notbob wrote:
....
> I've read the "new" Ball lids are not as good as the "older" Ball lids,
> so users are recommending using other off-brand lids. Care to
> elaborate?

the way we can (oven canning) is different than BWB.

in the past when i've used some off-brand lids they
can blow off from the pressure being too much and the
lid not leaking enough during the oven stage. they
were significantly more shiney than the Ball lids so
they sealed faster and better than what we really
wanted.

note, this isn't a common happening at all, perhaps
6 lids out of a thousand, but i promptly switched to
Ball lids that i had on-hand and haven't had any issues
since then. also another note, sometimes odd jar and
ring sizes have been issues as we get a lot of jars
given to us from people who do yard sales or they know
people cleaning out their basements so sometimes we'll
have a ring or lid not work for some of those at times.

with new jars and lids, rarely any issues unless the
jar has a flaw not noticed by either of us during
cleaning/prep/filling.

i do still use off-brand lids for some things (when i
make freezer jam or some other things i freeze after
they're hot packed and then cooled down but not much
heat or processing after they're filled).


songbird