# All American Canner question



## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

Hi all I am wanting to buy a pressure canner. I am torn between the 921 and the 930. The 930 is $100 more but you can fit 14 quarts as opposed to 7 in the 921.

So my question is do many of you can that much at one time? What All American model do you use? Thanks


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

jnrdesertrats said:


> So my question is do many of you can that much at one time? What All American model do you use? Thanks


The question is "Do YOU?"

If you need help in rationalizing the extra money, how about this - have you ever blown a $100 on something? Does it still grate on you that you blew the money or did you get over it? If you got over it, then you'll probably also get over spending the extra $100 here. Once the decision is made, the money spent, then it's a done deal.

If you don't want to spend the money, then think about what else you can buy with the saved $100 and your decision will seem more right and certain.

Which way you go will really depend on whether YOU will make use of the extra canning capacity. With a smaller canner you have to cycle through more rounds of canning and each time you fire up the canner can take a few hours of heating up, of canning time, and of cooling down. If you have a big harvest then you're effectively doubling your canning time for quart jars by choosing the smaller canner. If you have harvests which you can fit into the smaller canner, then you're simply buying extra capacity which you're not using.

Here's another rationalization justification 

If you need something and you don't have it, that sucks, but if you have extra of something that you don't need, it usually doesn't suck as bad.

The other issue to consider is how much you favor canning in quart size versus pint size because you're not buying anymore pint jar capacity with the 930, so if the majority of your canning is going to be in pint jars, say for single serving dinners, then why spend the extra dough?


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## memrymaker (Dec 12, 2012)

I have the 921. I like mine and use it often. I mostly can in quart sizes and when I bought it, I was purchasing extra at the grocery store and then canning.

*I definitely would have gone for the bigger model had I known that I would be gardening, loving it & planning to do more and more next year!! If you have the large quantity coming in - a larger capacity seems like a no-brainer. 

I just didn't know I would like the garden so much. Who knew (obviously NOT me  )? 

Ah well - I still have an awesome pressure canner and I am almost 100% sure that I'll see more of them in my home as the years go by.


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## HomegrownGal (Feb 11, 2013)

jnrdesertrats said:


> Hi all I am wanting to buy a pressure canner. I am torn between the 921 and the 930. The 930 is $100 more but you can fit 14 quarts as opposed to 7 in the 921.
> 
> So my question is do many of you can that much at one time? What All American model do you use? Thanks


Fourteen quarts at a time! Definitely worth extra racks so you can layer up the little jelly jars! I also have the seven quart model from the flea market for $20! Let the season begin! )


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I mostly use pints. My canner will cook up to 24 pints at a time. It takes probably four hours to process a load. It takes four hours to process half a load. I usually only cook two batches a day. Every time I cook multiple batches I wish I had a larger cooker. If you don't have a full canner fill the partial layer with empty jars to keep your full ones from falling over.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

We had the chance to try a couple ones because we knew folks who had them. 

My wife was intimidated by the physical size of the 930, she actually really wanted the 915! (she is a small lady) but I talked her into at least the 921 because she likes to do a lot of pint jars, too. It was an OK compromise, we are both happy.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

A while back I cut up an old water heater to make a big pressure canner out of. I need to find someone with a plasma cutter to make two large steel rings for me. Just too many other "more important" projects going on!


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Gonna depend on how much yall gonna can. How many folk yall cannin fer? 

Just be me an momma now, we do mostly pints on ever thin (cept hot dogs er sausage, those we do in quarts). The smaller one canner does everthin we need, but that be us. Ifin yer gonna do mostly pints an larger quantities at a time, the bigger canner be worth the money. Ifin yer gonna do mostly pints an not huge bulk runs, save that $100 fer other cannin stuff.

Yall gonna like the All American, I love mine. Top notch canner.


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

I have 2 presto 23 quart canners. I can have one on the heat and still be filling jars for the next one. I find for some things that is more efficient. 
I'm saving for an AA 930 at the moment for a number of reasons, mostly to increase my canning capacity without having to have too many more burners running. I need to be able to can a whole beef before it goes off (we don't have much cool weather here).With two prestos and one AA running I'll need help in the kitchen though, too much work for just me.


