Outdoor canning???

8 years ago

Ok, so I killed one of my two big burners on my stove while canning... really killed it, like burnt the outlet to a crisp. I did this while canning last year, and still haven't been able to get it fixed. So yeah, living on three burners sucks.. but is doable for small batch canning and regular living. I'm actually learning to really love small batch canning.

However, tomato canning season is coming up and that is going to require some big batch canning again. Like big ole canner to fit all the quart and pint and a half jars... and be able to do a full day or three worth of canning, lol. Plus the big ole kettle to keep my crushed tomatoes hot for the hours of processing.

I'm kind of thinking of doing some outdoor canning.. My husband owns a large outdoor crab boil setup- big stand with a burner that hooks into a propane tank so you can put a giant 10 gallon pot on top. He uses it for brewing, but I figure I can use that for my canner setup. After all, if he can brew 10 gallons at a time, that has got to be sturdy enough for my 6 gallon quart jar canning pot, right?
For my tomato pot, I'm thinking of using our smaller grill- it's the size of a double burner camp stove, and should fit my 4 gallon or 5 gallon stock pot nicely.

Anyone else ever do outdoor canning? I'm thinking it would be nice to not heat and steam the living beejeebers out of the kitchen for days.

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Comments (5)

digdirt2
8 years ago

Previous discussions of outdoor canning

Depends on the BTU of your hubby's cooker. 12,000 BTUs recommended as max. to avoid pot damage, especially pressure canners, and most fish fryers and cookers such as you describe well exceed that limit. So in general as you browse through the previous discussions you will find they are not recommended for canning use.

Dave
beesneeds
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks Dave :)

I was thinking since this is a crab boil setup and not a fryer- I did note that the box had a disclaimer about that, a warning that it was for boils and not a fryer device., this burner is meant to be set up for a low boil for several hours and not as a high heat device for frying up a large quantity of food... and it's the right kind of setup suitable for boiling batches of beer that it might be better for canning than the more typical fryer setup. I will have to for sure check out the BTU action on it- thankfully enough he is the kind of person to store the equipment in the original box. Even if the "right" information isn't on the box, I can look up the manufacturer and find out the information I need.

Honestly, I thought it pretty weird for him to tell me to use his outdoor beer burner for canning. Because I thought all of those setups were for more, um, high speed, high heat cooking. Like deep fryers for turkeys and that sort of thing. And he was all, nope, this is an old school burner... it's meant to set up your full kettle of whatever at six in the morning, and eat it at two in the afternoon the next day sort of device- he also complained that it sucks a propane tank to death just for one or three boils. It makes excellent wort over a day, but sucks up the fuel to do so.
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digdirt2
8 years ago
<he also complained that it sucks a propane tank to death just for one or three boils. It makes excellent wort over a day, but sucks up the fuel to do so.>

Wow I can go all summer on 1 20# tank of propane canning almost daily with my outdoor stove. I wonder why it uses so much? At any rate if the burner is readily adjustable, easy to control, then you could make it work. My 2 burner outdoor canning table-top stove has 30,000 BTUs but each burner has 3 separate rings and each is fully adjustable just like an indoor gas stove would be and it works fine.

Dave
grandad_2003
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
I only do outdoor canning.

Dave's comments are right on target. ...BTU output is important. Propane burning puts out more BTU's than natural gas (methane) burning. . Propane is better for boiling large volumes of watet or frying turkeys. Natural gas works great for small volumes of water or small fish fry pots.

Common burner types are jet burners (which sounds like what you have), high pressure cone shaped burners designed for propane, and low pressure flat horse shoe shaped burners designed for natural gas. You can use either of the last 2 burner types with natural gas or propane if you have the right sized orifice in/with the regulator. I have a cone shaped burner running on natural gas.

Jet burners are only designed for use with propane (as far as I know). I would not use a jet burner for canning. You would need a yellow flame to get the fire (BTU) low enough. I would suggest using one of the other burner types instead. Natural gas is all you need but propane works fine when you set the flame low.

IMO, outside canning is the only way to go for the reasons you mentioned. But you just need the right setup.
l pinkmountain
8 years ago
You can order replacement burners for your stoves online. I go through them fairly regularly with canning. I bought a small butane stove just for BWB canning because of that. I got it at a restaurant supply place. I love it for camping too, when I don't feel like setting up my two burner camp stove. It's just click and go for the fuel. It's pricey though, but I use it when I want to boil something fast, like instant oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.