A Quick And Safe FIX For Your Leaking Pressure Canner. STOP Losing Steam!

00:00 Intro - Not Making A Seal
00:49 Knowing What Your Pressure Is
01:11 The Rubber Gasket
02:17 Recognizing When You're Losing Steam
03:00 Safety
03:21 Things To Try First
03:57 Clamping The Lid
06:24 How to Replace The Gasket
Knowing what pressure your canner is at is extremely important. That’s why I always use a dial gauge. It always shows you the exact pressure you’re at.
On my PRESTO canner, to keep the steam from escaping, there’s a rubber gasket that makes a seal between the lid and the base. After a few years, though, I notice steam can start to leak out from around it. It seems to lose its resiliency.
Also, there are small and even microscopic gaps on the metal surfaces. If they’re not completely sealed, steam can leak out. And all these losses can add up. You won’t be able to keep enough steam to maintain the pressure you need. And that's very serious because you can’t trust the food if it’s not processed properly. You could get very sick if you try eating it.
But here’s how to recognize when you are losing steam. It's actually invisible but when it escapes it condenses in the air and you see a cloudy jet of water vapour. The main vent is on top of the canner and has a weight on it. Its purpose is to release excess steam to regulate the pressure. When you see any vapour escaping from there, that’s completely normal, along with a hissing noise and a bit of water dripping. But if you get that same vapour from underneath the lid, that means you have a bad gasket.
You always have to be careful around steam. Always respect it. If you don’t, you could get a painful burn. So to stay safe, I recommend using a good pair of heat resistant kitchen gloves. They can give you some protection in case you happen to put your hand in direct contact with it.
So To fix this loss of steam, first try cleaning the gasket thoroughly. It may simply just have some debris stuck to it. Also take a look all along the lid and the top edge of the pot. All these surfaces have to be completely clean.
If you’ve done all this and you still have a little steam escaping, then it’s definitely time to change out the gasket. But if you can’t immediately get a replacement, here’s a quick trick I’ve always used to stop the leak…I clamp down the lid!
I ONLY recommend doing this temporarily…just to get you through the jars that you’ve prepared. Do not do this on a continual basis.
On my Presto canner, when the lid is rotated into its closed position, the handles on both the lid and the pot are lined up. By clamping the handles closer together, it pushes the lid down a little bit just enough to squeeze the gasket tighter. If the steam isn’t leaking too badly, then this quick kitchen hack usually works quite well.
Just make sure the clamps have a complete and firm contact with the handles. You don’t want them to be slipping off.
I prefer to use the clamps where you turn the handle to tighten it. They can be adjusted and give you extremely fine control over the amount of pressure you apply. You could also use the type that closes when you squeeze the grip.
All you want to do is just apply a small amount of pressure. And Adjust each side a little at a time.
You'll know that you’ve sealed it when the hissing from under the lid finally stops. And with this method, there’s no risk that you’ll compromise any of the safety features the canner has.
The steam’s not going build up to any dangerous levels and the lid will always stay interlocked with the base.
Once you’re done processing the jars, don’t remove the clamps immediately. Turn off the heat as you normally would and give the canner time to dissipate the pressure. Once the gauge drops to zero, then you can safely take off the clamps.
This technique may not work with all pressure canners, but it does for my Presto type. If you find that even after you clean it and clamp it, it’s STILL leaking too much steam, then there’s really nothing more you can do…. the gasket is just too far gone and needs immediate replacement and I show how you do that in the video.
You’ll see a big difference when you compare the new seal with the old one.
Happy canning and thanks for watching!

[@DLJoLo]

Your voice is so reassuring you’ve actually made me believe in myself.

[@underduress5761]

Cool video and good information. I would just add one thing... gently clean the gasket before and after each use and put a very thin coat of oil on the rubber. It softens it to be more pliable and seals much better. I forgot to do that once and had stream escaping from a few places. I let the canner depressurize and cleaned and oiled the gasket, restarted it and viola! Sealed tight as can be. I do have a slight leak in the pressure gauge gasket though. The threads stripped from turning the gauge over the years. But it doesn't lose much at all, just little bubbles and it holds the demand pressure on simmer, so that's good

[@shadowwarriors3509]

I tell you another easy method.. if the pressure is not building up or there is some leak, release the pressure take out the rubber gasket, and put it into your freezer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, put it back right away, build the pressure, and see how it works.

[@kurtlanford1448]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge sir !

[@Angels_Are_Vengeful]

Gauges will all become inaccurate. The weight is always THE WEIGHT and trumps the gauge always unless your gauge is regularly calibrated.

[@freddyguerrero1226]

Excellent tips , I’m having a similar case , I will try it on Friday the clamps 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👌👌👌

[@elysianmcintyre588]

Thanks for explaining this situation so well!

