Presto 17 Quart Digital Pressure Canner (02152): Removable Pot, Water Bath Quarts

If you're comparing Presto's sizes, the 17-quart has a clear job. It's the original style in its taller form. The extra height lets quart jars go through a water bath load. The Presto Precise overview has the whole family. This page stays with this one machine.

Is the 17-quart right for me?

Pick it for one combination: a removable pot plus water bath quarts. If you mainly pressure can quarts, compare the 23-quart digital first. Presto says it holds more jars per load.

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Presto Precise

Presto Precise 17-Quart (02152)

The tall original style: a removable pot and five quart jars either way.

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Type

Canning-only electric with temperature sensor; removable pot

Pressure canning

Yes, per Presto

Water bath

Yes, quarts and smaller, per Presto

Liquid capacity

17 quarts

Jars per load

5 quarts, or 8 regular-mouth pints

Altitude

Per Presto, the sensor holds temperature at any elevation when pressure canning. Water bath times still change with altitude.

Price class

Premium

Stated in: Presto Precise Facts and FAQ (2025), read 2 November 2026

Why here: Of the four Presto Precise sizes, this and the 23-quart take quart jars in water bath canning. Only this one combines that with a removable pot, per Presto.

Best for: You want a removable pot and water bath quarts too.

• Five quart jars in pressure and water bath, says Presto
• Removable pot and a stainless cover that holds heat in, says Presto
• Letting out air and holding the heat are automatic, says Presto

• Presto has not published its own testing, and nobody outside the company has published test results
• Two fewer quart jars at a time than the hybrid sizes
• Canning only, not a cooker, says Presto
• Premium price class

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How many jars fit?

This is the chart from Presto's FAQ. It matches the spec sheet.

"Stacked" means two layers, which Presto calls double-decking. The manual shows how. Presto also says never to stack jars in water bath canning, and not to force jars to fit. Many AI answers still say this size holds more quart jars than Presto does, so trust the chart. The electric canner sizes page lines up every machine.

What are the specs?

One detail differs between Presto's own documents. The product page calls the removable pot stainless steel. The spec sheet calls it ceramic-coated and PFAS-free. If the pot material matters to you, ask Presto's consumer service about the unit you plan to buy.

What is it like to use?

The display walks you through named phases: warming, heating, venting, canning, cool down and done. You still do the handwork. You prepare the food by a tested recipe, set the time the recipe calls for, load and fill the jars, and lock the cover. You put the regulator on when prompted, and lift the jars out at the end with a jar lifter. Water amounts and timing come from your manual and quickstart guide, and we don't repeat them. See how to use an electric pressure canner for the flow, and our list of canner manuals to find yours.

If something goes wrong, it stops and shows a code. Presto says that if the temperature falls below 240°F, the canner ends the process and shows an error. The error code page explains how to read those. The sealing ring and the air vent/cover lock gasket need regular replacing, per Presto.

It has no dial to test. Presto says it never needs calibration or checking. We found no outside source that confirms or disputes this.

What stays open?

The USDA and the National Center for Home Food Preservation don't approve any canner. Presto's product page says it follows USDA guidelines, with a footnote that neither one approves equipment. The badge is Presto's own.

Nobody outside the company has published test results on Presto Precise canners. Kansas State and Penn State say Presto's research can't be checked. Oregon State and the National Center are reported to be working on it, in one answer from the Ask Extension service. A sensor in the canner doesn't measure inside your jars, and Presto has not published its jar data. Our safety page lays out who says what. We give no verdict of our own.

The recipe question stays open too, and the sources disagree. Presto says tested stovetop recipes work, and its quickstart guide names the National Center as one reliable source. Kansas State and Penn State say to follow only the manual. Kansas State's reason is that the manual leaves out at least two special USDA instructions. North Dakota State says to use tested recipes from the National Center or your state's university extension office (free local food-safety advice). Read your current manual and ask Presto.

Presto says no altitude adjustment is needed when pressure canning, because the sensor holds the temperature. Nobody outside the company has confirmed that. Water bath times still change with altitude, as the altitude page explains.

What are the alternatives?

• Smaller pot, no water bath quarts: the 12-quart digital holds the same 5 quarts under pressure, per Presto.
• Lower pot, more quarts under pressure: the 16-quart digital is a hybrid with no removable pot.
• A stovetop canner instead: the Presto 01781^* (paid link) is our main pick for most readers, and it costs less. The 23-quart stovetop page covers it. Electric vs. stovetop weighs the trade-off.