All American vs Presto Pressure Canner: The Seal, the Weight, the Verdict
| Pick | Product | Capacity | Seal | Gauge | Material | Maintenance | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best buy-once | All American 921 (1930) 21.5-Qt Pressure Canner | 21.5 qt | Metal-to-metal, no gasket | Dial (5/10/15 PSI) | Aluminum, USA-made | No recurring seal parts | Check price |
| Best for most first canners | Presto 01781 23-Quart Pressure Canner | 23 qt | Rubber gasket | Weighted (10 & 15 PSI) | Aluminum | Replace gasket periodically | Check price |
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Best buy-once
All American 921 (1930) 21.5-Qt Pressure Canner
The canner with no gasket: All American's metal-to-metal seal means there's no rubber ring to dry out, crack, or replace every few years. Heavier and bulkier than the Presto, with a dial gauge you set for altitude and pressure. Made in the USA, and the model canning forums recommend to people who can every season for a decade.
- Metal-to-metal seal — no gasket to replace, ever
- Dial gauge with 5/10/15 PSI settings for altitude adjustment
- Heavy, solid build; made in the USA
- Long production history with well-documented use
- Heavier and bulkier — lifting it full of jars is a two-handed job
- Meaningfully more expensive than the Presto 23
- Dial gauge asks you to watch the needle, not just a click
We don't show prices — Amazon always has the current one when you click.
Every serious pressure canner conversation narrows to two brands, and this is the comparison of them: the All American 921 and the Presto 23-quart. Both are established, both are made for real canning (not cooking), and both will put safe, shelf-stable food on your shelf for years. They just make different trades — and the trade that matters most is the one you can’t see: what’s sealing the lid.
Why these two specifically get compared
They’re the two most-recommended canners in their tiers. The All American 921 is the canner that gets recommended to people who can a lot and don’t want to maintain anything; the Presto 23 is the canner that gets recommended to everyone else, usually as the first one. If you’re choosing between them, you’re not choosing between good and bad — you’re choosing between two good canners with different personalities.
How pressure canners actually differ
Four real differences, in order of how much they matter:
The seal: gasket vs. metal-to-metal. The Presto seals with a rubber gasket that sits in the lid. It does its job well — until it doesn’t. Rubber dries out, hardens, and cracks with age and repeated heat, and a worn gasket is a leak at pressure, which means a batch that didn’t reach full pressure, which means a batch you throw out. The gasket is a real maintenance item: inspect it every season, replace it every few years, and keep spares. The All American 921 seals metal-to-metal: the lid locks against a machined surface with no rubber in the critical path. No gasket means no recurring part to fail. This is the entire “buy once” case in one sentence.
Weight and handling. The All American is a heftier, more solid object, and “heftier” understates it. Full of jars and water, it’s a two-handed lift and a deliberate set-down. The Presto is lighter — not featherweight, but noticeably easier for one person to move, especially if you can alone or have a small kitchen.
Gauge type: dial vs. weighted. The 921 uses a dial gauge with 5/10/15 PSI settings; you set the pressure and watch the needle hold it. The Presto 01781 uses a weighted gauge: the vent weight clicks down onto the pins and holds its pressure by its own mass. Weighted is the lower-friction workflow — most published canning times assume it, and there’s less for you to monitor. Dial is finer for altitude (see the FAQ), and some canners prefer the readout.
Altitude adjustment. Both canners handle altitude; the mechanism differs. Dial: turn the setting per the standard altitude pressure table. Weighted: swap between the 10 PSI and 15 PSI vent weights (10 PSI up to about 6,000 ft, 15 PSI above). If you live above roughly 1,000 ft, this adjustment is mandatory for safe low-acid canning, and both canners support it.
All American 921: the buy-once canner
The 921 (in All American’s current 1930 line) is a 21.5-quart canner with a dial gauge and the metal-to-metal seal that defines the brand’s reputation. You buy it once, you don’t replace a gasket, and it’s reasonable to expect it to be on your stovetop in ten years. Made in the USA, with a build that feels like it was made to be used hard — which is exactly how it’s used.
