Presto 23 qt. - sufficient for wort canning?

[Gadjobrinus]

On another thread I describe my erlenmeyer almost shattering on a stovetop boil this am, so convinced me to go back to canning wort in a PC. One of the bigger regrets when I sold off all my brewing equipment is my selling my All-American 921, 21.5 qt. Now, I see, crazy expensive, even used.

The Presto 23 qt is onl.y $137 at Home Depot. Have to say, I have an older 8 qt Presto I got for a few $ at a local St. Vinny's, and not too big a fan - for one, the little wobbler up top is very picky, I find, and getting it to rock back and forth is a hit or miss for me. The All American (if older, one replacing the petcock with the modern stem valve and weight) is a rock star.

For those of you using the large Presto, how has it worked out for you?

 

[passedpawn]

I used a presto for years. It only pressurizes up to 10psi, so technically is a pressure cooker not a canner. I believe that safe canning requires 15psi (and the resulting temperatures).

I tossed the presto after it developed some ugly corrosion. I didn't trust it anymore.

I now have the 25 qt All American canner. It's a freaking tank, but I sure know it's never gonna fail on me. $$$, but buy once cry once? I use it on a glass cooktop, no problem. It has the look and feel of something you pass on for generations.

https://a.co/d/f7jzn8w

 

[day_trippr]

I have one of those All American beasts. Used it waaay back to steam-jack cooler mashes up to temperature. Made all kinds of cool noise in operation and worked quite well. Haven't used it in maybe 15 years now. My kids will likely have to figure out what to do with it some day

Cheers!

 

[Bassman2003]

On another thread I describe my erlenmeyer almost shattering on a stovetop boil this am, so convinced me to go back to canning wort in a PC. One of the bigger regrets when I sold off all my brewing equipment is my selling my All-American 921, 21.5 qt. Now, I see, crazy expensive, even used.

The Presto 23 qt is onl.y $137 at Home Depot. Have to say, I have an older 8 qt Presto I got for a few $ at a local St. Vinny's, and not too big a fan - for one, the little wobbler up top is very picky, I find, and getting it to rock back and forth is a hit or miss for me. The All American (if older, one replacing the petcock with the modern stem valve and weight) is a rock star.

For those of you using the large Presto, how has it worked out for you?

That is the canner I have. It can fit 7 of the normal sized mason jars. No problem for 15psi. I mash at double strength so each mason jar is a quart of 1.080 wort which gets mixed with bottled water for 1.040 starters. Seems like a good item to find used since they now cost $140 bucks!

 

[Gadjobrinus]

!5 quart all american for $150, shipped. Thinking of going with it, but after 21.5 quarts don't want to step out of the pan into the fire, so to speak. 7 mason quarts at a time seems OK, but wondering if you guys know whether that's inadequate.

 

[Bassman2003]

Not sure I follow. Inadequate to what in comparison? The main thing is how many mason jars you can make at a time, and both models say they can fit 7 qt jars. Anything larger is going to be pretty heavy when you lift it off of the stove.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Not sure I follow. Inadequate to what in comparison? The main thing is how many mason jars you can make at a time, and both models say they can fit 7 qt jars. Anything larger is going to be pretty heavy when you lift it off of the stove.

Yeah, leading question. I guess I was just wondering if anyone has the 15 quart and wish they'd gone bigger - say, for doing wort jars + culturing gear like tubes, agar slants, etc. I've done multiple session days in the past, one devoted to wort, the other to sterilizing lab equipment, 10 ml starter in tubes, etc,, so it's not really a deal breaker.

 

[Bassman2003]

I often do three rounds of 7 jars which is not that bad. This will last me pretty long. I would not want to fewer than 7 though.

 

[wootz001]

I have the presto 23qt. No problem getting to 15psig with the included weight (I live near sea level). I got the bigger size to hold more stuff beyond quart and pint mason jars. Bottles, erleneyer flasks, test tubes, tubing, etc…

 

[whoaru99]

Presto makes pressure cookers and pressure cooker/pressure canners. Our 23qt Presto is the cooker/canner and goes to 15psi no problem too.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Awesome, thanks guys. The Presto is model no. 01784, and confirmed just now it does 15 psi.

