When I attempt to pressure cook in my 8 quart Fagor Lux LCD Multicooker, it no longer builds up pressure. There are two places where pressure can be vented: a vent in the cover that can be set to Clean, Steam, or Pressure (I have it set to Pressure), and a second vent in the handle on the cover over which I have no control. Steam escapes from this second vent for the entire cooking cycle, and when the cooking cycle has completed, and I release the pressure by changing the first vent from Pressure to Steam, no pressure remains to be released.
Other than the mechanism that locks the lid on the Multicooker when there is pressure inside, there does not appear to be any linkage between the Multicooker and the lid, so I am wondering how the Multicooker controls the pressure. Specifically, the Multicooker allows me to choose either high pressure or low pressure (I have chosen high pressure), so my question is, how does the Multicooker control the pressure, since the vent(s) are in the lid, and there is no linkage between the Multicooker and the lid?
Since Fagor is in Bankruptcy, I am reluctant to send my Multicooker for repair, since I might never see it again. Any ideas what might be wrong with Multicooker, or whether this is something that I might be able to repair?
Best Answer
The body of the cooker doesn't directly control the pressure - this is regulated by the floating valve on the lid. It sounds like there is something wrong with the safety pressure valve on the handle. My first thought is a bad gasket or something preventing the gasket from sealing. Inspect the gasket if you can get at it and make sure there's no damage that would prevent a seal.
Worst case scenario you could try to find a replacement lid. It sounds like the body of the cooker still works fine so it would be a shame to discard the whole thing.