Modifying The Pressure Pot

I'm cheap.  I wear a $35 pair of runners till they fall apart.  I got a great deal on the pressure pot.  And I know things don't last.  I guess its a matter of personal position where you stand on this post.

Before you do something, you have to ask...Is it worth it?  Do I spend the time/effort to make something last or do I just go out and buy another one and throw the old one out?  I prefer to milk what I have till it turns to dust.

So I modify my pressure pot.  Not the design, I basically replace certain parts.  If you rub steel on steel, eventually it will wear.  That's why I put coppercote on the threads that lock down the lid.  To keep the threads from binding.  But when you lock down the lid, the lid top gets marked up.  So we replace the thread.  Drill out the handles.  Tap them the same size as the threads that lock down the lid.  We use Aluminum Ready rod.  Cut it to length.  Thread it into the handle.  Then you drill through the handle AND the screwed in Aluminum Ready Rod and in that hole you install a spring pin.  This allows for 2 things.  It secures the Ready Rod from coming out and it also allows for you to be able to simply knock the pin out and install a new Threaded bar when this one gives out.  We use Aluminum because then it wears and doesn't gall the lid.  This helps the lid to last longer.  Coppercote the new threads and you're ready to go.

Now like I said, I paid $ 70 on sale for my pressure pot.  Its regularly closer to about $150-$200.  And in just over a year I have had to do maintenance.  So I figure 2-3 years to the pressure pot without preventative maintenance. 

Some of you might choose to just buy a new one.  I'm cheap.