Before purchase, I was a bit concerned about the negative review of this product. Now that I've received it, I think that review was inaccurate and the customer was too inexperienced to realize what was happening. It's not the product's or manufacturer's responsibility to teach you everything about pressure cooking. There's plenty of websites like Miss Vicky's that are available to learn about how they work, in general. There are some apparent Spanish to English translation errors, but you really should not be depending on a pressure cooker manual to learn how to pressure cook. That's like expecting a french cookware manual to teach you everything about french cooking technique, or expecting a car manual to teach you how to drive. It's a spring type valve pressure cooker, and the manual does an adequate job of describing how it works compared to similar models from other manufacturers. If you wan't to learn more, take a pressure cooking course or research it on the web. Some of the components in the manual are mislabelled due to translation errors, but the descriptions of how they work are fine. For example, the manual uses the word 'Security' instead of 'Safety'. Now it should be obvious that a pressure cooker doesn't need a security window, like a bank teller might have, but a safety port to release steam when over pressurized is what it really has. I've been using pressure cookers for more than 20 years, and I see no problems with the design or construction of the one I received. I also own several Fagor models, including a 4qt model, and I prefer this Magegesa model for several reasons. The spring pressure regulator valve is removable for easy cleaning, and it comes apart as a unit instead of individual components. The safety pressure release valve is all-metal construction, unlike the Fagor models that use a small rubber gasket that may deteriorate over time. The Magefesa model has an additional safety of a post that must push away the main gasket before the lid can be opened, in addition to a block when the pressure safety valve is up. This model has high and low pressure settings, while some Fagor models have a single pressure setting. The advantage of a smaller model is that it comes up to pressure faster for smaller recipes than larger cookers, and reduces overall cooking time. Beware that you start timing when steam starts being released from the main spring valve (the one you turn), not when the red safety valve first pops up or when steam is released from the safety valve. The manual not clear in this regard. Keep it on high heat until steam is released from the main valve, then turn down the heat to just keep steam coming out. If you leave it on high, you'll just be wasting energy and consuming the water too quickly, not cooking any faster. The red safety valve will pop up when there's just barely enough pressure to lift it, then once it lifts, pressure will start to build up inside, unless there's a problem with the main lid gasket, which should tightly seal as pressure builds. If the lid gasket isn't sealing properly, you'll get steam that will blow by it along the rim of the lid and down the side of the pan. If it doesn't seal in several seconds, then turn off the heat, depressurize, run the lid under cold water so that you can safely handle it, then examine the gasket, rim, and lid to see what might be preventing a tight seal. The gasket may need to be replaced if it's cracked, hardened, or otherwise preventing a good seal. Normally the gasket will seal and allow pressure to build up to the point that the main valve starts releasing steam. You can turn down the heat when that occurs and start timing the recipe, because that's when it reaches the pressure threshold for the spring valve.
