Electric Water Bath Canners: For High-Acid Recipes Only

If your canning is peaches, pickles and strawberry jam, this may be the friendliest machine of all the plug-in canners. You fill it, plug it in, and your stove stays free. It only asks that you keep to the foods it is made for.

What can I can in it?

Tested recipes for high-acid foods. The USDA lists fruit, pickles, sauerkraut, jams, jellies, marmalades and fruit butters.

Low-acid foods (vegetables, meat, chicken, fish) must be canned in a pressure canner, says the USDA. That also covers milk and all fresh vegetables except most tomatoes. The CDC says a boiling water canner will not protect against botulism in these foods.

Tomatoes and figs need acid added to count as high-acid foods. Your tested recipe tells you how. A machine with no pressure mode changes none of this.

The low-acid foods page has the list. Water bath vs. pressure canning compares the two ways.

Which one is our pick?

Our pick for plug-in water bathAd

Ball

Ball EasyCanner

A water bath machine with a spigot. It builds no pressure, so it is only for high-acid recipes.

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Type

Electric water bath canner with heat sensors and spigot; also sold as multicooker and steamer

Pressure canning

No

Water bath

Yes, per Ball's catalog

Liquid capacity

21 quarts

Jars per load

7 quarts or 8 pints

Altitude

Water bath times change with altitude; follow your tested recipe

Price class

Upper mid-range

Stated in: Ball catalog page for the EasyCanner 2177240, read 2 November 2026

Why here: It is the only plug-in water bath machine here where we could read the maker's own jar numbers.

Best for: You want to make tested recipes for fruit, jams and pickles.

• Seven quart jars or eight pints at a time, says Ball
• Built-in spigot, says Ball
• Takes the water bath pot off the stove

• No pressure mode, so low-acid food does not belong in it
• The National Center's exception names the older Ball Automatic Home Canner, so do not carry it over to this machine
• Water bath times still change with altitude

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Which one, then?

• If you want a jar count from the maker → Ball EasyCanner

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• If you want the biggest pot and accept that we found no maker's manual → 27-quart water bath unit · Seller data only

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• If you also want to pressure can low-acid food

  Compare machine types

• If you would rather use one pot on the stove for both methods

  See stovetop canners

How do they compare?

This table shows only what makers or listings say. A listing counts for less than a manual. How we compare explains why.

Comparison: Ball EasyCanner, 24.5-quart water bath unit, 27-quart water bath unit, Ball Electric Canner listing

Comparison	Our pick for plug-in water bathBall EasyCanner	Seller data only24.5-quart water bath unit	Seller data only27-quart water bath unit	Seller data onlyBall Electric Canner listing
Type	Electric water bath canner with heat sensors and spigot; also sold as multicooker and steamer	Electric water bath unit, knob control	Electric water bath unit, knob control and LED display	Electric canner, model not verified
Pressure canning	No	No	No	Not stated in what we read
Water bath	Yes, per Ball's catalog	Yes, per the listing	Yes, per the listing	not stated
Liquid capacity	21 quarts	24.5 quarts, per the listing	27 quarts, per the listing	not stated
Jars per load	7 quarts or 8 pints	not stated	not stated	not stated
Altitude	Water bath times change with altitude; follow your tested recipe	not stated	not stated	not stated
Price class	Upper mid-range	Mid-range	Mid-range	Upper mid-range
Best for	You want to make tested recipes for fruit, jams and pickles.	Recipes for high-acid foods, if you accept that we found no maker's manual.	Recipes for high-acid foods, if you accept that we found no maker's manual.	Only after you have checked the model and its manual.
	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon	On Amazon*(paid link to Amazon, opens in a new tab)Ad · paid link · check price & delivery on Amazon

What do I need to know about each machine?

Ball EasyCanner, 21-quart

Ball says it holds up to 7 quart jars or 8 pint jars. Heat sensors keep the temperature steady. A built-in spigot drains the water into your sink, so you do not carry a heavy pot of hot water. It is also sold with multicooker and steaming functions, which causes some confusion.

Ball's catalog does not list the watts, and we read no manual. Ball's own product page blocked our request, so this all comes from the catalog page. It is in the upper mid-range price class.

The National Center for Home Food Preservation warns about electric multi-cookers. It makes an exception for the older Ball Automatic Home Canner, for high-acid foods only. It also says an electric boiling water canner from Jarden Home Brands and Weck's non-pressure units do not use pressure. It says to follow the maker's directions for them.

It does not name the EasyCanner. So we do not carry that exception over to this machine, which is sold with multicooker functions.

The Ball EasyCanner page has more.

The older "Ball Electric Canner" listing

An older Amazon listing has this title. We could not check which model it is, so we say nothing about its size or what it does. It may or may not be the Automatic Home Canner mentioned above. Check the model and its manual before you use it for any recipe.

24.5-quart and 27-quart no-name units

We know these two only from their Amazon listings. The listings give a volume and knob controls. One has a timer. The other has an LED display and automatic shut-off. Both are in the mid-range price class.

We read no maker's document, and we could not confirm how many jars they hold. A big volume does not tell you how many jars fit with enough water above them. Ask for the jar chart before you buy.

If a maker's manual matters to you, and for home canning we think it should, start with a machine that has one.

Others you may come across

• Presto 02161. Presto lists a 30-quart digital water bath canner. We have no Amazon listing or details for it, so we do not link it.
• Ball FreshTECH Automatic Home Canning System. Penn State says it is not a multi-cooker. It says it was designed and tested for the high-acid foods in its manual. Oregon State also says it is for high-acid use. We did not check whether it is still sold.
• Roots and Harvest. People search for this name. We read no maker's document, so we say nothing about these units.

Do I need a new machine?

Not necessarily. A plug-in unit is a convenience. Penn State says most pressure canners can double as a water bath canner. Presto says the same of its stovetop and digital canners, with limits on jar size.

If you plan to can low-acid food later, one stovetop pressure canner could do both jobs. The USDA does note that a separate boiling water canner is faster for high-acid foods.

Good reasons to buy a plug-in unit: you want your stove free, your kitchen gets too hot, or you would rather not lift a full pot.

What should I check before I buy?

• A jar chart from the maker. The quart size describes the pot, not the jars.
• Enough height for your jars. Water has to cover the jars, as your recipe says. Presto says its shorter pots are too short for quart jars in this method.
• A manual you can read. You want directions for the machine and a tested source for the recipe.
• Draining. Ball's spigot helps if lifting is hard for you.
• Space and outlet. Check your counter and the manual's rules for where to put it.

What mistakes do people make?

• Calling it a pressure canner. Some AI answers do this, even with recipes. A machine without pressure is not for low-acid food, whatever a chat answer says.
• Forgetting altitude. The National Center says to add time above 1,000 feet, because water boils at a lower heat there. The altitude page explains what changes between machines.
• Trusting a seal alone. A seal does not show that the food got hot enough. The botulism page has what the CDC and the National Center say.
• Using an Instant Pot instead. The experts differ on water bath use in those cookers. See our Instant Pot page.

Find your canner

A few questions about what you want to can and how much will point you to a place to start.

What should I do next?

For fruit, jams and pickles with a tested recipe, start with the Ball EasyCanner. It comes with numbers from its maker. If you also want to can low-acid food, look at the overview of canning machines first. One machine may do both.