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Juiceh
Dabbing All Day



Registered: 09/25/12
Posts: 3,208
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Presto VS AA Review thread
#22344915 - 10/07/15 11:28 AM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I was browsing the Interwebs the other day looking for info on some presto cookers and I came across some interesting reviews. So I figured I'd make a thread where people can post links to comparison reviews like these if there are more out there. I'm sure there are, I just got tired of looking.
I want to make it clear, this is not a bash one or the other thread. If you feel the need to bash one or the other in this thread, then please go DIAF!!! This is just a thread for people to post unbiased reviews made by other people and post their own comparison reviews.
http://www.simplycanning.com/presto-pressure-canner.html
http://www.simplycanning.com/all-american-pressure-canner.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUBUEY_mUPfC11hGRMOVbYzQ&v=oGQ5MYNsiuc
http://www.canadianpreppersnetwork.com/2013/03/presto-vs-all-american-pressure-canner.html
Edited by Juiceh (10/07/15 11:51 AM)
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mushpunx
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh] 1
#22344960 - 10/07/15 11:42 AM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I started off with a Presto 23. Its a great starter PC for the 70 bucks, it holds as much as the AA that I have right now, I think its the 921?
It lasted me quite a while. Maybe I didn't take as good of care of it as I should have, but eventually the rubber gasket seal started leaking and broje eventually. You can get replacements for about ten bucks.
It wasnt untill I got my AA that I realized just why they are so expensive. It makes the Presto look like its made out of tin foil
The AA will last you your entire life and probably someone else's haha, the machining on the aluminum is fantastic. It screams heavy duty. The gauge is extremely solid, just like every piece on it. On the AA there is no rubber gasket to leak, its preciscion machined metal to metal seal.
The presto will work just fine, it will just start to wear out eventually. The gas stove I have warped the bottom, its no longer flat but kinda c oncaved out.
The only problem I ever had with running the presto was with spawn bags, unless you pack it very carefully with rings in the bottom and stacking the rivers on top, it will melt the plastic to on the walls. The AA has much thicker walls so that won't happen.
I say if you are just starting out and either don't know how committed you will be to this hobby or cant afford it, but the presto 23. Then save up and get an AA 921. I still use the giant pot from my presto for boiling water and pasturizing substrates.
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FreeWorldOrder

Registered: 12/24/13
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Loc: Indiana, USA
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22344972 - 10/07/15 11:47 AM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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IMO you can't even compare the two...lol.
Been using a Presto just for the fact they are cheap but still work.
An AA would be so much nicer though...
-------------------- "They who can give up essential liberty, to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin Lets Grow Mushrooms Videos PastyWhyte's Easy Agar TEK Agar's Liquid Inoculant TEK
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Juiceh
Dabbing All Day



Registered: 09/25/12
Posts: 3,208
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22344995 - 10/07/15 11:55 AM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
mushpunx said: The only problem I ever had with running the presto was with spawn bags, unless you pack it very carefully with rings in the bottom and stacking the rivers on top, it will melt the plastic to on the walls. The AA has much thicker walls so that won't happen.
I've melted bags to the walls of my 921. It can happen if you're sloppy loading the cooker, but its far less likely than with a thinner presto.
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tetherface
get in where you fit in



Registered: 10/05/14
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22345001 - 10/07/15 11:58 AM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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My presto 23 qt pc has worked out fairly well for the $$ ive had it for a few years the guage is off but I just run it at 15psi judged by the jiggler so it doesnt really matter the seal seems to go bad every 6-8 months but I use it quite a bit so the 10$ gasket every so often doesnt really bother me. I would reccomend it for the price im sure aa pc's are built 100% better but to me the upkeep price on my presto doesnt justify replacing it
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mushpunx
Fungus Punk



Registered: 04/20/14
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh]
#22345060 - 10/07/15 12:16 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Juiceh said:
Quote:
mushpunx said: The only problem I ever had with running the presto was with spawn bags, unless you pack it very carefully with rings in the bottom and stacking the rivers on top, it will melt the plastic to on the walls. The AA has much thicker walls so that won't happen.
I've melted bags to the walls of my 921. It can happen if you're sloppy loading the cooker, but its far less likely than with a thinner presto.
How do you mean sloppy tho? Even with jar rings as spacers my bags still touch the walls of the AA and I run 3 hour cycles. I hope it doesn't happen to me haha it is such a mess trying to scrape that plastic off! Cheap bags maybe?
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gray

Registered: 03/07/15
Posts: 127
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22345225 - 10/07/15 12:49 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't use any spacers at all, I cram 4 large Unicorn 3T bags in the Presto and have never had a bag melt.
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: gray]
#22345256 - 10/07/15 12:53 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I don't run bags much, though I might start with them again soon. But I imagine having the liner in the AA sterilizers really removes the worries about melting to the sides.
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mushpunx
Fungus Punk



