Using a pressure cooker on a propane burner

Has anyone tried this?

I have a 16 qt pressure cooker from Walmart (Walmart.com: Presto 16-Qt. Pressure Canner: Kitchen & Dining). Originally I'd planned to use it on the stove to power my MLT, but in the manual it says it's safe to use on a propane burner as long as it's less than 12,000 BTUs.

I think I'd be able to get/maintain energy better if it were on a burner instead of the stove, and it would also be closer to the rest of the equipment -- however, I cant find (nor do I want to buy) a burner who's max output is only 12k. Basically, I'm worried about the pressure cooker melting/exploding if it's exposed to the 50k plus BTUs that most burners output. I know I could probably just regulate the flame to a minimal setting but I still wouldn't know if I would be above the magic 12k.

Thoughts? BTW, long time reader-first time poster.. Awesome forum guys!

I use mine on an SQ-14. Just don't let the PSI get above 15-20. I've cranked up the burner to full with no issues. Mines a 22 quart.

What is the pressure cooker for???

I still wouldn't know if I would be above the magic 12k

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There is no majic 12k. This is a CYA from the mfg.

Put it on full blast until the pressure valve rocks and turn it down until it just maintains. It may take several adjustment but it is no different than boiling wort and preventing a boilover. Just watch it until it is stable for a few minutes. No worries I have been doing this for decades canning wort and fruits, vegetables and stews and so forth. I have an 160,000 BTU burner. And yes, I do have to turn it way down.

Now there are other precautions that you must take seriously having to do with canning. Some for safety and some for practical reasons.

Fill the jars to the proper level.
Be sure to have a plate with holes to rest the jars on - comes with the canner. (Never put jars directly on the bottom of the cooker)
Let the cooker cool naturally until all pressure is gone before opening.
Lift jars with a jar lifting tool.
Let the jars set until completely cool and test the seal by pushing on the middle of the jar lid. If it moves or clicks, replace lid and pressure cook again or do not use.

CrawGator said:

What is the pressure cooker for???

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Injecting steam to raise mash temp.

Injecting steam to raise mash temp.

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Oooooh, definitely the wrong tool for that job.

Use decoction. Not that hard and will increase efficiency.

Actually it works pretty darn good and is way easier than decoction. 150F to 170F in less than 5 minutes with a full 10 gallon cooler. No worries of scorching the grain compared to direct fire or RIMS and much faster than HERMS. I've never seen less than 81% efficiency, normally around 88-92%.

KopyKat said:

There is no majic 12k. This is a CYA from the mfg.

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..Figures

How much water should be inside to get a reasonable amount of steam that will last through the mashing process? I've been testing it 3/4ths full - but not for any length of time yet.

Old thread, but just want to know if other are using their higher than 12K BTU burners with a pressure canner.

I want to start slanting yeast and canning starter but ran into the problem that most pressure canners are too large for my flat top stove and some canner like the presto say dont use on a propane burner over 12K BTU.

I have a coleman camp stove with 10K burners I could use but I am more worried about the stability of a huge pot over hanging the burners than I am about using a higher output burner.

Anyone see any issues with using the presto 23qt canner outdoors with a SQ14?

I have canned a lot of wort with mine on my sp50 propane burner that is about 55,000btu.

As stated above, when it reaches temp dial it back so it just maintains the boil.

The heat of the water is maintained by the pressure, you are controlling the boil off rate, use commen sense and dont run it full tilt because there is a chance you could create more steam then can be released, thus increasing the pressure beyond what the vessel can hold. Mine has a over pressure relief valve to prevent catastrophic failure.

ba-brewer said:

[...]Anyone see any issues with using the presto 23qt canner outdoors with a SQ14?

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I have the same PC and used to run it on one of my BG14 burners in the winter to hold mash temps, with the discharge through a lid-mounted valve to hi-temp silicone tubing to a 1/4" drilled copper ring manifold.





Worked great, no issues at all. Once the PC had a full head of steam I'd dial the burner down to hold it right there 'til the mash was back up to snuff...

Cheers!

Thanks Tim, I plan on getting the unit with a gauge and an over pressure plug.

Thanks day_trippr, that is a nice setup, not a tradition use for a pressure cooker but if that works OK with a high BTU burner then regular usages should be OK.

You guys are missing the point. The magic of pressure canning is in getting the material being preserved to a temp well-above the regular boiling point of water. One way to increase the temp of the water in the canner without having it all boil-away is by increasing the pressure on it. Designers of pressure-canners make them of metal with a certain thickness to withstand the pressures of the expected conditions. Problematically, the thickness of the metal means it takes time for the heat applied at the bottom to transfer through the metal to the water inside. With too much heat applied too quickly, you could inadvertently cause the metal contacting the flame to begin softening while the contents are under pressure. You can imagine what can happen next. To better understand the heat-transfer vs time problem, consider how the center of a marshmallow can be cool while the outside is on fire. Or…try cooking frozen hamburger by heating the bottom of the patty with a LASER. Yes, metal conducts heat better than marshmallows or hamburger but…it still takes TIME. Disaster can happen in the short amount of time available when the gradient exceeds design specifications.

fkaluza said:

You guys are missing the point. The magic of pressure canning is in getting the material being preserved to a temp well-above the regular boiling point of water. One way to increase the temp of the water in the canner without having it all boil-away is by increasing the pressure on it. Designers of pressure-canners make them of metal with a certain thickness to withstand the pressures of the expected conditions. Problematically, the thickness of the metal means it takes time for the heat applied at the bottom to transfer through the metal to the water inside. With too much heat applied too quickly, you could inadvertently cause the metal contacting the flame to begin softening while the contents are under pressure. You can imagine what can happen next. To better understand the heat-transfer vs time problem, consider how the center of a marshmallow can be cool while the outside is on fire. Or…try cooking frozen hamburger by heating the bottom of the patty with a LASER. Yes, metal conducts heat better than marshmallows or hamburger but…it still takes TIME. Disaster can happen in the short amount of time available when the gradient exceeds design specifications.

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Absolutely. You should Never screw around when it comes to operating at temperatures or pressures above a manufacturer’s limits. The failure mode you describe is exactly why.

I have used those same pressure canners extensively in garden canning, but less so in brewing. No way I’m going to put a 12,000 BTU device onto a 150,000 BTU banjo burner. How do I know what the output is, even when turned down to the minimum output.

The potential for catastrophic failure with little or no warning is simply too great. And that failure mode isn’t just pressure. It is temperature and/or pressure. You have little to no ability to accurately measure either, so how do you know if/when you’re exceeding material limits. Those exceedences are also cumulative over the number of cycles (times) you use the canner.

You don’t even want to be in the same time zone if/when a 22 liter boiler at 2.5 BAR full of 270F superheated fluid comes unglued. And remember, the temperature of the steam is the difference of the heat (BTUs) being introduced into the vessel minus the heat energy required to boil the liquid at the internal barometric pressure of the canner. The steam temperature in any blast front will be in excess of the boiling liquid temperature. Instant third degree burns.

I use a side burner on a Weber grill with a known output of 12,000 BTU at full blast capacity when I’m canning either veggies or canning starter worts. No botulism and no explosions, even if it takes 10-15 minutes longer to reach temperature/pressure.

My $.02 cents.

As a follow up I have been using my coleman 2 burner camp stove with my presto 23qt pressure cooker. The windshield thing has to be laid down to accommodate the big pot, only hangs over a little and sits fairly stable. Takes a big flame to get up to boil and 15psi but by the end of the heating period the flame is almost off.