Last night was a serious reminder that these pressure cookers deserve respect every single time we fire them up.  
About **an hour and 15 minutes into the run**, I started smelling something that reminded me of burnt popcorn. Something immediately felt wrong, so I shut everything down. After letting it cool completely and taking a closer look, I found out the **base of the cooker had started separating**. That separation was affecting how everything was sealing, even though I had already replaced the gasket.  
Looking back at it now, this could have ended very differently. I had actually ordered a replacement cooker last week, and it showed up today—the morning after this happened. Crazy how God sometimes puts things in place right when we need them. I’m definitely guilty of trying to squeeze every last bit of life out of equipment, but this was my reminder that some things just aren’t worth pushing.  
For everybody out there running pressure cookers: **inspect your equipment before every run, even when you think everything is fine.** Check the base and body for separation, warping, cracks, damage around the rim, gasket condition, vents, plugs, gauges, and anything else that looks or feels different than normal.  
And if you smell something unusual, hear something unusual, or notice anything that doesn’t seem right, **don’t ignore it and don’t try to push through the run. Shut the heat off, stay clear, and let the cooker fully depressurize and cool before touching or inspecting it.**  
Equipment can be replaced. A bad pressure-vessel failure can turn into a very bad day in seconds.  
Stay safe out there, everybody. This one definitely opened my eyes. 🙏🍄

Safety Check: My Pressure Cooker Started Failing From the Inside Out Last Night