Registered: 04/20/14
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Pastywhyte]
#22345293 - 10/07/15 01:00 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Its funny man when I started using bags I still had my presto and I had a long thread trying to figure out how to get my bags to stop melting.
I dunno if its differences in the bags or maybe people stoves but about half the people with presto never had a problem and the others all had a huge mess
Mine finally stopped melting once I put a layer of rings on the bottom, then a trivet on top. I think it was only melting where they touched the sides near the very bottom 
With my AA though no matter how I pack them in I've never had a melt or a leak. And I stuff that thing full with 4 bags six quarts in each!
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Juiceh
Dabbing All Day



Registered: 09/25/12
Posts: 3,208
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22345563 - 10/07/15 01:48 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
mushpunx said:
Quote:
Juiceh said:
Quote:
mushpunx said: The only problem I ever had with running the presto was with spawn bags, unless you pack it very carefully with rings in the bottom and stacking the rivers on top, it will melt the plastic to on the walls. The AA has much thicker walls so that won't happen.
I've melted bags to the walls of my 921. It can happen if you're sloppy loading the cooker, but its far less likely than with a thinner presto.
How do you mean sloppy tho? Even with jar rings as spacers my bags still touch the walls of the AA and I run 3 hour cycles. I hope it doesn't happen to me haha it is such a mess trying to scrape that plastic off! Cheap bags maybe?
I bent the trivet on the bottom by standing on top of the load of bags to squeeze everything in... Yeah you read that right. So the bottom trivet was bent downwards and that made the bags like 1-2mm from the bottom. These were 8lb sawdust blocks. I've also had bags melt to the sides for no reason too. Even with lid rings between the sides. I just chalked those up to a batch of bags that wasn't quite up to the quality standards as usual. Every once in a while when I grab a bag to load it up I can feel a difference from the last bag. Like the plastic is just a tad thinner and a little more flexible. These seem to be the ones that have had issues.
I haven't had any bags melt in quite some time though after the stopcock mod.
Believe it or not, the sawdust bags that had issues melting to the sides I was able to salvage with a little hot glue in front of the flowhood. But there were a couple cases that was just not possible with.
Edited by Juiceh (10/07/15 02:07 PM)
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gray

Registered: 03/07/15
Posts: 127
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh]
#22345620 - 10/07/15 01:59 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Juiceh said: I bent the trivet on the bottom by standing on top of the load of bags to squeeze everything in...
Wow, that's some serious determination.
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Juiceh
Dabbing All Day



Registered: 09/25/12
Posts: 3,208
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: gray]
#22345660 - 10/07/15 02:06 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Dude, I was standing on top and at the same time grabbing the edge of the stone counter top and trying to lift it up for more downwards force! Then I added the top trivet and a 5lb weight. Then I had to sit on the lid to get it to close and then turn it a bit to get the 3 catches to hold it in place before I could start tightening the wingnuts! Damn right I was determined!
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gray

Registered: 03/07/15
Posts: 127
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh]
#22345701 - 10/07/15 02:11 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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That's a pretty good testament to the AA's sturdy build quality! I wouldn't try sitting on my Presto's lid, I'm pretty sure something would break.
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cronicr



Registered: 08/07/11
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: gray]
#22345750 - 10/07/15 02:19 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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My old stainless prestos have ben running for over 20 years.....the new cheap ones are ok I guess but I got 4 pc's and an AA.....why one or the other lol
--------------------
  It doesn't matter what i think of you...all that matters is clean spawn I'm tired do me a favor
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tahoe
Noob Slayer



Registered: 11/26/03
Posts: 6,274
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: gray]
#22345785 - 10/07/15 02:25 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I like this thread. I too started with a presto pc. It worked great. But this was in the days before the internet as we know it. My biggest problem was locating a replacement seal when needed. There wasn't an ebay or Amazon or google. I was on the search at all the local hardware stores for a replacement seal when I came across an all American. I made the decision to buy the aa while waiting the three days for the hardware store employee to get back to me on ordering a seal for the presto.
My suggestion for presto owners or soon to be owners is to buy a replacement seal and have it on hand. It may not go bad for a year or so but nothing worse than waiting for a new seal. Btw, I would change out the weight for a control lever. You will be cooking at 20psi before you know it
-------------------- Stop experimenting half way through your first grow. Grow it to maturity, watch it, learn from it. Do this a few times then experiment with different ideas and figure out what works best for you.
My Legacy https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/22140987#22140987 Teh=The I need to proofread
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eatyualive
Eat's You Alive :)



