Pressure canner replacement parts
A pressure canner is a repairable object. Four parts account for almost every failure, and all four are listed by stock number.
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Four parts account for nearly every pressure canner failure: the sealing ring, the dial gauge, the pressure regulator and the rack. Presto lists all four by stock number against each canner model — 09985, 85772, 09978 and 85707 for the 23-quart. Buy by model number, not by appearance.
The most useful thing about a stovetop pressure canner is not a feature. It is that when something stops working, the something is a named part with a stock number, and it costs a fraction of a new canner. This is most of the reason a Presto is good value across a decade rather than a season, and it is why an inherited canner is usually worth keeping.
That only holds if you buy the right part. The aftermarket for these components is crowded with listings whose titles are a wall of model numbers, and a sealing ring that does not seat properly is a canner that will not hold pressure. Presto publishes a parts page per canner, indexed by the stock number stamped on your canner, and that page is the answer to this whole category.
Find your model number first
Everything below is keyed to Presto's parts list for the 23-quart Pressure Canner, stock number 0178107 — the canner in best pressure canners. If you own a 16-quart, an 18-quart or the induction model, the part numbers differ. The stock number is on the canner, usually on the base or a plate on the body, and Presto's site indexes parts by it.
The four parts, and which to buy first
In order of how likely they are to be the thing standing between you and a batch:
- 1The sealing ring — a rubber part that hardens and shrinks with heat cycles and age. This is the classic 'it worked last year' failure. Presto packs it with the overpressure plug because both are rubber and both age together.
- 2The pressure regulator — small, metal, and the most losable thing in the kitchen. A canner without it is unusable, and it does not degrade, so a spare bought now is a spare forever.
- 3The dial gauge — the only component with an opinion about pressure, and the only one that can be quietly wrong rather than obviously broken.
- 4The rack — cheap, and the one people improvise around, which cracks jars. Jars have to sit off the base.
Quick picks
Every pick below is screened against the National Center for Home Food Preservation’s published canner rules first. Tap a row for the full write-up.
| # | Product | Best for | Key spec | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Presto Pressure Canner Sealing Ring / Overpressure Plug Pack (09985)The one spare every Presto owner should have in a drawer. The sealing ring is a rubber part that hardens with age and heat cycles, and it is the reason a canner that worked last September will not come up to pressure this September. Presto sells it packed with the overpressure plug, which is the other rubber part in the lid. | The part that fails first | Ring + overpressure plug | $23.54 · View on Amazon#ad we earn a commission · price as of October 18, 2026 |
| 2 |  Presto Steam Gauge for Pressure Canners (85772)If your extension office tests your dial gauge and it reads more than 2 psi off, this is the fix. It is also the part that makes a dial-gauge canner a lifetime object instead of a disposable one, because the gauge is the only component on it with an opinion about pressure. | A dial that reads wrong | Replaces a failed dial | |
| 3 | Presto Pressure Cooker / Pressure Canner Pressure Regulator (09978)The small metal part that goes missing between seasons. On a Presto canner the regulator sits on the vent pipe and controls the pressure the canner holds, so a missing one is not an inconvenience — it is a canner you cannot use until it is replaced. | A lost or rattling regulator | The part that sets pressure | Check price on Amazon#ad we earn a commission · live price pending |
| 4 |  Presto Cooking / Canning Rack for Pressure Canners (85707)The rack is not an accessory. Jars have to sit off the base so water circulates underneath and the glass is not in direct contact with a hot bottom, and a canner whose rack has rusted through is a canner that will crack jars. This is the genuine replacement. | A missing or rusted rack | Keeps jars off the base |
Presto Pressure Canner Sealing Ring / Overpressure Plug Pack (09985)
The one spare every Presto owner should have in a drawer. The sealing ring is a rubber part that hardens with age and heat cycles, and it is the reason a canner that worked last September will not come up to pressure this September. Presto sells it packed with the overpressure plug, which is the other rubber part in the lid.
