How do you decide what size canner to buy?

[pcrowder]

Yesterday I was looking at the 41.5 qt vs. the 30 qt American Harvest canners as a buy it now on EBay. I asked the seller why the huge difference in the # of pint jars they will hold between the two...He recommended that you only purchase the 41.5 qt if you are canning commercially, & that the 30 qt will work for the avg. home canner....I have 2 22qt mirro now along with a 12 & 16 qt, & am unhappy with the fact the mirro will only do 7 qts per canner load... I like the large qt jar capacity of the 41.5, but don't want to get something so huge that it takes hours to get up to pressure, especially with the ever-increasing cost of propane. Does anyone have any ideas? Has anyone found the "perfect" canner size? (We have 3 big burly men living here, along with me, & I'm no skinny mini, so we go through alot qt jars!). There IS a big difference in price between the two canners, but we live in a VERY rural area, and with the economy/terrorism/etc., going the way it is, if there are ever shortages/disruptions of store-bought goods, we will feel it long before others do. Hence, I want to start canning EVERYTHING that can be canned, and save the freezers for stuff that can't...But it has NOT proven efficient for me to can 14 qts at a time (2 canners running is all my stove will hold), and wait for the pressure to come up, then can for needed time, then go down...it seems like I NEVER get enough canned in any given day. I do some things in pints, but mostly quarts.
Any advice will be VERY appreciated! :-)
- Pat

[Deberosa]

Personally I like the smaller size because I don't always have a huge batch to can. But then too the larger size would be good if you need larger batches.

I got this cool set of pressure cookers at the fair that are also canners and come in two sizes but both are smaller than what you are talking about. They are perfect for me as I do whatever is getting ripe around here. They also can be used as water bath canners so I get double duty. I can do up to 5 quarts in the larger one and 5 pints in the smaller one. I also have a big canner that does something like 11 quarts but don't end up using it because I don't get 11 quarts of produce at any one time from the garden...

[pcrowder]

Deb - I live in corn/wheat country, where there aren't really farmer's markets, so I plan on trying to grow everything that I will be canning this year...We also have alot of chickens, and raise our own pigs, and buy a finished steer from a friend every year...That is why I need something big, because if I'm gonna butcher chickens, I want to be able to do a whole bunch at once, and not have them sitting around warm waiting till the canner is ready. I also plan on keeping the smaller canners to can smaller amounts/leftovers in, but would really like to be able to can up HUGE batches of chili, spagh sauce, soup, stew, etc all at one time.

[Deberosa]

Yeah, I can what I grow here and find that things don't get ripe in huge batches which is why I went smaller. I freeze my chickens at this point but maybe I'll need a bigger canner if I go to canning them too. My T-Bone won't be ready until next fall but then I will be talking about larger batches!

[anna]

I have two 7 quart canners and I'm very happy with them. Once I have 7 quarts filled I start one canner. Fill 7 more quarts and start the second. Then I fill more jars while the canners are working. It seems to work out well for me. I actually do most of my canning in pints and my canners do 9 pints in one and 18 in the other. But even when I'm doing quarts two 7 quart canners work fine. I did 60+ quarts of tomato juice this summer with two canners without a hitch. Another thing I love about these canners -- I bought them at auctions $5 for one $10 for the other.

[pcrowder]

I have tried staggering the canners as you do, but just can't seem to get enough canned at once. I also have to can up a whole deer (sometimes 2 or 3), and part of a beef and about 35 roosters, and want to try to get it done in a few canner loads as possible... but with the quantity of jars I need to can year round (500+ quarts), I was thinking that, as far as canners went, bigger was better. Also, with the cost of propane seriously going up, I was thinking that a larger canner would be more efficient. I'm still leaning towards the 30.0 qt one....will have to ponder on it awhile longer!

[anna]

Just be sure your stove can handle the size you choose. Check the height from stove to hood to make sure there is enough clearance. I cannot lift my 7 qt. canners when full so I have to have clearance above the canner to fill and empty it without moving it from the burner. It would be good if you could find a friend or neighbor who has the larger size so you could try it on your stove before purchasing yours.

[pcrowder]

Anna - I did factor in the measurements of the canner from their specs, but it hadn't occured to me that yes, I'd have to load & unload the jars while they're on the burner (I, too, can't lift the canners when they are full). I have a stove with 4 gas burners, but they have a "grate" system over them, instead of individual burners with burner covers, so I just "slide" the canners on and off the heat onto another part of the "grate", and when they are cooled enough they won't melt everything, then I slide them onto the countertop next to the stove. I think I will stick to the 30 qt one after all - the bigger one might just be too heavy to slide when it's full.
Thanks so much for the good advice!

[theresehirko]

It's just the two of us plus our dog in the house on a regular basis so I bought a 16qt. canner to use regularly. I can fit about 8 pint jars or 7 qt. jars in it. I try and can one recipe batch a weekend so by the time hurricane season comes around, Bob and I will have food for about a year in the house ready to go. We are also getting water supplies ready.

[sbemt456]

For what it is worth the hubby just bought me a new 30 qt american canner this year, I didnt get the bigger one due to the fact that I use an electric range to can in the past and the big one was too big in "diameter" to fit the burner well, but the 30 qt is perfect. I hope to use gas in my soon to be built out side kitchen this year. I think the 40 qt would be a little wobbly on the burners, electric or gas. Also I have a very old 30 qt that I use when I have a lot of stuff to can at once. The 30 qt is manageable when it is full, I have done that myself. Also another good thing about the American canner is that it has no gasket to replace, so you can use it for generations without have to worry about being able to find gaskets as they are quiet difficult to locate especially in smaller towns. So I advise the 30 qt.
Good luck!
stella