Hi. I recently got this canner from a friend. When I heater it up I can't get the wiggle to wiggle. I holds the pressure until it get over 15 lbs then releases the pressure. No matter what I do adjusting flame I can't get the wiggle to work. Never had this problem with my presto. I'm at 2200 feet so using 15 weight. Any thought would be great.

Never had an issue with my All American canner so i can't speak from experience. Did you check to make sure that the hole in the stem that the weight sits on is open? Other than that are you sure it is correct weight for the canner and not from a different brand?

Do you have a dial gauge on your canner also?
A 15 pound weight will release pressure over 15 pounds.
As long as you maintain 15 pounds on the dial , you should be fine.

Is the weight made with 3 holes in it for different poundage , or has removable washer like parts to give different weights?

Weight with 3 holes. Vents steam fine but when I put the weight on builds up and blows it out before it gets a chance to wobe

You may have some debris, especially sticky debris in the vent hole. I would try cleaning it out.

A few years ago, I bought two of those American canners for $35.00, which was a heck of a good deal.

Keith

A couple of questions.......

Are you following instructions to build up to a steady stream of steam for the full 10 minutes BEFORE you put the weight on?



Sounds like you are saying it goes from no pressure to blowing the weight off? Is this correct?

I do the ten minutes from the beginning of steady steam to applying the weight. Never had an issue with getting it to jiggle. Always have to reduce the heat to keep a slow steady jiggle. Jiggle about every 30 seconds. During the 10 minute purge, my dial gage will actually start to show some pressure build up before the weight is added.

It sounds like you are not purging all of the air out before you apply the weight.

If you have not already, download the manual for the canner you have and read it, start to finish.

I see the All American is now saying to run the exhaust cycle for 7 minutes now instead of 10 minutes.

I have done everything mentioned. Could it be a defective weight?

You said you vented the canner before you put on the weight right?
Maybe you put the weight on too soon, and an air pocked makes it look like you have no pressure.
If you need any parts or a manual for your canner this site has everything you need.
I've used it for over 30 years, as I rebuilt over 20 Old National, a couple AA canners, and Presto canners.
By the way those three use the same parts, other canners like Mirror are different.
I stick with those three for all my canning.

https://www.cookingandcanning.net/national.html