Presto 01784 Induction Pressure Canner Reviews: Our Take

The short version

This canner answers one narrow question: what do you pressure can with when the stove is induction. A few hundred owner comments later, the people who bought it for that reason are largely happy, and the people who bought it for any other reason paid extra for nothing.

What's good:

• The stainless magnetic base means it runs on induction, where an all-aluminum canner simply will not heat.
• Huge 23-quart capacity holds a real batch, up to around 20 pints or a stacked double layer of half-pints with a second rack.
• It doubles as a stockpot and water-bath pot, so one tall pot covers most of your preserving.
• Simple, proven Presto mechanics with cheap, easy-to-find replacement gaskets and weights.

What's not:

• It is energy-hungry and slow to come up to pressure, and a weak glass top can struggle to drive it.
• The body is still thin aluminum that dents, stains, and frets over time.
• The dial gauge drifts and needs calibrating every year; the rubber gasket wears and needs replacing.
• Fully loaded it is heavy and tall, so it can scratch a glass top and may not clear a low range hood.

Who it's for

Look at your cooktop. That single fact makes this canner either the obvious buy or a waste of money.

Buy it for:

• An induction range or a modern glass cooktop, where a magnetic base is not optional but required.
• Big-batch canning of low-acid food (meat, beans, stock, vegetables) that has to reach 240F to be safe.
• A do-it-all pot that pressure cans, water-bath cans with the lid off, and simmers stock or brews.

Skip it if:

• You cook on gas or a coil electric burner; the identical Presto 01781 costs less for the same pot minus the induction base.
• You want hands-off electronic pressure control; the plug-in Presto Precise Digital holds pressure for you.
• You are certain you will never move to induction and want the lowest price; an all-aluminum T-fal 22-quart is cheaper still.

The specs that matter

One spec on this canner justifies the price premium. The other two are the same as any Presto:

Stainless magnetic base on an aluminum body: this is the entire point. The steel disc lets an induction burner heat the pot, which pure aluminum cannot do. The tradeoff is that everything above the base is still lightweight aluminum, so you get induction capability without the heft or longevity of an all-stainless canner.

23-quart capacity, roughly 20 pints or a double layer of half-pints: this is a full-size canner, not a starter pot. It swallows a garden glut or a big stock run in one load, but it only ships with a single rack, so plan on buying a second one if you want to stack smaller jars.

Dial gauge plus a one-piece 15-pound regulator: the dial reads exact pressure but has to be checked for accuracy every year, and the stock weight only jiggles at 15 pounds. Most owners add the three-piece 5/10/15 weight set so they can hear the correct pressure instead of babysitting the dial.

How well it preserves

It holds steady pressure long enough to bring low-acid food to a safe 240F, same as any capable Presto. Where it can do that is the difference. On an induction range an all-aluminum canner is a paperweight; this one turns the burner on. Owners who switched to induction and assumed canning was over are relieved to find it works:

I have an induction stove that has a glass top and I have zero issues with my pressure canner from Presto. I suppose every stove top is different but an induction stove doesn't automatically mean you can't can.

The reason is metal. Aluminum is not magnetic, so an induction coil has nothing to grab; the 01784's stainless base gives the field something to heat. Owners explain it better than any spec sheet, and they point out that aluminum is a poor match for glass tops generally:

Most canners are aluminum, which won't work on induction. And the aluminum is more likely to fret and stain a hot glass top.

Owners run it on induction burners the same way they would on gas, and several keep a portable induction unit around specifically for canning so they can move the whole operation off the main stove:

I’ve used it on both my flat top electric stove and my portable induction burner. Works fine on both but it gets really heavy fully loaded, particularly for water bath, so if you have a flat top electric stove make sure it can handle the weight and you won’t break the glass. More often than not I use my portable induction and put it on the floor.

Heat is the limit. Bringing 23 quarts up to temperature takes real energy, and a strong induction burner handles it fine while an underpowered or older glass top can crawl. A few owners never got there at all. Your burner has to be able to drive it:

I have this one. It's a beast and it takes a lot of energy to get up to temperature. If you aren't planning on doing large batches of cans I recommend going with a smaller one. Also be mindful to select a canner that is compatible with glass top stoves if you have one. Not all canners are compatible.

I could never get mine up to pressure on a glass top stove.

Once it is up to pressure, it cans exactly what a 23-quart Presto is supposed to can, processing a serious batch of stock, beans, or vegetables in a single run.

