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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 4, 2020 18:22:47 GMT
Today's rainy day project was cleaning up the Mirro Matic 16 I found in my Grandma's belongings. She's been gone for quite a few years but I'm getting to a point where I can bring myself to go through her things and trying to get a little done each week. Is this a cooker or a canner? Seems too big for a cooker but there's no venting pipe or place to put weights. I don't recall her ever using it. But somebody has. I wish I had taken before and after pictures. The thing was filthy and had a weird, baked on, sticky film...not to mention layers of dust and mouse poo from years of storage in the barn. Think it is worth the time and $ to get new seals and gauge? I haven't read any shining reviews for Mirro.     |
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Post by feather on Mar 4, 2020 18:38:42 GMT
Hey TEN! I read on the Canning and Preserving with Love FB group, that a canner must be 16 quart, the smallest size to do 7 quart jars, so it is a canner. www.pressurecooker-outlet.com/Mirro-Pressure-Canner-16-Quart.htmYou might be able to buy the gauge, seal, and ?? at that site. It looks nice, usable. Is it worth it? I don't know.
EDIT: when I bought my canner used, I spent around $30 to replace the gauge and seal and all. Looking at that site's prices, it would be a similar cost to replace them all.
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Post by mogal on Mar 4, 2020 21:26:27 GMT
Miss Ten, if it were MY grandma's canner, I'd try for all the world to put it in usable condition. I was the daughter of the youngest daughter in a family that practiced primogeniture so I have very few treasures from my grandparents. However, if my memory is correct, some time back the Mirro company was sold maybe the early 2000s? The new owners kept the name but changed the canner itself so the new Mirro parts might not fit the old ones. Do check model numbers and such carefully. I noticed that the lid profile was much flatter on the new models shown on the website Feather offered than on Grandma's.
You have the over pressure safety plug but I'd replace it. There's another hole for the vent pipe and weight. You'd also need a gasket and rack and you'd be in bid-ness. Congrats.
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Post by feather on Mar 4, 2020 21:38:47 GMT
Today's word of the day, Primogeniture the state of being the firstborn child. the right of succession belonging to the firstborn child, especially the feudal rule by which the whole real estate of an intestate passed to the eldest son. mogal, I needed that.  |
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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 4, 2020 21:40:31 GMT
It's my habit when gasket gets replaced so does the plug, need it or not. Even if I don't keep it as a pressure canner, it'll make a fine wb canner. From what I'm reading there was never a gauge, just a jiggle weight. Hmmm, I've not ever pc'd without a gauge. If I can find compatible parts I'm not sure how courageous I am. LOL! I was their only granddaughter and I was honored to be with her and take care of her in her last years. She was more mother than grandmother to me and we had a very special friendship that she allowed no one else to have with her. So even though I have everything of hers it is still an irreplaceable treasure. |
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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 4, 2020 21:41:34 GMT
Today's word of the day, Primogeniture the state of being the firstborn child. the right of succession belonging to the firstborn child, especially the feudal rule by which the whole real estate of an intestate passed to the eldest son. mogal, I needed that. I was just about to Bing that word myself. Thanks for saving me the time! 😊 |
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Post by mogal on Mar 4, 2020 21:49:12 GMT
Today's word of the day, Primogeniture the state of being the firstborn child. the right of succession belonging to the firstborn child, especially the feudal rule by which the whole real estate of an intestate passed to the eldest son. mogal , I needed that. Hey, I'm more than a pretty face. I know a few big words. grin. Tenbusybees said: Even if I don't keep it as a pressure canner, it'll make a fine wb canner. From what I'm reading there was never a gauge, just a jiggle weight. Hmmm, I've not ever pc'd without a gauge. If I can find compatible parts I'm not sure how courageous I am. LOL I canned for years in Mirro canners without a gauge then I was fortunate enough to latch onto 2 All American canners at auctions, one for $10, the other for $13 but I had to replace the petcock with the vent pipe and weight and get racks for both. You know what to listen for with the weight on your current canner, right? That's the same sound and jiggle frequency for a weight only canner. I will admit, the "back up" of the gauge is a big help on my AAs. I respect that you might feel more comfortable only using it as a WB canner though. How lucky you were to have had that relationship with your grandma. I dearly loved mine--she almost raised me and she and Papa were my moral barometer. If I were about to get into mischief, I'd ask myself how I'd feel if they knew I'd done something. If it wouldn't make them proud of me, I didn't do it. My mother was a "bonus baby" born when Grandmother was 42. She was 63 when I was born. She passed when I was 25 but I think I made the most of the time I had with her and Papa. Anyway, enjoy your treasures! |
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Post by feather on Mar 4, 2020 21:52:43 GMT
Hey, I'm more than a pretty face. I know a few big words. Which is why we are glad to know you! |
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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 4, 2020 22:30:40 GMT
Looky what I found in another box! Copyright 1958  |
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Post by feather on Mar 4, 2020 22:38:04 GMT
Wow TEN! Awesome.
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Post by mogal on Mar 5, 2020 1:34:53 GMT
Miss Tenbusybees!!! Now if you can come up with a gasket, you're golden!
Your manual is for a pressure COOKER. I wonder if the vent pipe and weight will work for the canner. Any parts number on the weights? Are they identical?
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Post by tenbusybees on Mar 5, 2020 11:19:05 GMT
Miss Tenbusybees!!! Now if you can come up with a gasket, you're golden! Your manual is for a pressure COOKER. I wonder if the vent pipe and weight will work for the canner. Any parts number on the weights? Are they identical? That booklet was a neat little find. The pot is intended to be everything...cooker, steamer, canner, and baby bottle sanitizer. Some interesting recipes and rather labor intensive practices for sure. |
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Post by Tim Horton on Mar 6, 2020 0:04:09 GMT
It's my habit when gasket gets replaced so does the plug, need it or not. ---------- Yes... If you can get parts, replace all the safety parts.. If parts are available, it most likely can be returned to usable condition.. Being very careful the first use cycle after rebuild.. I have been thinking if I found a canner that could not be restored to pressure canning use, or was cheap enough to remodel into another appliance, I would like to build a distiller. Something to distill water mostly, and give it a try at extracting things like essential oils.. Lemon, lime, orange and what ever else could be done. One thought specifically is distilling fire weed blossoms. We have a lot of that, and it makes a most wonderful jelly.. Sweetie has a berry juice type distiller, but it isn't as efficient with fire weed and likely rose hips as other fruits. It is a simple enough process to convert a canner to a distiller. But it can never be converted back to a canner. |
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Post by dw on Mar 16, 2020 14:04:51 GMT
It looks a lot like mine and it has the jiggle top. I got mine in 1977...college graduation gift from my parents. I usually get the gasket from Ace Hardware.
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Post by wvterri on Mar 30, 2020 7:00:19 GMT
Definitely worth fixing! It looks brand new. I love my Mirro's. I've had the 3 big brands and still like my Mirro's the best. Gaskets are different, depending on age. Looks like yours is a 73 or 75 so the gasket is 3440. After 1/83 it's 9882.
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