Check the All American 921 on Amazon
Who it’s for: the canner who runs a full harvest every season for years — tomatoes, beans, meat, soup — and wants the canner to be the one appliance in the kitchen with no maintenance calendar. The weight is the price of the no-gasket promise; if you can’t or don’t want to handle it full, it’s the wrong canner for you no matter how good the seal is.
What it’s bad at: light use. If you can a couple of times a year, the extra weight and the higher cost buy you a longevity you’ll barely use. And the dial gauge is one more thing to watch compared to a weighted click.
Presto 23-Quart: the default first canner
The Presto 01781 is a 23-quart canner with a weighted gauge — the configuration most canning books are written around. It’s the canner you buy when you want to start pressure canning this season without making a big commitment: cheaper to get into, lighter to handle, and the weighted-gauge workflow is the one that matches the published pressure times you’ll be following.
Check the Presto 01781 23-quart on Amazon
Who it’s for: moderate canners, first-time canners, smaller kitchens, and anyone for whom the upfront cost matters. The 23-quart chamber takes a real harvest in one session, and the gasket is a known, cheap, scheduled part — inspect it, replace it, keep canning.
What it’s bad at: the gasket. It’s not a defect; it’s the design. If the idea of a recurring part — even a small, cheap one — is a dealbreaker, that’s what the All American is for.
Head to head
| All American 921 | Presto 01781 | |
|---|---|---|
| Capacity | 21.5 qt | 23 qt |
| Seal | Metal-to-metal, no gasket | Rubber gasket |
| Gauge | Dial (5/10/15 PSI) | Weighted (10 & 15 PSI) |
| Weight | Heavy — two-handed when full | Lighter, one-person manageable |
| Maintenance | No recurring seal parts | Replace gasket every few years |
| Best for | Buy-once, heavy seasonal canning | First canner, moderate volume |
The verdict: which one for which canner
The decision is how much you can, not which brand you like:
Buy the All American 921 if you can heavily, every season, for years. You run full harvests — dozens of quarts of vegetables, meats, soups — and you want a canner with no recurring parts and a build that will outlast your stove. You’re comfortable with a heavy pot and a dial gauge. This is the buy-once-cry-once purchase.
Buy the Presto 23 if you can moderately, are starting out, or want the lighter canner. A few dozen jars a season, a smaller kitchen, a tighter budget, or a first setup where you haven’t confirmed canning is a long-term habit: the Presto is the right tool, and the gasket is a scheduled part, not a flaw.
Both are safe canners when used per their manuals. Pick by your volume and your patience for a heavy pot — the seal difference will take care of itself.
If you’re not sure you want to commit to either of these yet, start with our best pressure canner for beginners guide — it covers the smaller options and the day-one gear you’ll need alongside whichever canner you pick.
FAQ
Do I need a weighted or dial gauge? Neither is safer. Weighted simplifies the workflow — the vent holds its pressure by mass, which matches most published times — while dial gives you a readout and finer altitude steps. Follow whichever you buy’s manual, and when a recipe source and the manual disagree, the manual wins.
Can I use either at high altitude? Yes. The All American adjusts with its dial settings; the Presto adjusts by swapping the 10 PSI and 15 PSI weighted vents (15 PSI above roughly 6,000 ft). Above about 1,000 ft the adjustment is mandatory for safe low-acid canning, and both canners handle it.
More in the Pressure Canning hub.
Common questions
Do I need a weighted or dial gauge?
Neither is safer — both are tested for canning and both work when used per the manual. A weighted gauge clicks into a fixed pressure (you use the 10 PSI weight at lower altitudes and the 15 PSI weight above roughly 6,000 ft), which matches most published pressure times with less for you to watch. A dial gauge shows the pressure and lets you set 11–15 PSI for altitude in finer steps. If altitude is a factor in your kitchen, check the standard altitude pressure table before you buy, and follow the canner's own manual when the two ever disagree — the manual wins.
Can I use either one at high altitude?
Yes, both. The All American's dial gauge covers the altitude range with its pressure settings; the Presto covers it by swapping between the 10 and 15 PSI weighted vents. The adjustment is the same either way — higher altitude means higher pressure so the water in the canner still boils hot enough to destroy the bacteria that grow in low-acid food. If you live above about 1,000 ft, the adjustment is mandatory, not optional, and both canners can do it.
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