My Dad could fix just about anything. I suspect this talent was born when he was a young man during the Great Depression. The youngest of nine children living on a farm in northern Minnesota where the soil was sandy and cash was scarce, the family didn't buy new to replace broken. They fixed.
I can remember watching Dad glue the soles of his work boots back on rather than buy new boots. When car and bike tires had inner tubes, Dad would take out his tube patching kit to patch a hole. He wasn't a mechanic, but I have seen him tinker with the engine of a car - mine more than once - until it purred.
Because I am my father's daughter, I decided to tinker with my new pressure canner that wouldn't build up pressure and was spouting steam from several places around the lid, before going through the hassle of returning it.
When I looked closely at the gasket that came with the canner, it looked odd to me. It fit alright around the underside of the lid, but it looked awfully flat. So I switched it out with the gasket from my old canner, added three quarts of water, turned the fire on High and waited to see what would happen.
Lo and behold, not a single steam leak. Pressure built up to where it needed to be. Soon after putting the weight on, it started jiggling like it is supposed to.
I am in the process of dehydrating apples, potatoes and onions. But tomorrow evening I will set out chicken legs and thighs and possibly four whole chickens to thaw to be canned.
Sometimes it pays to tinker.
Few people have those skills today, Vicki. Worse, most have no inclination.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a 'throw away' society these days, Gorges. And it seems like things are no longer made to last.
DeleteIndeed it does pay to tinker.
ReplyDeleteOne of the earliest memories I have of my father is when he was drilling a hole into metal and I was in charge of the oil can.
Good work on the gasket swap.
Thanks, John...I think the gasket swap came from laziness and not wanting to deal with sending the canner back. :)
DeleteI once had a car that gave me grief. Twice it went to a mechanic's shop and twice, within a day, it was sputtering and stalling again. Took the car to my Dad. He tinkered with the engine for maybe a half hour. Car purred like a kitten and continued to do so for several more years until it finally died of old age. Yep...pays to tinker.
So glad you got your canner up and running again, Vicki! Lucky you! You held onto the old canner long enough to scavenge that gasket! DOUBLE lucky you; it was the same size as the new one needed! Save the weight as well! You know how they can go off to the land of the missing sock!
ReplyDeleteI came from "white privilege." That must have been why my dad had to save soup cans and pieces of wire scrap to patch the muffler on the car when it rusted through, and employed "redneck engineering" for whatever else broke on the car. That must be why he'd have the washer torn apart in the basement, trying to find out why it toiled not, and neither did it spin. That might be why he could be seen with his soldering iron, replacing the volume control on the radio or TV, or bagging up tubes to take down to the drug store "tube tester." It went on and on. Fact was, I never saw a repair man show up at our house. Was it Dad's pride, or was it because there were times there was only $5.00 in the bank account? ...White privilege...
I inherited that gene. NOTHING gets thrown out until it CAN'T be fixed again. I usually buy older, because it CAN be fixed. When something DOES end up going off to Valhalla, it's not before I pull off anything that I can re-use or repurpose. My first car, a '59 Ford Fairlane, taught me almost everything about fixing cars, LONG before YOUTUBE. Funny how I can take what I learned on that car back then, and apply it to fixing the tractor out back now! Thank you, Jesus!
Great stuff, Vicki! The canner's fixed! YOU GO, GIRL!
Pete...I am considerably relieved that I am back to where I can do some more serious canning. The new canner is the same model as the old one, so all the parts have been saved including the old canner itself, which still has some uses if not for pressure canning.
DeleteI grew up with pretty much the same 'white privilege' as you did. The soldering iron was well used as was anything else that could be used for fixing things. I don't have room to store a lot in spare parts. Most of the available space here is taken up with food and water. But parts for items that get lots of use still are kept.
Dad was good at teaching me to do a variety of tasks, but he was sneaky about it. It wasn't until I was grown with a family of my own that he said if he wanted me to do something work related, all he needed to do was tell me that I couldn't possibly be able to do that chore, and then he just got out of the way while I tried to prove him wrong. Seems to have worked. :)
Hi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteThose spare parts come in handy more often than not. However, you were still sold a faulty gasket and you should ask for a replacement. That way you'll have a spare.
Good idea, Jennifer. After reading your comment, I emailed the company and if I don't hear back, I will give them a call. Thanks.
DeleteIf you don't hear back, you can put a stop on the CC payment. That should get their attention and get you a replacement gasket pretty quickly.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jennifer...I appreciate your helpful suggestions. I rarely order anything except groceries, so I usually don't need to deal with this kind of thing. It helps to hear from someone who knows how to handle it.
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