Pressure Cooker Gasket & Weight Finder

When to replace a gasket

• Steam leaks around the edge of the lid
• The cooker takes a long time to come up to pressure, or won't
• The gasket is hard, cracked, flattened, stretched or out of shape
• The lid is hard to close, or slides closed too easily

Replace the overpressure plug (or air vent) at the same time. They're made of the same rubber and age the same way. All American canners don't use a gasket. They seal metal-to-metal, so check the clamps and wing nuts instead.

Which weight do I need?

15 psi weights are the standard for pressure cookers. 3-piece regulators (5/10/15 psi) let a canner use the pressure your recipe and altitude call for.

USDA home-canning guidance for weighted-gauge canners is 10 psi at 1,000 ft elevation or lower and 15 psi above 1,000 ft. Always follow a tested recipe.

A dial-gauge canner should have its gauge tested for accuracy every year. Replace a gauge that reads more than 2 psi off.