Built to last

The induction base did not fix any of the parts that wear. The body is thin aluminum, which dents if you knock it and stains or frets over time, especially against a hot glass top. Owners manage the staining with a splash of vinegar in the water, a workaround that tells you how soft the metal is:

Yes! I love it. I had it for almost a year before I used it. It works amazing. Make sure you add vinegar to the water

The rubber gasket is the part that wears out first. It seals the lid, it dries and hardens with age and heat, and when it goes the canner will not hold pressure until you swap it. Replacements are cheap and easy to find. Keep a spare on the shelf so a dead gasket never ends a canning day:

You’ve already heard to get and store replacement rubber gaskets. This is true. Get two. They are cheap. Also get replacement screens for the emergency pop.

The dial gauge is the other maintenance item. It reads exact pressure, but it drifts out of calibration and is supposed to be checked once a year, which in the US you can usually do free through a county extension office. Plenty of owners sidestep the whole issue by canning off the weighted regulator instead, since a weight cannot go out of spec. None of this makes the 01784 fragile. Many owners are years deep and still canning, and every failure point here is a cheap part rather than a dead machine. Add up the aluminum body, the wear-item gasket, and the drifting dial, though, and durability is the column where this canner scores lowest.

Living with it

Weight and setup account for nearly all the friction here; the canning itself is straightforward. Out of the box you get a dial gauge and a single 15-pound weight, which means watching the dial and riding the burner to hold pressure. Nearly everyone lands on the same fix: the three-piece weight set, so the regulator jiggles at the pressure you need and you hear it from across the room:

I like mine! Easy to use, fairly easy to clean. The instruction booklet it came with was good. I did buy the set of weights so that I did not have to rely on the pressure gauge. The weights rattle so that I can hear them and know that my pressure is correct instead of having to go and check the gauge periodically (knowing me I'd be a bit neurotic about it).

Cleanup and everyday use are easy, and the pot earns real goodwill by pulling double duty. Owners use it as a plain stockpot, a water-bath canner with the lid unlocked, and a big-batch cooker, which is a lot of value from one tall pot:

Just got the same one for Christmas. I've made and canned chicken stock in it with no issue.

Two setup notes save headaches. It ships with only one rack, so buy a second if you want to stack half-pints and pints in two layers and hit the advertised jar counts. And it is a tall, heavy unit when loaded: measure the clearance to your range hood before you buy, and on any glass or induction top, lift it on and off rather than sliding it so you do not scratch the surface:

I have the same, it works great. As others have mentioned, get the 3 piece regulator, but I also recommend getting a second canning rack, then you can do two layers of 500 ml jars if you wish.

How it compares

The comparison that decides this is with the 01784's own cheaper twin. Two other units come up as well.

Versus the Presto 01781 23-Quart: these are the same canner except for the base. The 01781 is all aluminum and cheaper, and on gas or a coil electric burner it does everything the 01784 does for less money. The only reason to pay up for the 01784 is induction or a glass top you want to protect. If you will never own an induction range, the 01781 is the smarter buy.

Versus the Presto Precise 23-Quart Digital: the digital model is the hands-off step up. It is a plug-in countertop unit that holds your pressure electronically, so there is no dial to watch or weight to ride. You pay more and give up a stovetop pot, but it removes the fiddliest part of pressure canning if that is what has kept you away from it.

Versus an all-aluminum T-fal 22-Quart: the T-fal is the budget floor. It is a comparable large aluminum canner for less, and it makes real canned goods, but it will not run on induction and is a rougher match for a glass top. It is the pick only if price is the priority and you are certain your stove will always be gas or coil.

Using it well

Buy the three-piece weight set and can off the jiggling regulator instead of the dial, since the weight never needs calibrating. Keep a spare rubber gasket and a spare over-pressure screen on hand so a worn part never ends a session, and lightly oil the gasket before storing it to keep the rubber supple. Add a second rack so you can stack smaller jars in two layers. If your only stove is a weak glass top that struggles to bring it to pressure, a portable induction burner is a cheap way to drive it and keeps the weight off your main cooktop.

If you are still deciding whether induction or glass-top canning is even worth the trouble, it is worth reading how the stove question plays out across brands first. Our guide to pressure canning on a glass-top or induction stove walks through the weight limits, the aluminum problem, and the standalone-burner workaround in more depth, with the 01784 in context.

What we'd do

On an induction range we would buy this one, because very nearly nothing else will run on that stove. It cans a full 23-quart batch safely, doubles as a stockpot and water-bath pot, and runs on the same proven, cheap-to-maintain Presto mechanics that have been canning food for decades. For an induction or glass-top kitchen it is the sensible default, and owners who bought it for that job rarely regret it.

The induction base is the only upgrade, which is what holds the score down. Above it sits the same thin aluminum body and rubber gasket as the cheaper model. You are paying for capability, not durability, and you still own the gasket, dial, and weight maintenance. Gas or coil stove? Buy the aluminum 01781 and pocket the difference. Induction? The magnetic base is the difference between canning and not canning, and that is worth the money as long as you expect a capable pot with a few wear items rather than a heirloom.