find a manual and read it carefully...they can blow up.
My daughter wanted to can after she got married and while talking to her one day she told me about it and thru the conversation she mentioned the water level and then I asked her if she was doing water bath or pressure and she informed me she was pressure and I told her she put in way too much water she had filled it like water bath I informed her she was lucky it didn't "blow" for her. So really read your manual

The Blue Ball Book of Canning and Preserving.

Ball Blue Book of Canning

I use a pressure canner and the Ball canning book. Try the extension office if you have one in your area, they always have information for just about anything pertaining to canning or freezing. As other said be sure your jars have no nicks in them as they will not seal.

my grandmother taught me canning. i did not use the pressure cooker because i was scared of it. it boiled water in a pot and put the jars in there to seal them. The Ball cannng book is what I used. good luck and have fun...

You have to use the pressure cooker with certain foods, but a water bath cooker works with high acid foods. So you would probably use both. I know I do. :-D

I have a Ball canning book but I also another "Home Preserving" book by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine. It depends on what you are canning but if it is venison you need pressure canner. I use water for the jams/jellies. Word of warning, when you pressure can tomatoes, they will come out like a lot of water and smooched tomatoes at the top. You didn't do anything wrong, they will "settle" back down, you don't have to re-open, dump the liquid and re-can. That year I had real thick tomatoes.

I still can beef. Boy, does that taste great and it's a blessing when you need something in a hurry. Used to use the big pressure canner but sold that. Now use a pressure pan. Only 3 pts. at a time, but that is plenty for just one person. I always enjoyed canning and freezing. Felt as though I had really accomplished a great deal.

I would buy a Bernardin canning book or check the Bernardin.ca website. I always use the hot water bath canner with good results and I am buy no means an expert.

Canning can be so much fun. Too bad it happens primarily in the summer heat. But, you don't really need a book. All the information you need is right here on line. Just google in the information you're looking for. That will bring up a lot of sites from schools and agracultural sites. They are very simple. I had used a sunset book for years (before internet). I found that an easy book to follow. They have their subjects in catagories and charted ie. frozen foods, canning fruits, canning vegetables, meat, etc. very easy to follow and also has recipes. Ball didn't have their's grouped as easily to follow. But these days with internet . . . . . :thumbup: