garage sale haul and questions

13 years ago

Hello,

I'm new here, been doing some canning for the past year. Yesterday I went to a garage sale and bought a whole mess of canning jars, rings, and lids. The lids include the zinc lids and the glass presto lids with the red rubber seals. I also got the rings with the little windows for the glass presto lids. I have some questions. First will the red seals for other brands of lids work on these presto lids? Second, the rings have some light rust, can they still be used? Third, will the red rubber seals work with the zinc lids? Or do you just use regular lids with the zinc lids?

I did a count of what I got.

56 zinc lids

162 glass presto lids

21 regular mouth pint jars

13 regular mouth 1/2 gal. jars

1 wide mouth quart jar (bummer)

22 regular mouth quarts!

woo hoo!!!!!

There was also about 100 wide mouth rings

about 250 of the presto rings

and about 100 regular rings

Plus about a dozen collector jars.

Now to find something to fill all these jars up with. The weather here wasn't much better than last year, every thing burned up in 30+ days of 100+ temps and NO rain, so not much in the way of garden produce. I'll have to get some more red rubber seals, as most of the ones that came in this batch don't look great.

I like the idea of canning meat, as I hate buying meat and getting it out of the freezer to use it and it's freezer burnt!!!

Thanks!

Richard

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

arley_gw
13 years ago
I'm pretty conservative when it comes to canning stuff. I'd only use NEW Ball or Kerr lids for each batch of stuff canned. They're designed for exactly one use only, and every food safety site reinforces that. I wouldn't try to reuse old rubber rings.

The ring does nothing but hold the lid (snugly, not excessively tightly) in apposition to the glass rim so that as the food is processed, steam escapes through the headspace; when the jar cools, the steam in the headspace condenses to make the seal. (That's the 'boink' sound you occasionally hear as the jars cool down.) So if there's a little rust on the ring, no big deal, as long as the ring can mechanically hold the lid down on to the jar rim while it's making the seal. BTW, some people recommend taking the ring OFF the jar once the jar is sealed; that way you can easily see if the seal ever fails. (With a properly formed seal, you can pick up the jar by the lid alone. If you can't, you don't have a good seal.)

Any of the jars that aren't designed for the Ball or Kerr lids: I'd just use them for bulk storage of dry stuff like beans or grains or pasta. I have a bunch of old Italian style canning jars, and they're great for that. Attractive, too.

