I think thats a safety lock as the Presto has a similar button that pops up. You never want to try and open a lid uncer pressure!! The use of a lubricant for te gasket is very essential, and I would expect it should always be lubricated even if new. It reduces chances of lids locking shut and become almost impossible to remove. It may be that your instructions point out that 'red button' someplace. Simply look to see the iside of the cover and locate its position. My Presto, its a small aluminium pin that pops up under low pressure and seals, as well as blocks a small wedge it hits on the pan itself. If you have minimal instructions, try the Mirro web site, I would expect they have sufficient info there, ar at least you can call them. If in a big hurry to use it, you may want to also consider a single batch of pressure canning can take about 4 or more hours to do if its done by the book. Jigging is a bit less pressure that a steady steam vent, so reduce the heat a bit more. The jiggling will still make it spin and hiss, but it should be a light hiss and spin/jiggle.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pressure canner info

Did you heat the canner and let a steady stream of steam vent before you put on the weight? If not, that may be the problem.

I agree with Shirley - it sounds like you put the weight on before you turned the heat on. That's not right or safe. The weight only goes on AFTER the pressure has built up enough to vent out the steam vent for 10 mins. THEN you set the weight on. And you likely had the heat set too high as well. Once it begins to blow stem out the vent, back the heat off a bit until you get a steady stream of steam out of the vent for 10 mins. Then set the weight on and back the heat off a bit more.

The red button is a safety feature - the over-pressure exhaust and is set to blow if the pressure builds up too high in the cooker. It is not a lid lock but it is normal for it to raise up as pressure builds inside. With Mirro the lock is built into the one black plastic handle - it monitors the pressure and prevents opening when the unit has pressure inside.

The manual isn't the greatest true but it does cover all the basics so it sounds like you need to review your manual's instructions more closely and do some more experimenting with it before using.

Dave

Thanks everyone. I have read my manual ten times. There is NO mention of the lid lock popping up as pressure is reached. It is only called a "spring safety device" and doesn't look like the picture in the manual. It says that it "prevents the cooker from being pressurized before the lid is closed," which is why I was scared to let the cooker continue to pressurize once that red pin had popped up. I am pretty sure that my manual is for an older version of the pressure canner/cooker (it covers all their sizes, too, from small cookers to the 22-qt canner) and that is why it's fairly confusing.

My manual also specifically instructs to have the weight on FROM THE START during the dry run. Why, I don't know. I was just following the instructions. It does say to leave the weight off until you have 10 min of steady steam coming out of the vent when canning, but not for the dry run. There's a reason for that I read elsewhere, and it has to do with the canning jars, not anything else safety-wise - so if there are no jars in there, it's fine to have the weight on from the beginning. Memory is failing me on the specific reason. But anyway, I put the weight on to start because that is what the manual said to do.

So, I just did another dry run and didn't turn the heat off once the lid lock popped up. Yay! It works great. Still getting the hang of the hissing/jiggling that it does/doesn't do once it comes up to pressure. Remember, my manual says it will jiggle vigorously, then turn it down so that it rocks gently, yet we know that Mirro/Wearever's FAQ itself on the web says that it will only hiss (and there are several threads here and info elsewhere on this change). I am going to call customer service tomorrow to see how it's supposed to hiss or rock or what once it's up to pressure, because it's a bit confusing. I want to make sure it stays up to proper pressure, but don't want to overdo it, of course.

I would have called them today, but customer service is closed, and I'm the impatient type. :-) I figured with the posters here who have newer "hissing" Mirros, someone would be able to say quickly, "Ah yes, that's just the lid lock, don't worry about it popping up." I don't think I'm pressure canning anything today, but wanted to have a successful dry run so I knew there wasn't some kind of defect or something.

Thank you for your help and advice!

Please check the link I provided above. It covers the very basics and is mentining the Mirro and its procedure, as well as placing the weight AFTER it starts getting steam pressure.

Another way to test the canner is to fill jars with water as though you were canning. No need to put lids on the jars.

Some of the confusion is semantics. ;) The black button with the red top is not a lid lock so please don't think of it as one. It is the over-pressure valve - or what the manual calls the spring safety device.

As calliope and I explained above, your lock is in the black handles and they only engage after a certain pressure is reached and they do not "pop-up" but drop down and you can't see them from above.

