Problems with Stove tops and Waterbath Canners.

A user e-mailed me with the following question today:

I would like to purchase your bathwater canner but it says that it is not recommended for the kind of stove I have. Any suggestions as to what I can do besides buying a new stove?

Some flat surfaced cook-tops don't conduct heat evenly or aren't perfectly flat. This can make the temperature in the waterbath canner fluctuate.

To resolve this, I recommended she try one of the coiled single electric burners that are at this link, or a propane burner or cook stand. One of those large pots and burners that were used for deep frying turkeys will work well too, but they need a canning rack or fine pebbles at the bottom.

I have one of the propane burners for my waterbath canner that I only use outside for security purposes. Propane burns a lot hotter than natural gas, so the water heats up a lot faster. If you are canning a large batch, you might set up a couple of them.