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## PamsPride (Dec 21, 2010)

I am in the same boat as Wellrounded. I have two of the 23 Quart Presto canners and I am saving for the AA 930 as well. My boys can lift the canners. I also have two stoves in my kitchen and a large family and a big garden! 
But when my kids are all grown and have families of their own and they live close and all of us do our canning together, wishful thinking I know, I would love to have All American 41 1/2 Quart Pressure Canner!


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## Wellrounded (Sep 25, 2011)

PamsPride said:


> I am in the same boat as Wellrounded. I have two of the 23 Quart Presto canners and I am saving for the AA 930 as well. My boys can lift the canners. I also have two stoves in my kitchen and a large family and a big garden!
> But when my kids are all grown and have families of their own and they live close and all of us do our canning together, wishful thinking I know, I would love to have All American 41 1/2 Quart Pressure Canner!


My oldest daughter is just starting to spend days with me canning, a life long dream come true  I was wrong on the model, I'm after the 941 too. Really hoping I can afford it before the next canning season... I have more than one stove too, love the look on peoples' faces when they see my kitchen.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

We bought the larger 930 and it is great being able to can 13 to 14 qt.s at a time. We liek quarts so we can have leftovers and freeze excess. Just 2 of us.

Its worth every penny and we are very happy with it. Thanks to Coot and others here who helped us make decision.


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## prepmama (Mar 4, 2012)

It's really hard to choose because you'd probably love both of them. I have the 930 and 915, and it's so nice to have both sizes. I would say get the smaller one first and see if it suits your needs. You could always save up for the big one later.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

prepmama said:


> I would say get the smaller one first and see if it suits your needs.


It's also easier to experiment and learn on smaller batches. It's better to goof on smaller amounts before moving to larger batches.


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## jnrdesertrats (Jul 3, 2010)

Thanks all for the inputs. I am a total noob so I don't know how big of batches I may make. One thing is for sure I make smaller batch in a big canner but not the other way around.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

jnrdesertrats said:


> One thing is for sure I make smaller batch in a big canner but not the other way around.


Yes, that is true!!

Does anyone microwave their water to get it hot first before putting it in the canner? It seems it would speed things up.


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## OldCootHillbilly (Jul 9, 2010)

Just put mine on the stove on low an let it start warmin while I be preppin the jars, not to hot so it don't crack the jars.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

LincTex said:


> Yes, that is true!!
> 
> Does anyone microwave their water to get it hot first before putting it in the canner? It seems it would speed things up.


Heating a lot of water in a microwave versus an electric stove top is 25% more wasteful of electricity. I'm not sure about speed of heating though. Keep in mind that you must also heat the pressure canner vessel, not just the water, so putting boiling water into a cold canner will complicate this calculation.


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## Woody (Nov 11, 2008)

jnrdesertrats said:


> One thing is for sure I make smaller batch in a big canner but not the other way around.


I went with the 930 and that is the way I looked at it. As with most of our supplies, it is better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it. The 930 will fit 3 rows of half pints (12 per row) so if you go that route buy an extra rack when you purchase it. I have yet to use mine as the garden is still growing so no idea how full it will be when I do use it.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

We are debating between the 921 and the 925. I can't figure out why the big price difference? The 925 is $70 more on Amazon, but the only difference I see is one inch taller and 3 1/2 qts. more water capacity. Either one holds 19 pints or 7 quarts, per the ads. 

Amazon's ads don't say whether they come with RACKS or not? Anyone know about this?


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

The 925 can hold the big 1/2 gallon or whatever you guys call them IIRC the 921 cannot.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

cowboyhermit,

Thanks! That could be important to us, since we may do some half gallons!


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

machinist said:


> We are debating between the 921 and the 925. I can't figure out why the big price difference? The 925 is $70 more on Amazon, but the only difference I see is one inch taller and 3 1/2 qts. more water capacity. Either one holds 19 pints or 7 quarts, per the ads.
> 
> Amazon's ads don't say whether they come with RACKS or not? Anyone know about this?


They both come with racks.

The height on the 921 is 10 1/2 inches. The height on the 925 is 12 5/8 inches.