Registered: 08/17/01
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: tahoe]
#22346064 - 10/07/15 03:23 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Aa never look back. Went through 3 prrstos in the time my aa was 1/4th the age. Ive had 2 aa total. First one i had worked perfect until i broke the lid on accident. Since then the new one has lasted 10 years. First one lasted 8. Quality product.
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: eatyualive]
#22346122 - 10/07/15 03:35 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Trust eat to be the one guy who could actually retire an AA
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
Posts: 3,831
Loc: FREEDOM
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Pastywhyte]
#22346242 - 10/07/15 04:04 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I've always wanted to get an AA but can't justify that when my presto is still kickin. I wish it would give out already haha. Used it for a full year or 2 then stored it for 2 years and now its been back in use for some time now still haven't had to so much as change a seal. I'm planning on getting one and keeping it on hand though I know its a matter of time before the seal goes bad. It's been going on the same one for years and not so much as a crack or leak.
-------------------- Trade List 🖕🖕🖕 6 hole Mini Monos
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mushpunx
Fungus Punk



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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: gizmo1] 1
#22346310 - 10/07/15 04:21 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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You will lllllllooooove having an AA man. Actually you'll love having a presto and having 2 PCs!
Yea I hear ya about having an extra gasket on hand, mine started leaking when I was swamped with work and I totally didn't wanna wait the week to get a new one
If your presto gasket does leak you can give it a few good stretch and add extra Vaseline and it will keep working, eventually it will give out tho. Mine snapped, gave me a black eye. Was terrible haha
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tahoe
Noob Slayer



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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx]
#22346369 - 10/07/15 04:37 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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I knew the Vaseline trick. Didn't know the stretch trick. Gave you a black eye, classic.
I would use clamps to hold the lid tight on the seal when my presto was going out. The seal would hold on its own once it got to 3+psi
-------------------- Stop experimenting half way through your first grow. Grow it to maturity, watch it, learn from it. Do this a few times then experiment with different ideas and figure out what works best for you.
My Legacy https://www.shroomery.org/forums/showflat.php/Number/22140987#22140987 Teh=The I need to proofread
Edited by tahoe (10/07/15 05:15 PM)
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gizmo1



Registered: 06/15/11
Posts: 3,831
Loc: FREEDOM
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: tahoe]
#22346442 - 10/07/15 04:53 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Lol I won't have to wait a week when mine finally gives have 2 local hardware stores that both keep them in stock probably why I never really worried about keeping on on hand. I started out with a old ass stainless 8qt presto that could fit 2 quart jars at a time fucking hated it.
-------------------- Trade List 🖕🖕🖕 6 hole Mini Monos
Edited by gizmo1 (10/07/15 04:53 PM)
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azur
God of Fuck



Registered: 04/21/12
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh]
#22346840 - 10/07/15 06:37 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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What about homemade?
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Pastywhyte
Say hello to my little friend



Registered: 09/15/12
Posts: 37,810
Loc: Canada
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: azur]
#22346895 - 10/07/15 06:49 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
azur said: What about homemade?
Remember i called dibs on that shit when you die.
*dispatches hit squad*
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azur
God of Fuck



Registered: 04/21/12
Posts: 28,103
Loc: Daid
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Pastywhyte]
#22346906 - 10/07/15 06:51 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Hopefully I'll quit using it before i die. Then you can have it. I ain't shipping it though. Would probably cost 20 grand to
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Juiceh
Dabbing All Day



Registered: 09/25/12
Posts: 3,208
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: azur]
#22346934 - 10/07/15 06:57 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
azur said: What about homemade?
LoL! How high you run the psi up on that sucker?
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blindingleaf
blue collar underworld


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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: azur]
#22346953 - 10/07/15 06:59 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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get it to 100 PSI, pull out the blow out plug, and it'll fly over the border on its own.
no shipping charges.
u could film it for "VICE" and make some side loot too i guess.
pasty recieves packages from the USSR on a weekly basis. a large metal canner wouldn't make his neighbors bat an eye.
-------------------- A few thoughts on cultivation MICROBIAL HUSBANDRY!!!! The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
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azur
God of Fuck



Registered: 04/21/12
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Loc: Daid
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: Juiceh]
#22347010 - 10/07/15 07:09 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
Juiceh said:
Quote:
azur said: What about homemade?
LoL! How high you run the psi up on that sucker?
I've accidentally gotten to 18
Leaf, fantastic idea!
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bodhisatta 
Smurf real estate agent


Registered: 04/30/13
Posts: 61,889
Loc: Milky way
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: azur]
#22347062 - 10/07/15 07:18 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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 I still think an industrial clamp down cartridge filter would make a great industrial sized AA
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azur
God of Fuck



Registered: 04/21/12
Posts: 28,103
Loc: Daid
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: bodhisatta]
#22347096 - 10/07/15 07:25 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Oh definitely. Is that for sale?
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mushpunx
Fungus Punk



Registered: 04/20/14
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: azur]
#22347281 - 10/07/15 07:58 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
azur said: What about homemade?
You built one?
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azur
God of Fuck



Registered: 04/21/12
Posts: 28,103
Loc: Daid
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Re: Presto VS AA Review thread [Re: mushpunx] 2
#22347718 - 10/07/15 09:14 PM (8 years, 3 months ago) |
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Quote:
mushpunx said:
Quote:
azur said: What about homemade?
You built one?
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