After reviewing many options, I decided on this model because it has the weighted pressure control rather than the pressure gauge, which seemed to have a higher incidence of issues and failures.

The 22 Qt. comes with complete canning instructions, but the recipes are for "pressure cooking" rather than being "canning recipes. There are a number of great books out there for good recipes, including the one I use for all my canning Ball Blue Book of Preserving

I am impressed by both the "small footprint" of the base of this cooker as well as the numerous safety systems in place to prevent problems, an issue which several elderly friends who used some of the older pressure cookers assured me was VERY important - some carrying scars to prove it.

In addition to the vent tube, the safety systems include safety locks, an overpressure plug, an over pressure window (which blows the gasket and allows steam to escape in case of the vent & plug being blocked. There is a spring safety device that prevents the pressure from building unless the lid is correctly placed on the cooker.

The 22 Qt comes with two cooking racks to allow jars to be stacked. Since there is some question concerning quantities, I obtained this information directly from the manufacturers guidelines for BOTH the 12 & 22 Quart, in case you are trying to decide:
Mirro 12qt. Pressure Cooker/Canner, Aluminum 12 qt holds 10 half-pints, 8 reg pints, 7 wide mouth pints, 5 quarts.
The product I ordered on this page - the Mirro 22 qt holds 30 half-pints, 16 reg pints, 14 wide mouth pints, and 5 quarts. (The description on Amazon is incorrect on this for the quarts)

You will notice that both the 22 quart holds double of everything except the quarts. This is because of the stacking capability in the 22 quart. Both are identical in width, the major difference is in height. If you are only interested in how many quarts it holds, the smaller canner will hold the same number as the larger one. If I had been certain of the quantities it held, I would likely have chosen the smaller one, but will take advantage of this one since I have it.

Hope this answers some questions for you canners looking for your first pressure canner and who are unsure about the sizes!

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I ordered one of these recently and have used it a couple of times. It works fine. I like the way that it seals in the pressure so nicely. It was very easy to install. I kept my old seal way to long (20 years). I didn't like the fact that item shipping costs were so high, relative to the item cost. I wish I could have purchased it locally but didn't have that choice so I bought it online.

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The size description online and what it really is does not match. Mirro knows there is a manufacturing malfunction and has nothing to replace it with. It will not hold the usual 7 canning quart jars, only 5 and then the lid will not close with the jars inside.

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This is an absolute necessity if you want to use a pressure cooker. I purchased the mirro S-9898 pressure regulator and have been ecstatic over being able to cook with the pressure cooker finally. It really simplifies things.

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I wish I had this stainless steel model when I preserved foods for my family. It is easy to use and clean up is a snap.

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I wish I had this stainless steel model when I preserved foods for my family. It is easy to use and clean up is a snap.

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I wish I had this stainless steel model when I preserved foods for my family. It is easy to use and clean up is a snap.

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I wish I had this stainless steel model when I preserved foods for my family. It is easy to use and clean up is a snap.

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I HATE HATE HATE this set. I've had them for 8 months and the teflon is peeling and the non-stick surface sucks! Everything that I seem to cook always sticks the pan even if I bathe it in PAM, oil, butter you name it. They suck and I will never purchase these again!

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I HATE HATE HATE this set. I've had them for 8 months and the teflon is peeling and the non-stick surface sucks! Everything that I seem to cook always sticks the pan even if I bathe it in PAM, oil, butter you name it. They suck and I will never purchase these again!

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