Published specs
- Presto stock number
- 09985
- Presto's own name
- Pressure Canner Sealing Ring/Overpressure Plug Pack
- Contents
- Sealing ring and overpressure plug
- Listed for
- Presto's parts page for the 23-quart Pressure Canner (stock no. 0178107)
- Why two parts
- Both are rubber, and both age at the same rate
What works
- A genuine Presto part ordered from Presto's own parts list for your model number, which is the only way to be sure of the fit — the aftermarket for this part is crowded and inconsistently labeled
- Packed with the overpressure plug, so you replace both rubber components at once rather than discovering the second one next season
- Turns a decade-old canner into a repair rather than a replacement, which is most of the reason a Presto is good value in the first place
What to know first
- Part numbers are per-model. Presto lists parts by canner stock number, and buying by 'looks about right' is how people end up with a ring that will not seat
- A sealing ring is a wear part, not a lifetime one. Inspect it each season for hardening or cracking rather than waiting for a failure
- It will not fix a canner that fails to hold pressure for a different reason, such as a blocked vent pipe or a gauge reading wrong
Specs from Presto, Parts and Accessories for the 23-Quart Pressure Canner. We have not handled this product — see how we pick.
Presto Steam Gauge for Pressure Canners (85772)
If your extension office tests your dial gauge and it reads more than 2 psi off, this is the fix. It is also the part that makes a dial-gauge canner a lifetime object instead of a disposable one, because the gauge is the only component on it with an opinion about pressure.
Published specs
- Presto stock number
- 85772
- Presto's own name
- Steam Gauge for Presto Pressure Canners
- Function
- The dial that registers processing pressure
- When to replace
- NCHFP: check dial gauges for accuracy before use each year
- Listed for
- Presto's parts page for the 23-quart Pressure Canner
What works
- A dial gauge is the one part of a pressure canner that can be quietly wrong, and replacing it is cheaper and faster than replacing the canner
- Genuine Presto part listed on Presto's own parts page against your canner's stock number
- Makes the annual accuracy test actionable — there is no point testing a gauge if a failed test has no remedy
What to know first
- You still need somewhere to test the gauge. Many county extension offices do it free, and you have to actually go
- Replacing the gauge does not remove the annual test from your calendar. A new dial gauge is a dial gauge
- If you resent the whole business, the honest answer is a weighted-gauge canner, which the NCHFP says needs no accuracy checking at all
Specs from Presto, Parts and Accessories for the 23-Quart Pressure Canner, NCHFP, Recommended Canners. We have not handled this product — see how we pick.
Presto Pressure Cooker / Pressure Canner Pressure Regulator (09978)
The small metal part that goes missing between seasons. On a Presto canner the regulator sits on the vent pipe and controls the pressure the canner holds, so a missing one is not an inconvenience — it is a canner you cannot use until it is replaced.
Published specs
- Presto stock number
- 09978
- Presto's own name
- Pressure Cooker/Pressure Canner Pressure Regulator
- Function
- Sits on the vent pipe and regulates processing pressure
- Listed for
- Presto's parts page for the 23-quart Pressure Canner
What works
- Cheap, small, and the single most losable part of the canner — worth owning a spare before harvest week rather than during it
- A genuine Presto part from Presto's own parts list, which matters more here than on most parts because this one sets the pressure
- Rinses clean and has no wear surface, so a spare bought now is still a spare in ten years
What to know first
- Buy by stock number against your model. Presto sells more than one regulator and they are not interchangeable across its range
- A regulator cannot compensate for a blocked vent pipe. If pressure behaves oddly, clean the pipe before blaming the part
- On dial-gauge canners the regulator does not remove the need to watch the dial, which is what a weighted gauge would do
Specs from Presto, Parts and Accessories for the 23-Quart Pressure Canner. We have not handled this product — see how we pick.
Presto Cooking / Canning Rack for Pressure Canners (85707)
The rack is not an accessory. Jars have to sit off the base so water circulates underneath and the glass is not in direct contact with a hot bottom, and a canner whose rack has rusted through is a canner that will crack jars. This is the genuine replacement.