I cannot imagine why on earth they would tell you to put the weight on from the beginning since doing so is potentially hazardous. So please, ignore that instruction. Pressure canners are also used by many of us for pressure cooking and no jars are involved in cooking but the canner works the same way - no weight until steam is venting well.

my manual says it will jiggle vigorously, then turn it down so that it rocks gently, yet we know that Mirro/Wearever's FAQ itself on the web says that it will only hiss (and there are several threads here and info elsewhere on this change).

This too is just semantics. The weight has to move (jiggle) for it to hiss. It is the movement, the jiggle, that allows the steam to escape that makes the hissing sound. Some of us just call it jiggling and some call it hissing but it's all the same thing. So you can count jiggles or count hisses - whichever you prefer - just so long as it is doing one of them. ;)

Dave

Thanks ksrogers - I did read the link. The new Mirros do not rock at all, so that info is outdated. (Do a search for "mirro canner" on this forum if you want more info; that is how I learned that they now hiss, spin and/or twirl instead of rocking. But it's still hard to tell HOW they are supposed to hiss/spin/twirl once they're up to pressure.)

Also, I do understand that when canning, one must allow steam to vent for ten minutes before placing the weight. I get it. Promise. :-) But that wasn't my problem at all. My manual said to put the weight on first, before heating, for the dry run only. Again, that was not the problem. I just did a dry run with the weight on from the start and once I let the red pin/lid lock on the handle pop up and stay there, the canner came up to pressure. I understand that one is not to put the weight on from the start when one has jars in the canner.

Dave, Your Mirro may be like mine. It is about 30 or 35 years old. The safety release plug on mine is all black and the lid locks on the right side only. I say right side because I always place the canner on the burner with the safety plug toward the back. If you look at eye level between the upper and lower handle, you can see when the locking latch disappears into the top. That's my clue to take off the weight.
I'm not sure where the instruction manual is. I do remember that the directions for cold packing tomatoes, was to bring up to pressure and turn off the heat. I never did it that way. Bought it purposely for canning salmon and venison. Times sure have changed.

All things do change. Its not just recipes but equipment and processes. Outdated or not, it was still a web search and was at one of few highest rated ones. I don't own a Mirro, so I can't help further, but would expect its use and operation is the same as most any other in its class. Oddly, the Mirro company has no actual web site link, whereas others do.

No Shirley, ours is a new one this summer. Since we got the propane burner we decided we could now run two PC at the same time. We don't like it near as much as our old 23 qt. Presto but it was alot cheaper and I guess it does the job.

But ours has a manual specific for the 22 quart canner, not one for all models as bodhimama describes. It is the usual poor quality PC manual that all of them come with as we have discussed here before - questionable recipes and all.

There is no mention in it of doing a dry run with the weight on - thank heaven! There is no red pin in the handle, just the black handle lock that drops down, and the safety valve is black with a red top. Guess it must be last years model.

But yes, the weight does "jiggle" - depends on how you define jiggle I guess but it moves - and it also hisses. ;)

Dave

It would be REALLY HELPFUL if someone with a Mirro 22 qt WEIGHTED canner could post a vid on youtube.
Mine isn't hissing OR jiggling. It either just sits there until it builds up so much that it lifts up and lots of steam escapes for a few seconds, or it just sits...I have adjusted the heat up, down, up a little, down a little....and I am very frustrated. This is important since I will be serving this food to MY FAMILY and don't want to end up in the hospital.
Makes me want to give up and I am not usually a quitter.

I am using my mirro for the first time right now. I left the room because I am afraid it will explode. about every 15-20 seconds it lets off quite a bit of steam for about 3seconds. I only put 2 inches of water in the canner. is that enough? I read that in one of the canning books but most manual say put the water 1/2 way up the jar. help. I turned the temp down to 5 on my electric stove. I am afraid to go out into the kitchen. HELP