 

[Spivey24]

I used a presto for years. It only pressurizes up to 10psi, so technically is a pressure cooker not a canner. I believe that safe canning requires 15psi (and the resulting temperatures).

I tossed the presto after it developed some ugly corrosion. I didn't trust it anymore.

I now have the 25 qt All American canner. It's a freaking tank, but I sure know it's never gonna fail on me. $$$, but buy once cry once? I use it on a glass cooktop, no problem. It has the look and feel of something you pass on for generations.

https://a.co/d/f7jzn8w

That thing is a beast! Currently I am stuck with just putting near boiling wort at 1.080 into half gallon canning jars and refrigerating. Then i dilute with boiling water to re-pasteurize, then cool.
That would be nice not to have to refrigerate or dilute, pasteurize and cool. So with the canning, you just open, dump it into sanitized flask and add yeast?

 

[Bassman2003]

Yes.

 

[passedpawn]

Presto makes pressure cookers and pressure cooker/pressure canners. Our 23qt Presto is the cooker/canner and goes to 15psi no problem too.

I see. Sorry if I misled anyone, didn't realize they made both. Mine for sure was the cooker.

 

[Agent]

I've got a 1940s National No7 16ish qt pressure canner that I've been using for the better part of 15 years. It's a dial gauge so I can readily track where it's at, but I have to actually watch it.

Just this summer I picked up an 80s vintage Presto 23qt canner for $30. I haven't had the chance to double stack pint jars, but I did recently use it to "decoct" pressure cook mash grains with plenty of headspace.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

I see. Sorry if I misled anyone, didn't realize they made both. Mine for sure was the cooker.

Hey man, that"s nice of you to say but I certainly don't feel that way. Many thanks as always for the help buddy.

 

[Brooothru]

On another thread I describe my erlenmeyer almost shattering on a stovetop boil this am, so convinced me to go back to canning wort in a PC. One of the bigger regrets when I sold off all my brewing equipment is my selling my All-American 921, 21.5 qt. Now, I see, crazy expensive, even used.

The Presto 23 qt is onl.y $137 at Home Depot. Have to say, I have an older 8 qt Presto I got for a few $ at a local St. Vinny's, and not too big a fan - for one, the little wobbler up top is very picky, I find, and getting it to rock back and forth is a hit or miss for me. The All American (if older, one replacing the petcock with the modern stem valve and weight) is a rock star.

For those of you using the large Presto, how has it worked out for you?

That's the one I use. You can do 7 quart jars in each cycle, about an hour each. Just be careful about the BTU output of the burner you're using. The pot is aluminum and can soften if too much heat is applied. I think the maximum recommended is 1800 BTUs max, which is quite a bit less than the average banjo burner. I use a side burner on a Weber gas grill rated at 1500 BTU, which is adequate. I'm super-conscious about working with pressurized fluids, especially those that are 250F+ and 1 BAR or more pressure.

 

[DavidWood2115]

I think the maximum recommended is 1800 BTUs max, which is quite a bit less than the average banjo burner. I use a side burner on a Weber gas grill rated at 1500 BTU, which is adequate.

The Presto canners are rated for 12,000 BTUs, which is more than many home ranges put out but less than some "commercial style" ranges (e.g., Viking).

 

[Brooothru]

The Presto canners are rated for 12,000 BTUs, which is more than many home ranges put out but less than some "commercial style" ranges (e.g., Viking).

Yeah, I was off an order of magnitude on both ratings. I’ve got an old banjo burner rated at 100,000 BTUs and would ruin my aluminum pressure cooker. The side burner on my Weber is 12,000 BTUs, and that’s what I use when canning wort starters (and tomatoes).

 

[cfrazier77]

I use the prestige 23 for canning starters and it works well for me.

 

[Gadjobrinus]

Just a note, but I bought and used the Presto 23 today and it performed like a champ. Happy with it.