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Some of these posts are very old and might contain outdated information. You may wish to search for newer posts instead.
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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100 YEAR OLD PC
#5379793 - 03/08/06 11:45 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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    For the sake of "scale", the pressure gauge is HUGE. Holds a 1 gallon jar, or 6 quart jars. (4 standing & 2 sideways on top the standing ones)
They don't make PRESTO pressure cookers, like they used to. 
I was shopping for 20 ft steel "I" beams at a surplus steel yard, which also recycles various scrap metals. After finding & purchasing what I needed. I browsed around their yard, a few minutes, while waiting for the "I" beams to get loaded on my truck.
In the huge 15 ft tall aluminum scrap pile, I saw a hvy duty OLD PC that sort of looked like an AA . So, I scampered up the pile & grabbed it. After eyeballing it to insure it was intact, I carried it to the yard office & asked what they wanted for it.
With a puzzled look, they answered, $5, so I bought it. 
The company National Presto, then called Northwestern Steel and Iron Works was founded in 1905 in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. At it founding, it primarily manufactured industrial-size pressure canners, known as "canner retorts," for commercial canneries.
I took this near 100 year old metal to metal seal PC home & fired it up for a low pressure test run. SOB worked like the day it was brand new .
I am going to polish the puppy up shiny bright & replace the gauge & pressure relief valves with brand new ones. Threads are compatible with ALL American PC & Sterilizer parts, which I happen to have (already) .
Not that I need ANOTHER PC.  But, this old one is REALLY an antique. 
Amazing what you can find, if you keep your eyes open.
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_Lucid_
journeyman

Registered: 05/29/02
Posts: 154
Loc: no-mans land
Last seen: 12 years, 2 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5379826 - 03/08/06 11:56 PM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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pretty cool find agar, but i have to ask... what in the world do you need 20 ft steel I beams for? I mean, are you adding an addition to your house, or from reading your posts, more likely creating your own backyard radio telescope?
Edited by _Lucid_ (03/08/06 11:58 PM)
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Srirachi
Mold Hand


Registered: 10/18/05
Posts: 11,411
Loc: Fare Thee Well.
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5379837 - 03/09/06 12:00 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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A coming Tek:
"Mushroom Cultivation Back In The Day"
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Jaeger
Dreamer
Registered: 10/01/05
Posts: 960
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: Srirachi]
#5379847 - 03/09/06 12:04 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Lets see it go to 30psi  Funny what sparks your interest in this hobby
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: Srirachi]
#5379864 - 03/09/06 12:14 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Leary_Ban said: A coming Tek:
"Mushroom Cultivation Back In The Day"
  1858 mason jars
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: Jaeger]
#5379868 - 03/09/06 12:16 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
Jaeger said: Lets see it go to 30psi  Funny what sparks your interest in this hobby
First test run, I only took it to 10 psi.
Second test run (in the shop, not the kitchen) I took it to 25 psi.
It's SOLID.
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: _Lucid_]
#5379891 - 03/09/06 12:25 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
_Lucid_ said: pretty cool find agar, but i have to ask... what in the world do you need 20 ft steel I beams for?
Pole barn. Except, steel uprights.... instead of wood.
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_Lucid_
journeyman

Registered: 05/29/02
Posts: 154
Loc: no-mans land
Last seen: 12 years, 2 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5379925 - 03/09/06 12:46 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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awesome, although its sort of unrelated to cultivation, i hope you give a log of the building process of the barn as well Creation is creation right? Realy though, it looks really cool, ive been in the construction trade building houses for the last 4 years, had enough and looking for a career change, but i still find it all interesting. All your projects are quite thorough and very fascinating to read.
-------------------- The believer is happy, the doubter is wise - Hungarian proverb
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fungiamongi2
pharmer



Registered: 03/10/05
Posts: 1,042
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: _Lucid_]
#5379963 - 03/09/06 12:59 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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why not leave it original and be a nice decorative piece.
-------------------- gonna bring her a kiss, make those blues run
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Quote:
fungiamongi2 said: why not leave it original and be a nice decorative piece.
I will keep the original parts, just for that purpose & re-install them, when that time comes.
Just tinkering, for fun.
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tiny_rabid_birds
Nocturnal


Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 15,653
Loc: estados unidos
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Quote:
fungiamongi2 said: why not leave it original and be a nice decorative piece.
It's cool and all, being such an old peice, but I personally don't exactly find pressure cookers to be aesthetically pleasing or decorative.
Hell, it'd be more impressive if you tell people that it's 100 years old and still actually gets regular use, rather than it just sitting on a shelf.
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fungiamongi2
pharmer



Registered: 03/10/05
Posts: 1,042
Last seen: 10 years, 9 months
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no one needs to know my pressure cooker get regular use, and pressure cookers are sexy as hell
-------------------- gonna bring her a kiss, make those blues run
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makaveli8x8
Stranger

Registered: 02/28/06
Posts: 21,636
Last seen: 7 years, 7 months
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im not sure if this applys to the pc you have or not, but i remember hearing that the old pc's were dangerous and had a tendency to explode. Im not sure if this applys to the one you have or not but i would check into it for safty. of course it hasn't blown up yet so maybe im just stupid.
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  We were sent to hell for eternity Ø h® We play on earth to pass the time Over-population the root of all Evil-brings the Elites Closer to the gates.
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tiny_rabid_birds
Nocturnal


Registered: 11/08/05
Posts: 15,653
Loc: estados unidos
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I do believe that's why he said he tested its performance under higher pressures in his shop rather than the kitchen.
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Darkenshroom
PsychedelicExplorationist


Registered: 02/24/06
Posts: 683
Loc: I don't exist on this pla...
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As always Agar, wonderful, that thing is a beauty and will I am sure bring you years of joy, a trouper like that is a keeper.
And anyone who says pressure cookers aren't sexy is wrong. I find anything that can get it going hard and keep its steam pretty damn sexy. ^_~
Darken *smiles*
-------------------- ~The first and most important step in cultivation of the wonderful mushroom, is the cultivation of patience for without it you doom yourself to failure~
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Quote:
makaveli8x8 said: im not sure if this applys to the pc you have or not, but i remember hearing that the old pc's were dangerous and had a tendency to explode. Im not sure if this applys to the one you have or not but i would check into it for safty. of course it hasn't blown up yet so maybe im just stupid.
Old time PC's can be dangerous, if the seal gaskets, casting or safety release valves are bad.
This one has seen a considerable use. That tells me the casting is sound. I tested the safety release valves under LOW pressure & they function.
However, I am replacing the safety relief valve & pressure gauge, with modern ones.
Just for safeties sake. 
I have considerable experience with high pressure vessels, autoclaves & PC's. I would not advise any inexperianced novice to tinker, or alter a pressure vessel of any sort. Unless, done under stringent safety protocols.
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ohmatic
searcher


Registered: 02/28/04
Posts: 6,742
Loc: europe
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5380411 - 03/09/06 07:45 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Quote:
agar said: I would not advise any inexperianced novice to tinker, or alter a pressure vessel of any sort. Unless, done under stringent safety protocols.
yaaay pressure cooker modding 
 
wont post any more pics, someone could re-produce this and seriously hurt him/herself. peace ohm
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MONOTUB tek HEATBOMB tek RIP #cultivation! ....can't associate? well FUCK U !
Edited by ohmatic (03/09/06 07:46 AM)
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tokey666
Let's Build It Instead


Registered: 08/05/05
Posts: 666
Last seen: 2 years, 8 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5380416 - 03/09/06 07:47 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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LOL agar, you crack me up. You have a picture for EVERYTHING, I mean cmon, out of all the things to have a picture of on the shroomery, you have a pole barn. Its awesome.
So what about those flying monkeys making out during a Quiet Riot concert..? (just testing my theory) :P
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agar
old hand


Registered: 11/21/04
Posts: 9,056
Loc: Somewhere Else
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: tokey666]
#5380430 - 03/09/06 07:52 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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blueferret
some guy

Registered: 12/11/02
Posts: 355
Loc: cow town
Last seen: 14 years, 8 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5380484 - 03/09/06 08:23 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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That PC is awsome! I love the guage on it fucking sweet find!
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RogerRabbit
Bans for Pleasure