Published specs
- Presto stock number
- 85707
- Presto's own name
- Cooking/Canning Rack for Presto Pressure Canners
- Function
- Holds jars off the canner base so water circulates
- Listed for
- Presto's parts page for the 23-quart Pressure Canner
- Also used for
- The lower layer when double-stacking pints
What works
- Sized to the canner by Presto rather than guessed at, which the unbranded canning racks sold online are not
- Solves the second-layer problem if you want to double-stack pints, which is where a lot of a 23-quart canner's capacity actually lives
- Cheap enough that replacing a rusted rack is never the reason to replace a canner
What to know first
- Racks rust where the coating is chipped. Dry it properly rather than putting it away damp, or you will buy another
- It is model-specific. A rack for a 23-quart canner is not a rack for a 16-quart one
- It does not turn a stockpot into a canner. Depth is the other requirement, and a rack does not add any
Specs from Presto, Parts and Accessories for the 23-Quart Pressure Canner, NCHFP, Recommended Canners. We have not handled this product — see how we pick.
The gauge, and the annual test
The NCHFP is direct about this: check dial gauges for accuracy before use each year. Most county extension offices will test a gauge, often free, and the usual threshold for replacement is a reading more than 2 psi off. The test is the only way to know, because a dial gauge does not fail visibly — it drifts.
This is worth being honest about, because it is the maintenance step most owners skip. If you know you will not take a gauge in annually, that is an argument for a weighted-gauge canner rather than an argument for ignoring the test. The NCHFP says weighted-gauge models need neither watching during processing nor checking for accuracy, and the trade-offs are laid out in dial gauge vs weighted gauge.
Parts do not fix every symptom
Before you buy a sealing ring because the canner will not come up to pressure, check the vent pipe is clear. A blocked vent pipe produces the same symptom as a tired ring and costs nothing to fix. Similarly, a canner that loses pressure part-way through is often a heat-control problem rather than a hardware one.
- Will not reach pressure — vent pipe blocked, ring hardened or seated wrong, or lid not fully closed.
- Loses pressure mid-process — usually heat management. Hold a steady moderate heat rather than chasing the gauge.
- Steam escaping around the rim — the sealing ring, almost always.
- Gauge reading looks wrong — get it tested rather than guessed at, then replace it if it is off.
- Jars cracking on the base — the rack is missing or collapsed.
What about All American?
Storage is what decides how often you buy parts
Almost every sealing ring that fails early failed because of where it spent the winter. Rubber hardens with heat and with time, and a canner stored in a hot attic or a garage that hits 110F in August is aging its own ring for eleven months a year.
Three habits that cost nothing. Store the canner indoors at room temperature rather than in an attic or an uninsulated garage. Store the lid upside down and resting on the body rather than latched shut, so the ring is not held compressed for a year. And dry everything completely before it goes away — a rack put away damp is a rack that rusts through, and the rack is the part people improvise around rather than replace, which is how jars get cracked.
Identifying an inherited canner
Old canners are worth keeping, and the only hard part is working out what you have. The stock number is what the parts pages are indexed by, and it is usually stamped on the base or on a plate on the body. If it has worn off, the capacity and the gauge type will usually narrow it to one or two models, and both Presto and All American maintain parts listings covering long-discontinued units.
Two things to do before the first batch with an inherited canner, both of which we would treat as non-negotiable. Get the dial gauge tested, because you have no idea what it has been through. And replace the sealing ring rather than assessing it by eye — you cannot see hardening, it is the cheapest part on the canner, and a ring of unknown age is the one variable you can eliminate for very little money.
What about All American?
This is the one real advantage of the machined metal-to-metal seal: there is no gasket, so the part that fails most often on a Presto does not exist on an All American. Gauges and regulators are still parts, and All American still supplies them, but the annual rubber-component question is simply absent. That trade-off, and the reason it does not make the All American the right canner for everyone, is in All American vs Presto.
The short version
Own a spare sealing ring and a spare regulator before harvest week, because those are the two that will stop you dead and both are inexpensive. Get the dial gauge tested annually and replace it if it fails. Replace a rusted rack rather than improvising one. Done, that is a canner that outlives the person who bought it.
Next stepDial gauge or weighted gauge?Common questions
How often should you replace a pressure canner sealing ring?
What is the part number for a Presto 23-quart sealing ring?
Can you still get parts for an old pressure canner?
Do I need to replace the dial gauge every year?
Can I use my canner without the rack?
Do you earn a commission on these?
Sources
- Presto — Parts and Accessories for the 23-Quart Pressure Canner
- NCHFP — Recommended Canners
- National Center for Home Food Preservation
Product specifications are taken from each manufacturer’s own published page, cited on the product. We have not handled these products — how we pick.
