Charlie wrote:
> I'm new to home canning. Other than helping my grandmother dig
> potatoes and shell peas, but that's another story... I successfully
> canned some pear preserves in a boiling water bath recently. No
> problems there. Before making the preserves I read the first few
> chapters of "Putting Food By" and skimmed the rest.
>
> Now I want to start pressure canning. We're getting into soup
> weather. When I make soup, it's usually in a big pot, so we often
> have to eat the same soup every day for a week. (In the past I've
> frozen individual portions, but freezer space is limited.) I'd like
> to start canning pints to use as lunches.
>
> So I need a pressure canner. I don't want to spend a lot of money up
> front, but at the same time I don't mind paying a little more for
> quality. It looks like my choices are dial gauge or dead weight. I'm
> confused about the practical differences.
>
> My background is in science and engineering, so naturally I prefer
> knowing *exactly* what the pressure is. Not some vague approximation
> that involves counting blips. I know dials have to be calibrated
> periodically, but still, it seems better to have a slightly unreliable
> thing with numbers than an equally unreliable thing without numbers.
> An educated guess is better than a shot in the dark.
>
> Yet people still buy the dead weight type... There must be a good
> reason. Maybe it has something to do mechanically simple designs
> possibly being more reliable than complex designs. Or maybe it's
> because the little weights cost so much less. Saving money is a good
> thing.
>
> So what am I missing here? And do you have any suggestions for
> specific brands and features that might work in my situation? If it
> helps, we have an electric range with coil burners.
>
> Thanks!!
>
> - Charlie in Norman OK


Dial gauge:
Disadvantages: You have to get it calibrated periodically. You have to
watch it more closely.

Advantages: You have more flexability to adjust the pressure to
compensate for altitude. They are silent.

Dead weight:
Disadvantages: Noisy (big problem if you can at night and have a surly
or phobic spouse). If you are over 1000 ft elevation you have to adjust
the processing pressure all the way up to 15 pounds in one big jump
(leads to overprocessing)

Advantages: Never needs calibration. You don't have to watch it to
maintain the right pressure.

The two systems seem evenly matched to me. And the cost is about the same.

I think All American canners have both a weighted gauge and a dial
gauge, so you can use it either way, but they are big and heavy and
expensive.

Best regards,
Bob