Registered: 03/26/03
Posts: 42,214
Loc: Seattle
Last seen: 11 months, 3 days
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: blueferret]
#5380667 - 03/09/06 10:02 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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I love it. If anybody ever puts together a photo museum of old mushroom equipment, that thing needs to be in it. RR
-------------------- Download Let's Grow Mushrooms semper in excretia sumus solim profundum variat "I've never had a failed experiment. I've only discovered 10,000 methods which do not work." Thomas Edison
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Snaggletooth
Stranger in a Strange Land


Registered: 10/24/05
Posts: 6,109
Loc: blinks stupidly
Last seen: 6 years, 8 months
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Re: 100 YEAR OLD PC [Re: agar]
#5380951 - 03/09/06 11:33 AM (17 years, 10 months ago) |
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Ahhhhh nothing like a 100 year old PC to make the Old Hands feel young again......j/k 
Nice find man
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Atheist Chat
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Hotnuts
old hand


Registered: 02/26/05
Posts: 3,436
Loc: Wild Blue Yawnder
Last seen: 25 days, 16 hours
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Great find! I bought one on the net that is from 1927. A 25qt. Sears and Roebuck rig. It's fantastic! I plan on having the guage rechromed before it starts to pit on me...
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Dem_Bones
Strangler



Registered: 02/12/05
Posts: 307
Loc: Oklahoma
Last seen: 1 year, 9 months
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From what i know the dangrous presser cookers are from the 40 and 50 here is a rip from a website (In 1941,at the start of WWII, smaller, cast aluminum pressure cookers enjoyed widespread popularity in most American homes. The production of pressure cookers by eleven major manufacturers was tightly regulated during World War II, as aluminum was needed for the war effort, and it wasn't long before the manufacturing of aluminum pressure cookers came to a halt. Cooks held onto their prewar pressure cookers and often several families shared a single cooker. In a time when fuel and food were rationed and shortages were commonplace, the pressure cooker was fast becoming a necessity rather than a mere convenience.
During the war years larger canners made of steel (not the stainless kind) continued to manufactured under approval of the War Production Board for the extremely important victory gardens. Food and fuel shortages forced a return to home canning, and several government programs supported the home front. Read more about vintage and used pressure cookers and safety.
The End of the Beginning
In 1945, with the war ending, the pent-up demand for pressure cookers was tremendous and soon there were 85 US manufacturers. Competition was steep and manufacturers tried to cut costs by producing cheaper, poor quality pressure cookers. Production methods favored quantity rather than quality and these inferior products flooded the market from the late 40's through 50's.
Busy cooks who had replied on their pre-war cookers rushed to buy new ones. New families were in the making and the newly married wives bought pressure cookers so they could cook the same recipes that mom made. Cooks suddenly found exploding pressure bombs in their kitchens and as the word spread about these flawed pressure cooker, people became reluctant to use them. The frequency of pressure cooker accidents founded the familiar expression of "...in a pressure cooker", implying disaster was imminent.
The old horror stories still abound, just as those aged, antique, and vintage pressure cookers still do. A great many of those dangerous old pressure cookers are still around, and are often sold at places such as EBAY, garage sales, and estate sales, as well as passed on from generation to generation as family keepsakes. Unfortunately the problems also persist to this day, as people find these poorly manufactured pressure cookers in the attics and basements of their grandmothers and great aunts and still try to use them.
Decline and Fall One by one manufacturers went out of business as cooks stopped using the post war pressure cookers. Only a few manufacturers could afford to stay in business as sales plummeted. The few diehard pressure cooker users were demanding a better quality pressure cooker, but manufacturers, burdened with overstocked warehouses, were slow to comply with consumer demands. When the new and improved models finally came on the market it was too little, too late and pressure cookery began a steady decline.
Marked with a bad reputation, pressure cooker usage continued to decline, and coupled with newer, modern cooking methods such as the arrival of the microwave oven, the art of pressure cookery nearly disappeared in the US. In the 70's there was a brief resurgence in pressure cooker popularity with many younger cooks drawn to a rural, back-to-nature lifestyle.)
-------------------- At the bottom of this page is a search bar to search all the post and threads on the forum so you can see all the other 500 people who asked the same thing.use the top search too it has shroomery approved FAQs USE IT YOU CAN DO IT !
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