Ok, so let's set the record straight here; yes, the instructions in the new Mirro 22 qt pressure canner do explicitly tell you to put the weight on before heating the canner for the first use/dry run. And yes, it also says in the "canning" section, that the canner should be heated until it steams, left for ten minutes and then the rocker should be placed. Ok, we got that. I think we can all agree that Bodhimama did read her instructions so let's stop beating that dead horse. For the record, as well, the instructions available online at Mirro-T-Fal are NOT the same as the ones that came with mine. Mine look like an "updated" version of the older online instructions which applied to a larger breadth of models. Now, that being said, the instructions were poorly updated and the language is very unclear. Important elements, such as what laura.botright said, ("Mine isn't hissing OR jiggling. It either just sits there until it builds up so much that it lifts up and lots of steam escapes for a few seconds, or it just sits...") are simply left unaddressed. I think there are several versions of the instructions none of which are really complete.
Bodhimama, your instructions sound different from mine because mine address the pin issue that concerned you back in 2008. In my instruction manual, it says that that pin is the pressure indicator. It locks the handle AND indicates to you that the canner is under pressure.
You likely know this now because you posted this in 2008... Sooooooo, hopefully somebody can answer my question now, after having figured this stuff out.
My questions is similar to Laura's. My instructions tell me to wait until the rocker rocks. My rocker doesn't rock. It stands stalk still until steam explodes out of it and it spins dramatically shooting steam everywhere- then back to dead stillness. Is this what they mean by "rocking?" When I turn down the heat, what do I look for to know it is maintaining the right amount of pressure? Should I be keeping it on high until it spins 4-5 times a minute, like this guy in the comment section on this YouTube video says? It doesn't seem to matter how long I leave it on high heat, it only seems to do this about 1 time per minute. The instructions say : "When the operating valve begins to rock strongly, lower the temperature such that the operating valve continues to rock lightly." No can do, instructions, it's either spinning like crazy or totally still. Nobody's rocking around here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mirro rocker spin

Most call what the Mirro does "spin"as the weight will rotate a bit. Some call it "hiss" and some call it spit or rock. It is all semantics.

Basically it means there is some obvious movement, some clearly seen activity from the weight accompanied by a release of some steam.

And when it is at pressure it will do that activity approx. 3-5 times per minute. If it is 6 times, fine. If it is 7 times, fine

But if it is say 10x or for sure if it is continuously active the heat is too high and needs to be slowly lowered by very small increments until the activity settles to approx. 5 times each minute. This takes time, especially on an electric stove as the change doesn't happen immediately. If it isn't moving at all or only moving 1-3 times a minute then the heat needs to be increased slightly.

This is a good example of why we always say to NOT use the canner manuals for instructions - they are poorly written and misleading. Rather use the NCHFP instructions.

Dave

PS: and for heaven sakes do not fill the canner with 2/3 water as your pic shows above. That is supposed to read fill it with 2-3 inches of water. 3" is the standard recommendation, a bit more if using long processing times like meats.

The very first time you use it yes you do fill it up 2/3 with water (this is when you get it home from the store, and just do a total 'dry run'). After that, no you do not fill it up 2/3 with water. The "hissing" or "jiggling" part is extremely confusing because my manual says you "lower the temperature such that the operating valve continues to only rock slightly." To me that means it's supposed to continuously rock (hiss or jiggle, whatever) but I cannot for the life of me get it to do that. I did some beets earlier this summer and they are still sealed so I guess it worked? Currently doing potatoes (my burner is outside) and when I opened that linked YouTube video my hissing pretty much matched the one in the video so guess we leave it at that. Still makes me nervous because according to the manual and experienced 'canning people' it should keep rocking lightly.

Number 15: notes the 'continue to rock only lightly'

Hope this helps someone!

Well I am beyond frustrated. Just experiences the same thing. First time using my Mirro 16qt canner. Reading and following directions exactly. During the dry run my weight never moved. Steam starts coming out of one handle and the red button pops up. Can’t find this anywhere in the manual. The box shows this as a “pressure monitoring gauge”. The manual says if a safety feature initiated to replace the gasket. Dang it! I have a huge bunch of beans I’ve picked, washed, stringed/broke. My jars are washed and sitting in hot water ready to go. Now I have to buy a new gasket!! I truly followed directions exactly. Infuriating!!! Guess my neighbors will get fresh beans. I’ll read the website once my new gasket arrives....that I wish I did NOT have to pay for. To top that: the customer phone line is not open due to COVID-19.

How far did the red button pop up? Mine only popped up halfway in the middle of that hole is it supposed to come out farther? I hope somebody will answer my question before I throw this thing in the dump.

Hi all, my canner is brand new and at first I felt pannicky when the steam came out the top vent tube aswell as the handlevent. But fter checking another website I settled. It seems that the red button is to release over pressure as a safety device. Maybe my meat was too cold when I put it in my jars. After a few min the steam stopped comming out the handle. The red button stayed up but no more steam came out of the handle. After letting the steam vent through the top for 10 min I then put on the weight as my manuel instructsme to do so. It worked like a charm. Next time I will make sure my meat is room temp and wont panick if the steam comes out of both ports at first. If it doesnt stop coming out of the handle I will turn it off and try again after following all the proceedures for doing so. Happy Canning.