Let's talk about lids again. I buy the cheap lids on Amazon. I like this one particular brand**. It works well for me and holds up on the shelf. There are some brands that are cheaper. I've ended up with some of those in the past but usually because somebody on bookface was selling them because they "don't seal", "buckle", or are "just shitty". I will buy/use any lids I can get my hands on.
It's NOT the lids' fault. It's yours! ALL the lids are thinner now. I've even read some folks having trouble with the expensive Superb lids not sealing or buckling. It's because there is a learning curve to each and every piece of equipment you're using. You have to master the learning curve and get used to each kind of lid. We aren't going to go back to getting thicker lids Margaret. The manufacturing process has already changed and we live in a much more throwaway society than ever before.
Because I reuse lids, I sometimes end up with 3 or 4 different brands of lids in a batch. Each of those brands takes a different tension on the ring. Occasionally I get it wrong and have a jar not seal. Big deal! There are FAR worse things in life than having a jar of food to go ahead and eat up today.
Don't beat yourself up and don't beat the lids up. Try again. And then try again. If you're canning a product with a short processing time, very often you can reprocess the product and it will be just fine. Usually, I re-use lids on things like broth, water, jam that aren't as crucial. When I was canning all that deer meat awhile back, I went ahead and re-used a whole pile of lids I had and I've had ONE come unsealed since then and it turned out to be a chip in the rim I didn't see at first.
Let's also talk rings again. Every piece of equipment you have is going to rust or discolor in some way. Aluminum canners discolor from the chemicals in the water we use to can and/or from the vinegar we add to keep the lime scale off the jars. Washing your rings in the dishwasher (me!) will also discolor the rings. Pressure canning will discolor the rings. Eventually the rings will get so rusty, you have to pitch them. It's ok. Every time you buy a case of jars, there's a dozen rings. You can also buy lid/ring combos. Use the lid and keep reusing the rings over and over. I don't throw any rings out until they are hard to screw onto a jar. It is only then they get pitched. "They" have already changed how thin the metal is that the rings are made out of. "They" have also changed the width of the band around the top that holds the lids on. Just get a tub and store the spares for later. At some point those thicker rings will be hard to find.
NOTE: There's a particular brand of lids and rings that come already together. I know they were originally purchased off Amazon. (I don't know the name of the brand.) I bought the group I tried to use off bookface. The rings are a hare's breath tighter than regular rings. The lids have a white sealing compound. When the rings that are included with the lids are unscrewed from the jars, the lid pops off too. Defeats the purpose of canning. Go ahead and take the lids out of the rings and trash the rings. The lids will work just fine with your regular rings. The white sealing compound lids are quite thin and have a crimped look around the edges of the lids from the manufacturing process. They sealed fine, have been sealed for months now. I have more to use up yet.
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