I've been canning for several years and already owned just about every type of canner out there (water bath, steam, & pressure). I had this on my wishlist for several years wondering if it would be worth it for me. Well, it definitely *is* and I only wish I had gotten it sooner.The major pro here is the worry-free and (almost) hands off pressure canning. No more anxiously checking the stove and the gauge. No more setting and resetting and hoping you didn't your forget timers.For me, this outweighs the major con - the small capacity. (The Carey holds just about half as many jars as a standard stovetop pressure canner). Because it's so easy, I don't mind using it more often. I also think the small capacity will inspire me to can more of my small garden harvests this summer as I often end up freezing green beans and other veggies when I feel I don't have enough to make firing up the pressure canner worth it.The steam canning function also works well, but stovetop steam canning is so easy that it's not a huge selling point for me. I'm glad it's there and I have used it a few times, but I personally would not have purchased the Carey just for that.I have not tried the water bath function as I quit water-bathing a couple of years ago. I have not tried the slow cooker function as I already own a Crock-Pot.In summary, this electric canner is well priced. It is simple to use, heats up quickly, and is a valuable tool even for those who are already experienced and fully equipped home canners. I highly recommend it and if I had to start my canning journey over, this would be my first purchase.

So easy to use and clean! Best part is the convenience! It takes out any guess work when you are pressure canning! So happy with this product!

there is no one making electric versions for Australia, you can however get stovetop options. It is an American product shipped out of America, it uses 110V, it requires a 1000w or bigger 240v to 120v stepdown transformer, they are around $100. if you plug it in to our mains power you will blow it up.I love this thing, i use it all the time, also as a slow cooker it works really well. its simple to use but takes a couple of practice runs to get the timing figured out.

I've been canning with two stove top canners for a few years and became curious about digital canners after watching 'that woman with a gadget' on the Red Rose Homestead YouTube videos as she compared the various models. She said the Carey/Nesco is simple to use so I started looking at them and the Carey I bought was an 'Amazon Renewed Unit' so the price was darn reasonable. I was relieved to find that, other than the box not being original, all parts were wrapped in plastic and in 'like new' condition. Even the owners manual has no appearance of use. I notice in illustrations of the Carey, they show a detachable power cord and what I have has a permanently wired power cord so maybe this is a first generation unit or something. All I know is that it works just fine. Yesterday I canned four quarts of Yak with Wine Sauce. Ball Blue Book calls for beef but Yak is just a long haired bovine, it's what I have on hand, and it worked just fine. I followed the instructions and yes, once it has vented for 10 minutes you can walk away and relax. I usually work up a sweat during the prep and clean up so first thing I want is to get in the shower. It is so nice to not have to open the bathroom door, sometimes still wet, and check to make certain pressure is still where it needs to be, yea, a great advancement of civilization has taken place with digitalization of the home canning process. After reading many reviews, I think Carey should have used a V for 'vent' rather than an E for 'exhaust' in the digital read out, this is confusing some people who instantly think they have an error code. Having said that, my suggestion to eliminate most people's confusion is, READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, DO WHAT THE INSTRUCTIONS TELL YOU TO DO, WHEN THE INSTRUCTIONS SAY TO DO IT. Yes, it can be a bit intimidating doing something for the first time with steam puffing out and a digital readout zipping around in a circle but the instructions plainly say, be patient, wait for a beep or another signal before doing anything. I felt that everything is very clearly explained in the instructions. I like that the lid is hinged and comes off, again following the instructions, quite easily. Many people do not care for the non-stick coating of the pot, I have no strong feelings about that. I had two jars siphon quite a bit and it cleaned up very easily. I'll probably continue to use my Instant Pot to pressure cook in anyway. OK, just one use but like so many others, I'm positively impressed and just might be buying another digital canner. The next one could be a Carey or it might be something else, just to try something different. My daughter always wonders what to get 'the guy who has everything' for Christmas, I'll be letting her know how she could 'surprise me'. Have continued to pressure can and pressure cook, very satisfied with this unit. Update, I have pressure canned five pints of baked beans, worked great. Used as pressure cooker and found that for myself, single person, Carey is larger than necessary, Instant Pot (6 qt) is more appropriate size, families may find Carey very much to their liking. Used slow cooker mode for warming leftovers, again, worked great. Very much like that there is much less heat and humidity released than with stove top canners, don't have steamed up windows in the winter and while I try to do my canning during winter, if I do fish that I have caught in summer (when air conditioning is on) it is not such a big deal. Used the Carey for water bath canning and not so impressed, a great amount of steam came out of this unit the whole time, pint jars can tip over using the canning rack (checked manual to make sure I was using the right rack), water level was well below, I'd say one and a half inch, the top of the jars when canning (tomatoes in own juice) was done. All jars sealed but also had considerable siphoning in two (out of five) of the jars. I now have a Presto digital canner and for water bath canning, that is definitely my preference over the Carey.

