Presto 01755 16-Quart Aluminum Pressure Canner and Cooker: problems, parts and running costs

Checked: 2026-10-21

Summary

The Presto 01755 is a 16-quart stovetop pressure canner that takes 7 quart, 10 pint or 13 half-pint jars per pressure batch, and what goes wrong with it is almost always a wear part: the rubber sealing ring hardens and leaks, the small vent-lock gasket lets steam out, and the dial gauge drifts, so a canner that will not come to pressure usually needs a ring, a plug or a lock rather than a new pot [1] [2] [22]. Keeping it running costs about $8.33 a year for the sealing ring and overpressure plug on the manufacturer’s three-year replacement schedule, plus single-use canning lids and an annual dial-gauge accuracy test whose fee depends on your county extension office [2] [4] [20].

Common problems and fixes

The canner will not come to pressure — owners and the manual point at the same three suspects: a bad sealing ring, a cover lock that does not lift fully so it keeps venting, and a failed rubber safety valve. Check the ring first, then the vent pipe and the plug, and never force a hot pressurized lid. The ring, the plug and the vent-lock gasket are wear items that the 12-year warranty does not cover. [1] [2] [22]
The sealing ring hardens, cracks and leaks — Presto says to change the sealing ring and the overpressure plug together at least every three years, and sooner if the rubber goes hard, cracked, pitted or deformed; owners and specialist guides quote every year or two in regular use, and one buyer who got the canner in 2010 saw the first ring leaks in 2024. A worn ring is the most common reason a Presto never builds pressure. [1] [2] [4] [21]
Steam escapes around the rising cover lock — a little steam while the lock rises is normal, but continuous leakage means the cover is not fully aligned or the small interlock gasket has deteriorated. Stop the process and troubleshoot only once the pressure has dropped. Presto sells both the gasket and the whole lock assembly. [2] [9] [11]
The dial gauge reads wrong — test it every year and replace it if it reads more than 2 psi off; county extension offices run the test and the fee depends on the county, and the gauge itself is excluded from the warranty. An unverified gauge risks underprocessing and unnecessary overheating. [2] [6] [20]
The body warps and goes out of round — Presto warns that oversized burners, outdoor LP burners and boiling dry can warp the base, and one owner reports a deformed canner after overheating it on an outdoor burner, while a vigorously rocking regulator at 15 psi can boil the canner dry. The canner is designed for household burners of 12,000 BTU or less, so an oversized burner is the usual trigger, and the manual points to an approximately 8-inch heat contact area on the bottom, narrower than the roughly 12-inch pot diameter, so pick the element to match. [1] [2] [21] [24]
A loaded canner is too heavy for many glass tops — the manual puts a fully loaded 16-quart canner at 35 lb for pressure canning and up to 41 lb for boiling-water canning, and the 2026 manual warns it may exceed 40 lb. Check the range maker’s weight limit before you buy, and owners advise against sliding the canner across the glass. [2] [23]
Quart jars will not fit for boiling-water canning — the 16-quart body is not tall enough to cover a quart jar with the recommended 1 inch of water, so the 7-quart count applies to pressure canning only; pints and smaller only for boiling water. The 23-quart model is the one to buy if you want to can quarts that way. [1] [2] [17]
Aluminum discolors and pits — internal discoloration is normal and not harmful, and it lifts with 1 tablespoon of cream of tartar per quart of water. Wash, rinse and dry the body after every use, scour the inside at least once a year with an abrasive aluminum cleaner, and never leave the empty canner on a heated burner. [1] [2]

