Question for you pressure canners

[peterk123]

I pressure can a lot; almost weekly. Much of it is dog food I prepare in bulk, so my jars get used quite a bit. I am running into issues with them breaking. Most of it happens during the canning process but today I had a jar that was in the fridge break on me. I am aware of thermal shock, lids to tight, etc. Do you think these jars have a limited life and just start to break from wear and tear? They also get thrown in the dishwasher for cleaning.


Pete

 

[Twigg]

When done correctly home canned items do not need refridgeration. Why put them in the fridge? Keep them in an indoor room out of direct sunlight.

 

[pthomas65]

When done correctly home canned items do not need refridgeration. Why put them in the fridge? Keep them in an indoor room out of direct sunlight.

Ditto. Been canning for over 30 years, never had a jar break and never put them in the frig until they were opened.

 

[arsco]

Maybe the dog likes it's meal chilled

 

[peterk123]

Sorry, not clear in my statement. Once we open something we put it inn the fridge.

@pthomas65 , are you always preheating your jars and food before canning? I do not always do that because it does not seem to make much of a difference. I I can't for the life of me stop jars from breaking. I have about 7% loss ratio. Admittedly, some of these jars have been reused 20 times. I can a lot, pretty much weekly.

Jars do not sit directly on the bottom of the canner. I even bring up the temp of the canner slowly, with cover off so everything warms up slowly. I use correct headspace. I am stumped.

I have read that you should not use metal utensils to get air bubbles out because you could scratch the jars and that will lead to breakage in the canner. I wonder if using a metal spoon to get the dog's food out of the jar could be the culprit.

 

[Twigg]

Are the mason jars you're using "Ball Mason" jars or some other brand ? I've had breakage issues with Wal-Mart jars. they use a thinner glass.

 

[peterk123]

Are the mason jars you're using "Ball Mason" jars or some other brand ? I've had breakage issues with Wal-Mart jars. they use a thinner glass.

Ball Mason Jars.

 

[FrugalFannie]

I preheat my jars in the oven because it's the easiest way to do it and this is part of the sterilization of the jars before adding food.

Once had a batch of Ball jars that 3 of them cracked all alike the first time I used them. I looked at the other 9 and saw they all had a "wave" in the glass at the same location. Called Ball and they send me coupons for free jars. I gave them the lot number or whatever was on the box. I designated these for dry usage only.