OK

I absolutely LOVE this pressure cooker/canner/ steamer/slow cooker! Should have bought it years ago. I am a family doc working solo (manage my clinic operations as well as see patients and make hospital rounds) and my husband teaches high school full time. We have one preteen kid, a boy. He never, ever wants to eat a sandwich for lunches for school.Our family was majorly having problems making quality meals before this. Had a slow cooker but sometimes even that was not enough help. (Couldn’t get organized enough in the morning to get that going after a long, long, late day at work/hospital/palliative care home or whatever). So husband was making 4-5 suppers per week (bless his heart) and resorting to pizza, fried egg sandwiches, Mac n cheese, etc way too often. And those things didn’t make great leftovers for lunches.Have had it for a week and have used it 6 times. Love that it is easy to brown meat first, and most or all cooking (eg stew) can be done entirely in the pot. So fast! I made a whole chicken (pressure cooked in about 30 minutes, not including browning and depressurization time). Honey glazed carrots and squash in 10 minutes (kid and both adults wishing I’d doubled the recipe, we ate every morsel)! Spaghetti meat sauce (browned meat and onion in the pot, then slow cooked all ingredients overnight and refrigerated and froze some in the morning). Slow cooked beef stew w/ carrots, potatoes, onions. Chicken stock from the leftover carcass, bones...My friend makes her pets’ food with hers! I haven’t done that yet but may. She says she makes enough in one pot for 3 weeks of food for her XL dog (part wolf) and a cat, and that it is way cheaper and her dog’s skin condition cleared up (though using high quality dry dog food previously, he was becoming allergic to various things).It is very well made and I noted that, unlike InstaPot or some models, the lid can stay hinged, you don’t have to find a place on your counter for it to rest. But it is easy to remove for cleaning.The manual isn’t extensive but gives enough bare bones info. Carey gives you an alternate pressure release valve to switch out for the attached one for high altitudes. Turns out that where I live in Saskatchewan is a high altitude place and I need to use the alternate valve release. I looked up my altitude online simply enough. I also had to look up HOW to switch them out as I couldn’t see that in the included manual. But it was quite simple...just pull it up and off. And I had to look up myself online that it is normal when cool for the valve release to turn all around easily (doesn’t click or lock in place), and that it is also normal for a very tiny amount of sound and air to escape through the valve when cooking when valve is set to Airtight.I haven’t yet tried the canning function (which is why I chose to buy this instead of InstaPot which doesn’t advise canning with it). I intend to do that this weekend. The size is right for my canning plans (chicken stock, apple sauce, maybe pickles). If someone does a massive amount of canning, I’m not sure that you’d just want one of these. The manual included gives some basic and important info re: canning and food preservation. I like that most important things are noted in red lettering or all caps.The manual includes a couple sample recipes for both slow cooking (beef chilli and chicken w/ dumplings and baked ziti) and pressure cooking (BBQ ribs and chicken stock) and also one for canning after pressure cooking (salsa). Of course you can find about any recipe you want online or there are pressure cooker recipe books. I found easy ones on Pinterest.