Parts and consumables

Sealing ring and overpressure plug kit (09985) — $25.00 at Presto, October 2026. Both parts must be changed together at least every three years, or sooner if either one is hard, cracked, pitted, deformed or leaking. [2] [4]
Sealing ring (9985) — $12.99 at Pressure Cooker Outlet, October 2026, if you want the ring on its own. [13]
Overpressure plug (09915) — $5.00 at Presto, October 2026. It is already inside the 09985 kit, so a separate one is rarely needed, and if the plug has been forcibly discharged it must not be reused. [2] [5]
Dial steam gauge (85772) — $26.50 at Presto, October 2026, with its compression gasket, washer and nut. Test it before each canning season and replace it when it is out of tolerance, not automatically every year. [2] [6] [20]
Air vent and cover lock (85407) — $10.00 at Presto, October 2026. Replace the whole unit when the lock mechanism is damaged. [2] [9]
Vent pipe assembly (85608) — $10.00 at Presto, October 2026. Look through the vent pipe before every use and clear it when it is blocked. [2] [10]
Interlock assembly gasket (85659) — $4.99 at Presto, October 2026. This is the small gasket that lets steam out once the cover lock starts to go. [2] [11]
One-piece pressure regulator (09978) — $14.00 at Presto, October 2026. It rocks at about 15 psi and limits overpressure; it is not a scheduled consumable. [2] [8]
Gauge fastener pack (82248) — $4.99 at Presto, October 2026, for the gasket, washer and nut that hold the dial on the cover. [2] [12]
Cooking and canning rack (85707) — $15.50 at Presto, October 2026. One is included with the canner, so a spare only matters if the original bends or goes missing. [2] [7]
Canning lids (flats) — single-use. One full 10-pint batch uses 10 new flats, while the bands stay reusable if they are undamaged. [2]

Yearly running cost

The parts set the budget. Presto’s 09985 sealing ring and overpressure plug kit is $25.00 at Presto (October 2026), and the manual calls for changing both at least every three years, which works out to about $8.33 a year; owners who follow the “every year or two” advice simply replace the kit more often. [2] [4]

Next comes the annual dial-gauge accuracy test. County extension offices often run it and the fee depends on the county, while a replacement dial at $26.50 is only bought once the old gauge is out of tolerance, so it is not a yearly line item. [6] [20]

Lids are the other recurring spend: flat seal lids are single-use, so a full 10-pint batch burns 10 new flats while the bands stay reusable. Ten full batches in a year would mean 100 flats, and six batches of seven quart jars would mean 42, but how many batches a household runs is up to the owner. [2]

There is no electricity in the canner and no subscription, filter or proprietary fuel: the energy cost is whatever the stove burner takes, and no metered per-batch figure for this model was found. Every wear part above is excluded from the 12-year warranty, so it is always owner-paid. [1] [2]

When it is a good buy

Prices checked October 2026: Presto lists the 01755 direct at $166.99 with a free-shipping badge, Pressure Cooker Outlet (Red Hill General Store) has it at $165.99 with free shipping to the contiguous US and a 30-day return guarantee, Target’s third-party listing from Spreetail sits at $165.99, and Home Depot showed $151.63 when its page was checked, though that page still references an old promotion, so confirm the checkout price before you count on it. [1] [13] [14] [16]

Thresholds: under $135 new is especially attractive, $135 to $155 is a good buy if the store really ships at that level, and $155 to $170 is ordinary retail. Above $170 the money is better spent on the 23-quart Presto 01781 at $185.99 direct, which processes 20 pints per pressure batch instead of 10 and also handles quart jars for boiling-water canning. [2] [17]

The named alternatives:

Presto 01781 23-quart, $185.99 direct — the better choice for frequent pint batches or quart fruit canning; same dial gauge and gasket upkeep, more height and weight, still not for induction. [17]
Presto 01784 23-quart induction-compatible, $215.99 direct — required if your range is induction, because the aluminum 01755 will not heat on an induction cooktop. [18]
All American 915, 15.5 quart, $399.95 from an authorized dealer — the buy-it-once option: it seals metal to metal with no lid gasket to replace, but it costs more than twice as much, it is heavier, and you still have to confirm it fits your stove. [19]

Two traps. And the Target listing for this model carries wrong fields such as 16 ounces, 12,000 watts and dishwasher-safe, where the 12,000 figure is gas BTU per hour and not electric watts, so go by the Presto manual rather than the listing. [2] [16] [25]

One more thing to know before you buy: the only specialist review of this exact model checked published specifications against food-safety guidance and never ran the canner, so owner reports are the only evidence on how it holds pressure. [15]