[@GardenWellEatWell]

Thanks Elysian! Glad you found my channel Paul

[@jeremyreid9582]

Great video !! Congratulations on a brilliant informative and money saving guide. 🏆

[@caba32503]

Thank you

[@mikedunn7795]

I don't do any canning,but my pressure cooker seal can be a little hard to twist shut at times. I have found that a little edible oil on the seal helps a lot,something like peanut oil.

[@mishajones2635]

Thank you so much for sharing this.

[@GardenWellEatWell]

You're welcome Misha. Glad you enjoyed it! Paul

[@jillmartin7689]

Hiii! Wonderful video thanks! I have the exact problem on 0:50 the valve that is twisting around. It’s a new a new pot though… it’s also leaking at one handle. If I fix the problem of leaking by the rubber band, would the valve stop twisting around you think? It started to twist when the pressure was almost completely build up.

[@OurWeeTennesseeHomestead]

I'll have to try the clamps!

[@ralphbouzeid]

if i dont have a pressure meter, would u recommend making a whole and inserting one ? and of yes what do u recommend buying something of a good quality?

[@GardenWellEatWell]

Hi Ralph, no, do not install your own pressure meter. It's too dangerous if it pops off when the pressure is high. I would just stay with the jiggler or buy a new canner. Paul

[@christychester1713]

I have a Sears Maid of Honor with a weight like the one in your video that is not spinning. Should my weight jiggle and move? … or should it sit still and just make a hissing sound? At 10 lbs. of pressure, according to my gauge which I am not sure is accurate, there is a hissing sound from the weight but no rocking. Can I trust the “hiss” to be 10 lbs. of pressure?

[@diylife2865]

Same issue. Did you ever get an answer?

[@praypetsrraptured2506]

I'm losing my mind over this very problem. I have tried everything, my basically new gasket has only been used 8-9 times but the last 4 times I've lost too much water. I've cleaned every inch thoroughly, checked for chips, and unevenness, and oil around the edges. The only thing I haven't tried...2 clamps on the handles. I gotta wait til payday to give this a try. Thank you so much for this video.

[@GardenWellEatWell]

Are you certain that you're losing steam from between the lid and the base? A new gasket should last longer than 5 uses before it starts leaking. Is it a dial gauge or a jiggler? If it's a jiggler, then it will definitely lose more steam than the dial gauge. Every time it wobbles, you lose a little water from the pot so you should start with more water than you would with a dial gauge....maybe 3-4 inches after the jars are in. Plus I found some people will just put the stove on high and the jiggler is bouncing like crazy and losing a ton of water. You can start the process on high to get it boiling, and then once the jiggling starts, you can turn down the heat so it still jiggles but not so vigorously. Just offering a few things....but thanks for watching! Paul

[@praypetsrraptured2506]

@@GardenWellEatWell Yes it's a jiggler. I haven't changed anything temperature wise on my cooktop, all I can see for certain is that water is seeping down from what appears to be the lid about 1 inch from the left handle. It's dripping down onto the propane burner and causing the blue flame to rise and turn orange. Just about the time I see a little steam starting from the chimney then water hits the flame and no more visible steam 😳

[@GardenWellEatWell]

That sounds like quite a drip. Hopefully, squeezing the lid down a bit with the clamps will get rid of it! Paul

[@claremaracle4664]

I have steam and water coming from the pressure gauge, could it from it being to tight and the little rubber ring not sealing right, like how tight sounds the gauge be?

[@GardenWellEatWell]

Hi Clare, I'm not sure what model you have, but if the gauge is just screwed through the centre of the lid, I would try tightening it a little more. Try turning it a half to full rotation and see if that helps. If not, then it could be that the small rubber gaskets have gone and you'll need to replace them. Thanks Paul

[@user-Wojciech]

I've got a new, branded pressure cooker and it's hard to get a proper seal on it.

[@user-Wojciech]

Could have been because I was storing it with the lid and seal closed.

[@THEMANWITHTHEYELLOWHAT.]

This was vary helpful. I wanted to do water bath canning because it didn't want to buy a pressure caner but after watching this it im considering getting a pressure caner

[@J_Chap]

I have used my Presto pressure canner for three years and today noticed water dripping from the lid. I watched your video. The one thing you didn't talk about, or if you did and I missed it, was isn't it safe to eat the food if the canner maintained pressure? I am canning breakfast sausage and the pressure is holding steady. Doesn't that mean it is safe? I won't use it again before I purchase a new gasket, but, as long as the canner is holding pressure I am going to consider it safe, unless you tell me it isn't safe to eat and why, then I will throw it out.

[@GardenWellEatWell]

Hi Joyce, even if it is leaking some steam and the lid is dripping, your food will be safe as long as you can maintain the required pressure. If the gasket is too far gone and you can't get up to pressure then that's the point when you have to stop. Thanks Paul

[@DDiamondRRuby]

I had a new gasket in my Presto and it leaks. I rubbed oil on it and presto, no more steam leaks.

[@beingsneaky]

You forgot to mention to oil the gasket.

[@johnnydon6738]

Get a vice gripper