Presto Vs All American: Best Pressure Cooker for Mushroom Farming 

My thoughts: First, you forgot to vent. The rockers should be put on 10-15 minutes after steam begins to escape, not right when the heat is turned on. Second, the volume of the AA is smaller, and this could account for the faster time to reach pressure. Third, you did not measure the total cook time, including cool-down. That would have been the most important thing to know, as most people report that AA's take much longer to depressurize compared to Presto's. Perhaps this is because they are much heavier aluminum (not steel). And, as someone already mentioned...never take a screwdriver to your pressure cooker! Those things are expensive, and you don't want to risk damaging one. And when talking about saving time and money, I would suggest switching to gas. A hotplate is just another expense, whereas most people already have a stove. Gas is a lot less expensive than electricity, and you will be able to cycle your PC faster, as it won't take an hour and a half just to reach pressure. I use gas, and my 23 quart Presto only takes 20-30 minutes to reach pressure. I would rather save time and money by buying a cheaper, more lightweight PC that cools down faster. If I buy three Presto's for the same amount of money as one AA, I've already tripled my productivity. Having to replace a seal once in a blue moon is a negligible expense for maintenance.

You're the man Gary. Awesome video!

ive had the same 23 qt presto for like 14 years

I love my Presto's! For the price, they cannot be beat. I have 2 of them with the Cadco burners! I think I would go with the induction plates if I did it again.

I just found your channel and I'm extremely impressed at the depth of your content. There is so much bad information out there it's really fantastic to see someone actually put the relevant questions to the test. Thank you very much.

I've been using two all american sterilizers since 2010 love um! Btw theyr'e aluminum Gary not steel😮

Grain prep with a view! living the dream. Would you say the Cadco burners are safe? I have a glass stove top and I stopped prepping grain on it since I'm paranoid the stove would break. What model are you using? thanks

Any advice on using a PC for activating the sterilization pouches for tools?

Don't use a screwdriver on the AA, lube the metal seal with a very thin layer (on a paper towel) vegetable oil, or get some silicone grease even better, and apply with your finger. I've had my AA for over 30 years and never needed a screwdriver. I use silicone grease i have on hand as a home brewer, and only need to reapply after about 6 runs or more, as silicone grease is the bomb.

I have both, Canners/sterilizers, and use natural gas....the AA with more mass always takes a little longer because of the mass. Sure you could blast it, but do ya want to melt (or pop) the bags, and find out after all is said and done.

I have five all American 25x that I run on a 4 hour kettle timer takes an hour to get to temp pressure and I let the run for 2.5 hours .... I am in Texas and I've tried 90 minutes and I get 40% contam at that but at the higher run time I'm able to mitigate the issues in part my partner/ mentors are biochem and microbiology people and I am 1 year in putting together my first farm .... From tattoos to fungi

Also, the flow hood makes my mushroom grow.

I was thinking about adding the all american electric element and controls to my all American stove top, (bottom).

I noticed you sealed your bags before cooking them. I have heard this can damage the air vent unless it's a 5 um filter which most people don't use for grain. What are your thoughts on that?

Should cool em in laminar HEPA flow Incase cool down draws non sterile air, no?

Great timing! I'm in the market for a new pressure canner.

Given the additional mass of the AA canner I would have expected the presto to come up to temp faster- same with respect to cooling. This is an interesting comparison but I would suggest an important factor to consider is the energy output of the burners. On a regular electric or propane range, my 23 quart prestos come to pressure in less than half an hour-including a 10 to 15 minute steam purge. I suspect these burners just don’t have the necessary output for rapid pressurization. In most cases, from the moment I turn the burners on, my canners are cooling in front of the flow hood about two hours later. With that said, it may not even matter provided a prospective grower’s workflow is adjusted to accommodate these cook times. I know plenty of people who use atmospheric sterilizers with run times that are 10 times longer than what’s required of my presto fleet. And they are killin’ it!

Why did you not get the one that plugs in?

If you keep the presto gasket oiled it doesn't need replaced, ive had mine for over 6 years, and still using the same ole gasket, still in pristine shape. Nice video.

The difference in speed isn’t because of the difference in cookers, but rather your burners. Those burners are really weak compared to gas stoves. Same goes for induction cooktops. They take forever to get your PC up to pressure. My 23qt presto reaches 15psi from cold water in 22 minutes when I run them on a gas stove.

I like the Idea of a rubber seal, I had to hand lap my All American Sterilizer top to the bottom, to get it to seal better, A hotplate didn't have the output to counter the leaking seal. Do not try to lap the metal seal cuz you could really screw it up.

Which model cadco hot plates are you using or reccomend?

What size bag do you use for grains?

Are you autoclaveing agaqr with these\?

hey man thanks for sharing this amazign video, I want to give back something to you, so I recommend you to look for this video in youtube "How to Run An All American Pressure Cooker for Mushroom Cultivation" by "mushroom revival" it's a sweet and very knowledgeable lady explaining in depth how to properly use the AA pressure cookers, I found specially helpful the part about closing the lid in balanced way, Its hard to explain because english is not my first language, but basically you put your lid on the cooker but don't tight all the way the locks, you do it in pairs preferably and trying to do it only 2 o 3 full twist per lock in order to make the lid fall in position all over the cover, so you wont have one side full settle while the diagonally opposed side is way up and you can't fix it... Its like tightening the nuts of a car's wheel. Also be careful using metal tools on the AA because the metal on metal seal its very precise and any deformation would probably be a headache :D

Where do you buy your grain

🔥👍👍

I suspect that your heater plate(s) do not have adequate power (for a fair comparison). At least not in an un-insulated room exposed to the elements. You did not vent the cookers for the recommended 15 mins or so prior to placing to rockers. I use a Presto 23 with a stove top burner and it never takes 1 1/2 hours to reach 16 lbs pressure.

Love the content but just a tip your supposed to allow the PC to vent for 10 minutes before placing the weight on top that way your are sterilizing with steam and not just compressed air

Love the experiment. I was just about to grab 8 prestos, so happy I didn’t grab it

I don't seal my grain bags when pressure cooking I just fold them and then fold another 1 inch cold they seal perfectly. It's crazy to watch other mycologist and seeing how we all get the job done but in different ways.

Notice that you seal your bags before sterilizing. Have you had any challenges with bags exploding?

why don't you cover your bags in the PC with a trivet? that is not a recommended habit.

Sure the presto is behind! 1. It stands more in the wind at the opening of the shed and cools down more 2. It has larger volume which takes a bit longer to heat up! And BOTH can get air back while cooling through the rocker! I never ever ad contamination after cooling in any pot. Even the one I used for years definitely sucks air in while cooling.

Good stuff, love those cadco burners 👍 Get ready for the arm chair pressure cooker nazis to yell at you for not letting steam escape for 10 minutes before placing your rocker. Maybe they'll leave me alone for a little bit 😂

You should use a pressure STERILIZER not a pressure cooker.

there is also the T-Fal 22 qt pressure cooker. (P3105231) it has a silicone gasket but no weight, it has a 5, 10, 15 psi settings valve with a leaver, way better system than the presto. imo, the AM is not worth the money

First. Yes, I'm a child. 😂

The ONLY reason to buy the AA, is to buy an American built product , otherwise save yourself some cash and get the presto...

Just for kicks..have you switched the Presto on the other burner in case there is a difference in the Cadcos...?? ;^) MushLove