauce yesterday? I see big chunks of green peppers in these, sauce or chili or stew? Shake the jar a bit... It looks pretty thick, I'll call it sauce. Heck, it is going over rice or noodles anyway. Same thing if the labels on cans fail. Grab a can.. Is it green beans or fish? With my jars I can at least have a visual check... It is some kind of meat patty.
> 
> I'm with Caribou on size (size does matter!). My home canned stocks are in pint and half pint jars, mostly half pints. Being single, what good is opening a quart of anything? My FD, LTS food reserves are in #10's. Once opened, no refrigeration required and if I have to open them, I'm eating the whole can before opening another one. There will be no, we'll have stew tonight, then something different for breakfast, then tomorrow night something different. It will be what is for this meal? What can is open? I don't have children so there will be no 'Again? We've had that for two days now!' It will be 'Cool! I have something to eat!!!


DIY home wet canning in metal cans is a disaster waiting to happen - hot water bath or pressure canning in glass canning jars is the way to go ....

metal canning is great for dry canning and using 02 absorbers .... it's a step above using mylar bagging/02 absorbers .... a properly sealed can with the 02 removed is the very best conditions you can get for dry goods ....

you can also process non-food items like ammo, loading supplies, electronic parts, various spare parts, cache supplies, emergency packs ect ect .....

you can order empty #10 cans and matching lids for home can sealing operations thru the Mormans - Provident Living Centers .... 80 cents each for a can and 15 cents each on the lids ..... these are food grade cans - important & critical issue


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## hashbrown

I had never seen a can sealer but I think maybe I bought one or at least part of one today for 3 bucks at a junk store.


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## weedygarden

IlliniWarrior said:


> DIY home wet canning in metal cans is a disaster waiting to happen - hot water bath or pressure canning in glass canning jars is the way to go ....
> 
> metal canning is great for dry canning and using 02 absorbers .... it's a step above using mylar bagging/02 absorbers .... a properly sealed can with the 02 removed is the very best conditions you can get for dry goods ....
> 
> you can also process non-food items like ammo, loading supplies, electronic parts, various spare parts, cache supplies, emergency packs ect ect .....
> 
> you can order empty #10 cans and matching lids for home can sealing operations thru the Mormans - Provident Living Centers .... 80 cents each for a can and 15 cents each on the lids ..... these are food grade cans - important & critical issue


Yes, the Mormons or LDS have had cans and can sealers available for quite awhile. A year or two ago, they stopped having canning sealers available for use in most of their locations. There are a few centers that still have them, and most of them are in the Mormon areas of Utah, Arizona and Idaho.

The # 10 cans have always been used for dry canning.

They used to have a wet pack canning area where they used other sizes and glass jars for some things, but I was never able to get into that program. They had a well mapped out schedule. Certain weeks were for canning chicken, beans, soups, jams, and more. They used more typical cans for the wet pack items. The soup was canned, and maybe still is in Salt Lake, in a typical can size, etc.


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## Caribou

hashbrown said:


> I had never seen a can sealer but I think maybe I bought one or at least part of one today for 3 bucks at a junk store.


Nice, I can't tell if you have the hand crank for it. Now all you have to do is clean it up a bit and find the right size cans.


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## hashbrown

Caribou said:


> Nice, I can't tell if you have the hand crank for it. Now all you have to do is clean it up a bit and find the right size cans.


It doesnt have a crank, I wont have any trouble with that. Is there anything else I need? Any Idea of a brand? Can't find any markings at all.


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## Caribou

hashbrown said:


> It doesnt have a crank, I wont have any trouble with that. Is there anything else I need? Any Idea of a brand? Can't find any markings at all.


I haven't canned in metal cans since I was in my twenties. I don't even know what brand can sealer that I used let alone yours. Back in the day I just used Mom's so I never had a need to purchase one for myself. I keep wanting to ask Mom for hers but since neither one of us has used it in over forty years I guess it is just as well used as a place to store her dust as mine.

My guess is that you know how to free up any frozen parts and manufacturing a handle shouldn't be a problem. Being down in America you'll have better luck finding cans once you figure out which ones your machine fits.


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## crabapple

i like this thread for the information.

But for those of us who use glass jars or plastic jars.
We do not have any of the tin can hardware, why should we change.
Even if we bought a new sterilizer that could be used with jars.
we would need between $1500.00 - $3000.00 to get set up to store in metal cans instead of jars.
$1500.00 is a lot of jars & lids,rings.

http://www.jarstore.com/jar-category/food-canning/


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## Caribou

crabapple said:


> i like this thread for the information.
> 
> But for those of us who use glass jars or plastic jars.
> We do not have any of the tin can hardware, why should we change.
> Even if we bought a new sterilizer that could be used with jars.
> we would need between $1500.00 - $3000.00 to get set up to store in metal cans instead of jars.
> $1500.00 is a lot of jars & lids,rings.
> 
> http://www.jarstore.com/jar-category/food-canning/


You shouldn't change, unless you want to. I don't plan on raising chickens but I still read the chicken threads. While I don't have the equipment to seal metal cans I think my mom wound up with Grandpa's. All I would have to do is to mention my interest. After Mom is gone I'll probably let one of my younger brothers take control of the equipment though I may have to show them how to use it. While I've canned with cans and I've always found jars easier and less costly I would never want to give up the knowledge as to how to can with cans.