If you use standard quart jars then you can't fit two levels in either canner, but if you have squat quart jars, then with the 925 you can fit in two tiers.

If you do a lot of canning in small jelly jars, which have a height which varies between 2 1/4" and 3 1/2" then you can fit more tiers than the two tiers for pints.

You're basically paying for the extra 2 1/8" of height.

Also, if you use your canner as a pressure cooker, you have an extra 3 1/2 quarts of stew or soup or whatever from one batch.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

machinist, wouldn't hurt to get a second opinion on that or double check with All American, I don't have either at my place now so I am only 99% sure.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

If you're willing to spend the money to buy the 925 if the reasons make sense, then why not buy the 930 for almost the same price and have the capacity to can 14 quarts at a time?


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Thanks to both of you. The cooking aspect could be important, too. We do a lot more pints than anything else, but some quarts. We are simply tired of gasket problems since all the gaskets for our Presto and Mirro canners we have found lately are made in China and only last a very short time before they leak badly. They will find a new home soon. 

Bobbb, 

My wife is concerned about the weight, and it also takes longer to heat up the bigger canner, based on our experience with the Mirro and Presto canners. That's why we were looking at these. Wife has some physical issues, so I end up doing some of the handling, and I'm not getting any younger, either. 

Prep time for jars is also an issue when doing so many, so 14 pints/7 quarts is plenty for us.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

I have the 930 and I never find it lacking and I've used it to full capacity too. It comes in handy doing 14 quarts, batch after batch. Boom, half the time involved just like that. I can get 3 tiers of pints in the 930 so I'm not really sure where the official limit of 19 pints, in two tiers, is coming from.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

Bobbb,

My wife says she agrees with you now, so what do I know? We'll be going with the 930!


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

*pressure canner*

Weather it be a large pressure canner or a small pressure canner, it takes an hour for it to cool down to open it. Buy the larges canner you can afford.


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

machinist said:


> Bobbb,
> 
> My wife says she agrees with you now, so what do I know? We'll be going with the 930!


Well, when the 930 is fully loaded, it is quite heavy, but it's only heavy for the 10 seconds it takes to move it onto the stove and the 10 seconds to take it off. You'll have to decide how significant that is for you.

As for heating time, the 930 weighs 30 lbs and the 921 is 24 lbs, so you have to heat that extra 6 pounds of metal, but if you're batch processing a lot of food, then it's more efficient to do it in bigger batches than smaller batches where you have to reheat the whole canner time and time again. Even smaller batches with the 930 saves time if you can do it in one session versus two in one session with a smaller canner and as Zimmy says, the ramp up and ramp down times are identical, so the efficiency argument gets more significant with a larger capacity canner.


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

There is 22 inches between my burner and the range hood. Could I use the 930 on my range?


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## Bobbb (Jan 7, 2012)

SouthCentralUS said:


> There is 22 inches between my burner and the range hood. Could I use the 930 on my range?


I just now measured my canner height - 19 inches to the top of the handle, which is the high point.

Is your range a glass-top? If it is I'd give 2nd thought to putting that much weight on it. They don't recommend it but a number of people have done fine with glass-top but I have seen a few reports of cracked surfaces from the weight.


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

Not a glass top. So if 19 inches is the high point I am guessing I could use it. Thanks.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

zimmy said:


> Weather it be a large pressure canner or a small pressure canner, it takes an hour for it to cool down to open it.


You don't set yours in a tub of room-temp water to help it cool down?


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

zimmy said:


> Weather it be a large pressure canner or a small pressure canner, it takes an hour for it to cool down to open it. Buy the larges canner you can afford.


My 23-quart canner only takes about 20 minutes to cool down, and that's with contents that have high thermal mass. I'm curious to know what you've got in there that's taking it an hour.


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## zimmy (Aug 17, 2012)

*Canning*

Okay, okay, perhaps I made a mistake in the cool down time.

