Guardian Service Pressure Canner -- Advice Needed

[rp2813]

For whatever reason, today Savers seemed to have decent items priced to sell.  I picked up a Guardian Service pressure canner (perhaps 10 quart size -- it has no model number) for $6.99.  I thought for sure when I checked the price it would have been closer to $20, and I would have left it there.

 

It's missing the pressure relief petcock for the vent cap, and without an instruction book I don't know if there's any trick to testing it.  I found a short hex-head bolt with the same thread as the petcock, so decided to at least check to see if the thing would hold pressure.  I have a single gas burner on the patio for this sort of activity.

 

I was under the impression that the vent cap/weight should jiggle, but chickened out when the pressure gauge was at around 12 pounds and there was just a bunch of steam hissing out of the holes on the side of the vent cap/weight and no jiggling.

 

Can anyone advise me on how this thing is supposed to behave, and whether there's a source for parts?  I'd like to find  the petcock for sure, and hope I can find an owner's manual on line.  I'd like to use it for putting up preserves from a neighbor's ultra-prolific fig tree (as they all tend to be) this summer.

 

Here's a picture I lifted from ebay, although the pressure gauge on mine has a black background.

 

 

 

 

 

[combo52]

Cast Aluminum Pressure Canner

Isn't that a Presto pressure canner? or at least a Presto made canner.

 

[tomturbomatic]

This cooker/canner uses Presto parts so an old hardware store that stocks old Presto parts would have the petcock. The dead weight on the stem does not rock or jiggle, it just holds steam in the cooker. The petcock is used to exhaust air from the cooker before pressure is allowed to build.

 

[rp2813]

John, just in the searching I've done today I've discovered that a lot of such canner/cookers from this period look a lot alike.  Even (ooooh!) the Waaaaards!

 

Except for the weight/cap/petcock assembly, which seems to be a GS exclusive and rather scarce.  If I could see the petcock I might be able to figure out a substitute.  It has a common machine thread, but I don't know if there's any machining on its tip.  If there is, I doubt I could duplicate it exactly.

 

I've never worked with a guage/dial type pressure indicator, and the weight has only a single setting (unlike the 5/10/15 discs for Mirro Matics), so I'm wondering if it is even supposed to rattle.

 

Here's what's on the bottom of mine:

 

 

[rp2813]

Thanks Tom.

 

You were answering while I was typing.

 

[rp2813]

Looks like possibly Presto, National and All American parts could work.

 

I'd rather retrofit the current vent/petcock assembly with a multi-weighted one.  The gauge, if it even reads properly, can be there just for contraptional appeal.  I'm used to hearing a weight rattling and confirming that all's well. 

 

[combo52]

Cast Aluminum Pressure Canner

I have a couple of old cast aluminum PCs that I have taken the old air vent valve off of and I just screwed in a stem from newer Presto PCs and then use the Presto three piece weight so I can use the PC at 5-10 or 15 Lbs pressure. I leave the pressure gauge in place to keep an eye on things, in every case I have the old pressure gauge to be surprising accurate.

 

[norgeway]

I have one also,

You just watch the guage and adjust the heat to hold the pressure, if you let it get over 15 pounds it will hiss and giggle, if its letting off steam at 12 pounds the gauge is wrong, they are still available, I have never used any other kind of canner, I have a Wards and a Presto, all 3 are made by Presto.I grew up setting on a stool watching the needle while Grandmother canned, that was my job as a kid..LOL.." Now honey, if it goes over 10 you call me!!"

 

[rp2813]

I have an 8-quart aluminum Presto pressure cooker that's about ten years old.  It's supposed to double as a canner, but I've never used it that way.   It has a single 15# weight.

 

I have 4- and 6-quart Mirro cookers with the 3-position disc weight for 5, 10, and 15# of pressure.  The instructions for canning seem to be the only instance calling for 5# of pressure.  What happens if you only have a 15# weight?

 

This is why I'm considering an All American vent tube and weight retrofit, since they have a similar 3- position disc weight to the Mirro.  I found a post in a blog that indicates the All American vent tube worked fine on a National lid, and also read that National parts can be used on Guardian.  What I don't know is whether a Mirro vent tube would have a compatible thread, or if all PC vent tube threads are standardized.   I have a spare Mirro vent, so will give that type a try first in case it will save me the $25 expense of ordering parts.

 

My vigilance threshold with PCs falls short of keeping an eye on a gauge.  The rattling of the weight is something I can keep track of while doing other things, and it also serves as a companion indicator in case the gauge isn't accurate anymore.

 

[rp2813]

The Results Are In!

My spare Mirro vent tube threaded into the Guardian lid nicely. 

 

I did a test run with the Mirro-Matic 5/10/15 disc weight set for 15#.  It worked perfectly, and the gauge needle held steady at precisely 15# as the weight rattled several times per minute.

