Pressure Gauge Testing

Pressure canners with a dial gauge need to be tested annually to ensure dial gauges are accurate.  If your dial gauge is not accurate, it is not correctly reading pressure which may result in under or over processing and unsafe food.

UCCE Master Food Preservers of Mariposa County have devices to test Presto Brand pressure canner gauges and offer free pressure gauge testing at our office (209-966-2417 or smace@ucanr.edu). Call the office to set up a drop off of your canner and you will receive a phone call when it has been tested and is ready for pickup. Usually testing can be done within a week.

Please note the only canner that needs to have its dial gauge tested is a Presto. (The others are all weighted gauge canners and only need the dial gauge to tell when the pressure drops to 0.)  You can easily convert your dial-gauge Presto pressure canner to a weighted gauge by swapping out the deadweight for a 3-piece weighted regulator.

Here’s the link to the product on Presto; many online suppliers carry it: https://www.gopresto.com/product/pressure-canner-pressure-regulator-50332. This way you don’t need to worry about checking the dial gauge, you can use the canner as a weighted gauge canner.