The Instant Pot is one of the biggest success stories of the previous decade. It is a lot more than just a pressure cooker and can be used very conveniently for preparing a variety of different dishes.
The Instant Pot has been widely praised for its versatility and usability, and the company’s excellent support service.
If you are looking for an excellent cooking solution that’ll significantly cut down on the cooking times, you should absolutely consider going for the Instant Pot. It’s a fantastic appliance that’s very easy to maintain and easy to clean.
However, like almost any other electrical appliance, the Instant Pot is also susceptible to a range of problems over the passage of time. You need to be very careful about how to maintain your Instant Pot.
The appliance does come with a comprehensive guide that you can use to easily resolve errors and maintain it properly. However, there are a few problems that are just a bit too difficult to resolve.
For instance, if the locking pin gets stuck, you might find it difficult to open or close your Instant Pot properly. This could render your Instant Pot effectively useless, which is obviously not what you want.
Thankfully, there are a number of different fixes that you can try in order to unlock your Instant Pot and make it usable again.
Here are a few different ways that you can try if you want to fix your Instant Pot and get the locking pin unstuck. Here are some of the best fixes that you can try out.
Instant Pot Lid Locking Pin Stuck
1. Steam
If the locking pin is stuck in the upward position when you left the Pot to cool down, there are chances that the pin is stuck due to a buildup of steam. To fix this problem, the user needs to open the vent and make sure the remaining steam escapes out.
Once the steam is released, the locking pin should begin to move again. However, if the locking pin is stuck and you can’t seem to move it (if it’s jammed), just use a chopstick for tapping the locking pin.
That should dislodge it enough to allow steam to escape from the appliance, allowing you to easily remove the locking pin and then place it back in once it’s fixed in place.
2. Closure
If releasing the steam didn’t resolve your issue with the locking pin, you need to make sure the lid is properly closed in the first place. This is because when you don’t close the lid properly, it can cause the locking pin to get firmly jammed in place.
If that’s the case, you need to take off the lid and make sure there are no blockages. In most cases, debris or grime often gets stuck inside the tiny crevices and nooks, and that’s what usually leads to a problem.
You will want to make sure that you carefully remove all kinds of debris or grim from the locking pin’s mechanism and see if that resolves the problem. In nine cases out of ten, that should fix the issue completely.
3. Twist
Well, this is a sensitive troubleshooting method because you need to twist the Instant Pot lid, but just make sure not to apply too much pressure in the process.
This procedure becomes necessary if the locking pin is stuck with the lid, which will require you to twist the lid.
You could try twisting the lid of your Instant Pot back and forth. Wiggle the Pot’s lid carefully to get some movement in and see if that helps in removing the jamming. That should ideally clear the problem and remove the blockage in the pin.
4. Cold Water
When the locking pin gets stuck, it means that users will be unable to take off the lid from the Instant Pot. One of the reasons why that happens is when the metal around the lid starts to expand, which is one of the reasons why the pin may get jammed.
To remove this problem, all you need to do is to pour some cold water on the lid to get the lid to contract again and reach its original size.
That should resolve the problem easily. The cold water fix may seem a bit confusing, but it’s a simple concept in physics. Again, the Instant Pot is made using high-quality metal so it doesn’t really expand or contract as easily as you might think.
But, in some cases, due to incredibly high heat, this does become an issue. Just pour some cold water, and hopefully, that should resolve the problem.
5. Clean
When it comes down to the locking pin issue with the Instant Pot lid, it might be because of debris buildup. You will need to twist off the lid from the Instant Pot
Once you take off the lid of the Instant Pot, clean the debris from the edges and make sure you get all the grime off of the appliance.
You have to make sure that you keep your Instant Pot neat and clean to avoid the pin from getting stuck every now and then.
6. Cooking Time
Believe it or not, the cooking time will make a great difference. First of all, you need to ensure that the lid is closed properly and make sure it’s locked into the place. Also, you must place the vent valve into the sealing position.
If you are going to cook something for a shorter amount of time, your appliance is going to get hotter.
As a result, this could cause the pin to get stuck inside. In order to prevent this from happening, you should consider using a higher setting for the cooking time.
This is an excellent way to ensure that the pin doesn’t get stuck over time and prevents you from using your Instant Pot.
7. Customer Support
In case you are unable to fix the locking pin issue with the Instant Pot, you could talk to the company’s customer support department.
Instant Pot has one of the best customer support departments that is incredibly helpful and will guide you through every step of the way.
Their team is incredibly responsive, and if it’s an issue with an internal component, you can easily get it fixed. However, if it’s not a major issue, you may want to take it to your local appliance repair technician.
In most cases, the problem is generally easy to handle, and the technician will fix it for you. Just take it to a local repair shop and get it fixed. However, if your appliance is still in warranty, it’s a great idea.
You can easily get this problem resolved, but just make sure not to pry too much. The Instant Pot is a very complex appliance with a lot of tiny parts and small components.
Avoid using any tiny tool to pry the pin, as there’s a risk of causing serious damage to your Instant Pot.