 

The next step is to clean it up.  This will be the perfect device not only for canning, but also for the next time I do a kalua pork shoulder.

[this post was last edited: 4/10/2016-16:24]

 

[rp2813]

Now I have a couple of additional questions.

 

1)  What is the part number (or equivalent Presto/National cooker model number) for a replacement gasket?  It's very thin -- nothing like the thick grooved gaskets my other cookers use -- and it fits into a narrow slit in the lid.

 

2)  What is the best cleaning method for the interior?  Fill it to the top with a cream of tartar solution and let it simmer?  Can I make a paste of some kind and apply it like I would a metal cleaner/polish? 

 

[rp2813]

I think I'm zeroing in on the gasket/sealing ring.  It appears to be Presto #9907, which replaces Presto #1075.  The annoying thing is that on line retailers only provide dimensions for the box it comes in, not the ring itself.

 

I could drive about 20 miles to an ACE in Palo Alto that stocks this gasket, or take a chance and order it on line.

 

One site doesn't even provide the part number, but the zoom view of the picture provided is the closest match to what my gasket looks like (see link), since its not thick enough to have the groove usually found in the thicker gaskets. 

 

The gasket that's on the cooker now is 3/8" wide, 1/16" thick, and has an inside diameter of 11.5" when in place.  Am I on the right track with the 9907/1075 part number?

 

[this post was last edited: 4/11/2016-14:31]

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[rp2813]

Batting 0.000 but what the hell . . .

Feeling fairly certain that the 09907 gasket will fit my cooker, I decided to order one from a site that  offers no-hassle returns.  Presto includes a replacement safety vent with the gasket.

 

The Guardian has what I assume is an old style safety in the center of the lid.  It looks like a flat rubber disc with some type of barely visible retaining ring to keep it in place.   Is there a trick to removing it?

 

[askolover]

I know my stainless Prestos just push out and back in (have to remove it to run it through the dishwasher).  My Mirro-matic is actually metal and screwed in.  I looked at a Guardian on ebay but I can't tell anything about the safety.  It doesn't look anything like the Presto safety.  I wouldn't remove it if I weren't sure I could find a replacement for it.

 

[norgeway]

It is

The old style Presto, just a flat disc of rubber, the new one that will come with your new gasket will fit perfectly.

 

[rp2813]

Thanks for the info.  I'm going under the assumption that if the gasket fits, the safety that comes with it should also fit.

 

Still, I don't want to wreck the old one that's on the cooker now just in case the new one doesn't fit.  The old one still has a little flexibility to it and would probably function as intended, but could prove difficult to remove by pushing it through the top. 

 

[rp2813]

Here's a picture of the flat rubber disc type of safety on my cooker.

 

I'm wondering if the new type will work even with the raised edge all around the opening.

 

[tomturbomatic]

Yes, it will. Millions of older Presto cooker lids have had the safety plug replaced with the newer combination safety release and air vent. When cooking with the older plug, you had to wait to put the pressure gauge or regulator on the pipe until AFTER a steady stream of steam escaped to indicate that the air had been exhausted from the cooker. When canning, you still have to go through the exhaust period without the regulator in place to make sure the air is out of the jars. With the new style safety release and air vent, you can start cooking, but not canning, with the regulator in place. Air streams out from the new style plug until it is all gone and then the building steam pressure forces the little metal plunger up to seal the plug. It is also helpful in letting the user know when the pressure has dropped since the little metal pin is more visible in the up and down positions than the old button.

By the way; the new ring is probably going to look like it is too large in circumference to fit. The secret to installing it is to push it into the groove and PUSH IT BACKWARD AGAINST ITSELF. Do that every inch of the way and you will have a newly installed ring without a little loop of gasket popped up and left over outside of the groove. If the old ring is still working, I would save the new ring for when you need it. Canners saw such infrequent use that gaskets would last almost for the lifetime of the cooker since they were not exposed to the oils and grease from regular cooking which is what got the older, non-Neoprene gaskets. Nothing horrible will happen when the gasket is due to be replaced. You will just notice steam escaping from under the cover or water running down the side of the cooker. Then that happens, it is time to replace the gasket.

 

[rp2813]

Tom, thanks for the detailed information.  I'll for sure change out the safety.

 

When I got a replacement gasket for my old Mirro-Matic (396M, I think) it seemed like it was too big, but I did exactly what you described above and it fit perfectly.

 

The trouble with the existing gasket on the Guardian isn't that it doesn't seal, but that after a couple of test runs, it has become difficult to close the cover and nearly impossible to remove it.  I tried a thin application of vegetable oil and it didn't help.

 

The aforementioned Mirro-Matic had the same problem, and it's smooth as silk now and the lid moves effortlessly with the replacement gasket, so I'm hoping for the same results with the Guardian.