Just my $.02
lpinkmountain
13 years ago
I don't know about the red rubber rings, are you talking about bail type jars or just old flat lids and rings? I don't know about the bail type jars for canning, it works but you are more likely to get a seal failure on those. The zinc lids the same. As for the flat lids, if they are NOT rusty and look good then I would be OK using them after I sterilized them for 10 min. in boiling water. However, if they are old, using them could result in a failed seal and most of the time I don't want to risk that. As for the rings, I recommend taking them off after processing. If it is just light rust, can be removed with an SOS. But I hate rust on my jars so I recycle the rings when they get much rust on them. I would recommend using the old bail type and zinc lids for storing dried stuff. I store almost all my pasta, beans, rice, barley, crakers, etc. in glass jars. Keeps them safe and dry when it gets humid.
Related Discussions
Wanna come to my garage sale??
Q
Comments (7)
OMG I think my stuff is multiplying before I can bring it all out! We got all the furniture out in the garage but I still have TONS of smaller stuff to bring out tomorrow morning. I'm going to take pictures (hopefully) when it's all out - I really can't believe how much there is. And the embarrassing thing is, it's not like the house is empty without it - not even sorta! fori I think the piece you're referring to is the old mahogany record cabinet - and I did use it many years ago as a liquor cabinet after I took out the record dividers. The other cabinet, the ornate one, is an old radio cabinet. tricia that's a dressing table - one of my best house sale finds years ago.
...See More
Do garage sales help justify the clutter?
Q
Comments (28)
My sons are in a boy scout troop that has The Mother Of All Garage Sales every year in August. It is H-U-G-E. They start collecting in May and use 5-6 giant storage units. It takes a week to set it all up in the parking lot of the church that sponsors the troop. It takes 50-60 people all working for 4 months so you can only imagine how huge. Last year they made $11,000 and they price EVERYTHING to go. The prices are really, really cheap. The troop has been doing this for more than 25 years so it's a neighborhood institution. Anyway, all of that said is it justify my keeping junk for the garage sale. I have a corner of the laundry room devoted to it. I bring boxes home from work and box up stuff all year. And then the se-up week I become ruthless and start culling from all over the house. Last year I got rid of SO MUCH junk - it was wonderful! And the best part is, what doesn't sell goes first to charities. After they take their pick, the the troop goes through and pulls out all the stuff the humane society can use and all the scrap metal, then the rest goes into a dumpster. So NONE of it comes back home with me! After all the work I'm not even tempted to bring home anyone else's donations either. Last year I brought home a paring knife, a hat, and a blanket - that's it. Working the sale also makes me not want to go to garage sales, so I don't drag home unneeded stuff. Anyway, if your friends are saving and really would have a sale then it can be a good thing. It's a great thing for me!
...See More
This weekends garage sale finds
Q
Comments (7)
Thanks for the ideas, keep em coming. My kids each got some for their rooms. Dh got one for all that change he empties every night. I am using some in my craft room for, my jewelry making supplies. I still have a bunch out there, but they seem to be very useful and so decorative and pretty.
...See More
Cedrus deodara question and 2016's haul.
Q
Comments (15)
I was seriously considering fencing them during winter - I think you just sold me on it. I have 8 large norways that have been on the property for 10 years now and have never been so much as touched by deer. Same with my two globose/montgomery pungens that I planted many many years ago. The deer in my area are odd; I've seen their blood on hollys and roses that they clearly ate... but the don't touch my hemlock or my neighbors hemlock ( I do spray it with deer-off on occasion though, and it's surrounded by 'justin brouwer' boxwood that seems to repel deer). They have a very odd taste in foliage around here. Hostas are their favorite. We also do not have any rabbit issues here, which is ironic because I have a rabbit thats basically a cat, free roaming, perfectly litter trained, comes when called, etc. but the one thing I've never been able to fully train out of her is her tendency to chew all of my wooden furniture.... Oh and I'm embracing the coniferitis, its such a cool hobby when you can add something significant to your collection for under $30! edit: look what just came in the mail, my 'Bruns'! edit2: yes thats a second 'Firefly' in the back, the nursery had another and I got it as a gift for my sister and her new husband for their new house.
...See More
annie1992
13 years ago
I also remove the rings when I store the filled jars, or they ometimes get stuck on and I can't remove them.

I never use the old rubber ring and bail type jar lids, the others are too easy and too readily available, although I can still get those old red rings at my hardware store.

If your jars will accept he modern rings and lids, I'd use those, they are much easier to use and replace.

Check the rims for chips, BTW, I've gotten some really nice old jars and some have chips on the rims that prevent a good seal.

Annie
morz8 - Washington Coast
13 years ago
Richard, your Presto/canner manual should tell you not to use the zincs or glass lids. You'd hate to lose and waste your product, not to mention your time and effort...

Using bands and lids -
"Avoid closures such as zinc caps and glass lids that require a jar rubber. These closures do not provide a proper method to determine if the seal is safe. Also, avoid commercial one-piece caps even if they have a rubber-like gasket because they are intended for one-time use only."

Here is a link that might be useful: Presto - lids
Marilyn Sue
13 years ago
I too agree with all the above posters. Don't use the rubber rings, use the modern flat lids and rings.

Sue

garage sale haul and questions

Comments (5)

arley_gw

lpinkmountain

Related Discussions

annie1992

morz8 - Washington Coast

Marilyn Sue

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US