No I don't put it in a container of water for cool down (but might be a good idea), in fact I leave it on the propane burner to cool down. I thought moving it while hot was a bad idea, I can try moving it to a container of water next time if it is safe.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

zimmy said:


> Okay, okay, perhaps I made a mistake in the cool down time.
> 
> No I don't put it in a container of water for cool down (but might be a good idea), in fact I leave it on the propane burner to cool down. I thought moving it while hot was a bad idea, I can try moving it to a container of water next time if it is safe.


I don't recommend that, either...if you cool it down too quick, jars tend to break. Just let it do its thing.


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## machinist (Jul 4, 2012)

We bought both a 921 and a 930. We just used the 921 for the first time to do double layers of pints of green beans, and are very happy with the result. No more hassles with leaking rubber seals!! 

We followed the directions and lubed the tapered sealing are with olive oil before each load, than made sure to remove the weight when the gauge dropped to zero. That prevents a vacuum from forming inside that can cause the lid to stick. No problem.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

AdmiralD7S said:


> I don't recommend that, either...if you cool it down too quick, jars tend to break.


The cooling water never comes into direct contact with the jars, so your are all good.

The faster you can cool down your canner itself, the quicker you can process your batch (some - don't expect miracles - you are only cooling the outer shell) as long as air is the medium. Even then, the water left over in the bottom of the canner will not change temperature fast enough to cause your jars to crack.

The temps you are dealing with (under 250 degrees), although very hot to the human skin, are not hot enough to cause any aluminum stress or cracking issues with room temp water. Aluminum is pretty forgiving until you start heading north of 350 degrees.


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

LincTex said:


> The cooling water never comes into direct contact with the jars, so your are all good.


Yeah, that's true. You're right, it's probably not a problem. Thanks for the correction!


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## spregan (Aug 6, 2011)

I'm new to canning and I bought the 930 off of Amazon and it shipped for free. I was actually about to use it tonight, until I dropped 5 lbs of tomatoes, I had just processed with my Victoria onto the floor. Rookie mistake, or just clumsy, you decide . For my limited experience the 930 seems pretty good. If your new to canning, you will quickly learn that big piece of aluminum on the stove, is like a huge radiator!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

spregan said:


> you will quickly learn that big piece of aluminum on the stove, is like a huge radiator!


We do it on a screened back porch! It's too hot to do inside.


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## spregan (Aug 6, 2011)

LincTex. I've also thought about using my propane burner outside. Do you do all the prepping inside in the kitchen or do you have a outside set up?


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

It depends.... but "most" (not all) prep is typically done in kitchen, which is just 10 feet from screened back porch. Now that I have added a "laundry" sink to the back porch (only cold water plumbed, though) the duties will be split more.


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## rhiana (Aug 5, 2013)

I have a smaller canner and it's still pretty big for me to lift with all of the water and filled jars inside. When I first got it I wanted a bigger one, but now I'm happy with the smaller one. I can do 14 pints or 7 quarts at a time.


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

rhiana said:


> I have a smaller canner and it's still pretty big for me to lift with all of the water and filled jars inside. When I first got it I wanted a bigger one, but now I'm happy with the smaller one. I can do 14 pints or 7 quarts at a time.


Take the jars out and then lift it.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

SouthCentralUS said:


> Take the jars out and then lift it.


About $5


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## rhiana (Aug 5, 2013)

LincTex, I do! But my stove is really old and the burners only work half the time, unforunately sometimes I have to move it when it's already closed and heating up, if the burner goes out. Some day, new stove!


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

rhiana said:


> the burners only work half the time, sometimes I have to move it when it's already closed and heating up


You need a covered back porch with a propane fish-fry burner!


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## SouthCentralUS (Nov 11, 2012)

LincTex is right. And to make one, find an old leaky gas water heater, take off the tank and make a fish fryer. Easy to do.


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## rhiana (Aug 5, 2013)

*Back Porch*



LincTex said:


> You need a covered back porch with a propane fish-fry burner!


How covered, I have a front porch with an overhang, no sun room or anything though...


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## AdmiralD7S (Dec 6, 2012)

rhiana said:


> How covered, I have a front porch with an overhang, no sun room or anything though...


Just enough to keep the rain off.


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## LincTex (Apr 1, 2011)

And for the shade! 
Find some rolls of screen from a greenhouse to wrap around it and most of your bug problems go away as well.


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