You never know when the opportunity will pop up for you to purchase something useful at a second hand store or garage sale for pennies on the dollar.


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## weedygarden

Caribou said:


> You shouldn't change, unless you want to. I don't plan on raising chickens but I still read the chicken threads. While I don't have the equipment to seal metal cans I think my mom wound up with Grandpa's. All I would have to do is to mention my interest. After Mom is gone I'll probably let one of my younger brothers take control of the equipment though I may have to show them how to use it. While I've canned with cans and I've always found jars easier and less costly I would never want to give up the knowledge as to how to can with cans.
> 
> You never know when the opportunity will pop up for you to purchase something useful at a second hand store or garage sale for pennies on the dollar.


http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/for/5820739257.html

If you had $15,000, this is for sale in Salt Lake City. It is probably worth it, if you have endless money and a desire for large scale canning.

This would be a great setup for someone who has a business selling dry canned food for preparedness. If I felt like doing that, I would round out the currently available options with things that are still basic, but would add variety, such as gluten free flour, blue corn, garbanzos, lentils, quinoa, and such.


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## NotAGrasshopper

crabapple said:


> i like this thread for the information.
> 
> But for those of us who use glass jars or plastic jars.
> We do not have any of the tin can hardware, why should we change.
> Even if we bought a new sterilizer that could be used with jars.
> we would need between $1500.00 - $3000.00 to get set up to store in metal cans instead of jars.
> $1500.00 is a lot of jars & lids,rings.
> 
> http://www.jarstore.com/jar-category/food-canning/


It costs less than $200 to obtain a can sealer and you use the same pressure canner that you use for jars. Your cans are unbreakable, light and cost less than jars (but granted, aren't reusable). I'm not sure why this wouldn't make sense for long-term storage.


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## crabapple

NotAGrasshopper said:


> It costs less than $200 to obtain a can sealer and you use the same pressure canner that you use for jars. Your cans are unbreakable, light and cost less than jars (but granted, aren't reusable). I'm not sure why this wouldn't make sense for long-term storage.


I agree cans are not reusable for food, but you could root plant cutting in sand & use 1 gallon / 7 pound cans & large to grow off cutting for 12-18 months.
Sale them or repot in larger cans/pots. Sale the flowering plant in bloom, fruit plants like blueberries,raspberries anytime, best with fruit hanging on the vine.
Rooting a plant is not hard to learn & like gardening it falls under prepper skills.
And people buy your old cans with the plant inside them, no waste, just money for your time & skill.


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## terri9630

Unless its dried goods or there are a lot of people to feed I don't see a need for my family to use #10 cans for "wet" or perishable foods. We cannot use that much at one sitting unless there is refrigeration for left overs. Jars work best for our situation.


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## crabapple

terri9630 said:


> Unless its dried goods or there are a lot of people to feed I don't see a need for my family to use #10 cans for "wet" or perishable foods. We cannot use that much at one sitting unless there is refrigeration for left overs. Jars work best for our situation.


If one had an abundance of dried fruit, shelled nuts or acorn flour.
But the other dry goods, like shot gun shells, fire kits,carving kits, first aide kits. This may work,but I would still have to keep an eye out for low cost second hand tools for tin can canning.
I have an almost endless supply of 5 gallon buckets, about 40 a month, free. 
So it looks like I will stay with jars & plastic can/buckets/drums.


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## Caribou

When we put up fish in cans we used the one pound tall cans. Some used the seven ounce cans for smoked salmon. The supply of cans dried up the the attorneys for the cannery said not to sell just the cans. 

I've never used #10 cans but I would consider them only for dry canning. I could only get two or three cans in my cooker and I'd have no idea as to the time for a safe product.

Cans have a short term cost benefit. This makes sense for things you want to put on the shelf for ten or thirty years. They also are less fragile. As they are a one time use I feel no loss when I give them as a gift as I have learned that I never get my jars back. #10 cans can be found and hold a goodly amount.

Jars break but they don't rust. They cost more initially but they if you reuse them it is a one time cost and they are less expensive over the long haul. I have a few half gallon jars but they are expensive. I also have a couple gallon mason jars but they are antiques and I haven't seen them for sale new.

If you use Tattler lids the issue of one time use and rust goes away there also. If you get a case each of the wide mouth and regular Tattler lids along with your jars you are set for life. The only time I've lost a Tattler gasket is when I overfilled a jar so have a few spare gaskets as well. My oldest Tattler lids I've had for over thirty years and I bought them out of a garage sale.

Both have their benefits and both have their drawbacks. Use what suits you and is available.


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## crabapple

Caribou said:


> As they are a one time use I feel no loss when I give them as a gift as I have learned that I never get my jars back.
> 
> Both have their benefits and both have their drawbacks. Use what suits you and is available.


You are nicer than I am.
I would tell everyone the "GIFT" is IN the JAR & I WANT MY JARS BACK OR NO MORE GIFTS!
I always return empty jars, clean with lids.
My mother taught us to respect home made gifts as a rare treasure, even if we were lucky enough to get them every day.
I still miss her candied watermelon rind preserves, she still here, but says I can make my own. She has never suffered fools & did not raise any fools either.


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