You will likely find that the new lids and bands won't fit on them. The diameter and the threads have changed a great deal. If the lids and bands do fit then sure, test them. Also check to see if the seal you get will hold up as the rims are different on many old jars.

Some old jars - they get fragile with repeated use - will break easily in a BWB and really easy in a PC so I wouldn't use them without testing them well first.

Dave

there really is no expiration on canning jars, or lids either for that matter. An inspection will tell you all you need to know. My really old ones are my favorites because they're heavier, more glass, and they make me feel warm and fuzzy because they were DH's grandmother's too. If you're a bit leery, try them first in the water bath canner and then in pressure, though I use mine in both. The dome lids are useless when the rubber is compromised. After 15+ years, that is a distinct possibility So long as it's in one piece and softens after a couple of minutes in warm water, I'd say it's usable. The rings, as you said, are probably not good because they're rusted. Otherwise, you can use them forever, too.

Purists will say to toss them. I frankly can't toss much of anything just for the sake of old. I'm getting old too, and take that a bit personally!

Thanks for the replies.

gran2, your final statement is how I feel too. Things shouldn't be replaced merely because they are OLD. We are all getting older, but that doesn't mean we need to be replaced just because of that.

Jars that have been used more than maybe 12 times in a PC, might be weakend a bit, an could shatter, but thats dependent on how well it was cooled down and processed in a PC in its lifetime. Ball has not changed the composition of the glass much, but have made them slightly thinner. Its the main reason Ball is still around. Make it last a lifetime and you are out of a job making the glass jars.

I've used (and continue to use) family jars from the 1940's and 50's as successfully as new jars. As long as a careful visual inspection doesn't reveal chips, scratches, etc. and the threads are compatible with current two-piece lids, you should be fine.

Carol

My canning jars aren't quite as old as readinglady's, but they're pretty darn old and I've never had breakage with either BWB or PC.

Same here - using old jars. But no, I wouldn't go so far as to equate the value of my old jars to the value of my old wife or this old man.

It is just an issue that should be considered. Not because of age but for safety.

Dave

Eaglesgarden -

I was in the same situation. My grandmother had a basement full of canning jars. I began canning last year, washed up alot of those old jars, which I know have been sitting there for at LEAST 20 years. Now granted I've only canned for one season, but I had not problem at all with the jars.

Getting them clean was time consuming though!

And I had no trouble with using new lids and rings on the old jars. My grandmother also had boxes and boxes of unopened lids. I use those if I'm going to put the jars in the fridge or freezer, but I do not can with them.

Congratulations on a jackpot of free jars!

If those boxes of lids are old, like more than 20 years, they may be cracked and dried out by now. Thats about the time Ball switched to silicone based rubber for the seals. The silicone doesn't crack or dry out like older rubber ones. Soaking the lids with regular rubber will only cause them to break down quicker, and that can lead to bad seals.

Thank everyone....it seems like the consensus is that it would be worth the effort to test them out and see what happens. As much as I didn't want to waste money, I didn't want to waste my time testing them if it was a fool's mission!

Thanks again!

Running jars in a dishwasher does a great job of cleaning them up. If there is any sticky adhesive or labels, use 'Goo Gone' to sofen and remove the sticky adhesive, then wash.

I've been canning for forty years and am still using all of my original jars and a few hundred more. Most of my 'new' ones came from somebody else's old jars in their basement. I have a jar fracture so rarely, I can't even remember the last time. Jars aren't cheap in my opinion, not when you can as much as I do. It's a very expensive proposition, especially with the increasing prices on lids. I'm expecting to see a price gouge on lids this coming canning season too, with so many people trying home preservation to beat the high cost of food. Glass jars just put me in mind of old glass windows. They'll last a long, long time being exposed to all sorts of changes in temperature as long as they haven't been knocked about.

Perhaps it would be a good time to go shopping for lids now before the rush this summer.

I try to pick up jar lids throughout the year so I don't notice the cost (and so I don't have to make a mad rush in the middle of canning season).

I've been waiting for small quilted jelly jars to go on sale. But perhaps I should go ahead and buy some, as it's more likely they will go up.

Luckily I think I have enough quart jars to last a lifetime.

We've talked a lot about nicks and such, it might be a good time to reinterate a practice that has saved me many times. Just before putting on the dome lid, I run a clean wet finger around the sealing surface of the jar until it "sings". Even jars that look good will reveal a nick or crack this way, and especially old jars, which might be a bit rough or glommed with old sealant or grease. My practice is that if it won't sing, it likely won't seal either.

You should be wiping with a damp cloth the area of the glass jars where the lid's rubber compound is applied. Wiping this area is very important and should not be avoided.

To protect all my canning jars, I never throw out the old lids. I carefully wash my empty jars and the old used lid. After drying, I place the lid on the empty jar, place a piece of plastic wrap over the old lid and thread, and losely install a canning ring on the jar for storage. I do this to keep extraneous things from entering my jars (insects to mice) while in storage but most importantly, the threads and tops of my jars are completely protected while in storage and when moving in storage. Let the kids move them! There will be no little nicks on the rims that weren't there before putting them into storage. I only have to check my rims once before I store my bottles. A time saving step for me - and I hate to see dead critters in the bottom of my food eating jars. Jim in So. Calif.

I am using jars that were my Grandmas, If she were alive today she would be 111 & I don't know how long she had used them. I always check for any nicks on the rim also do a visual to see if there are any cracks in the body of the jar. I don't worry about the older jars as much as I do the newer ones because they are thicker. The new ones are thinner & to me more fragile. My grandma even used the old glass jar that had coffee in them, a wide mouth lid fits them perfectly, granted she did not use them in a Pressure cooker. but used them to can her fruits, which she used the open kettle method. We still have a few jars with stuff in them stilled sealed tight. The stuff in them maybe mush but I still like to keep a few of them because of my grandma. I wash my jars in the dishwasher as I empty them, may sure they are dry put the flat & ring back on them to keep them clean till next time. That way all I have to do is rinse them out with hot water. Just so you know my Grandma done all her cooking and canning on a wood cookstove. She had one in the house & one outside so she wouldn't heat up the house in the summer.