You're wandering through the Mojave, pockets full of empty Nuka-Cola bottles and bent tin cans, and you spot it sitting on a rusted stove in a ruined ranch house. A Fallout New Vegas pressure cooker. Most players—especially if it's their first time through Obsidian's 2010 masterpiece—just see another three pounds of encumbrance. They leave it behind. That's a mistake. Honestly, if you're planning on doing anything more than just shooting your way through the main quest, that clunky piece of pre-war kitchenware is one of the most valuable "junk" items in the entire game.
It isn't about the caps. You can sell it for a measly amount, sure, but the utility is what matters. In a world where the Legion is crucifying people and the NCR is drowning in bureaucracy, your best friend isn't always a Gauss rifle. Sometimes, it's a heavy pot with a locking lid.
The Boomers and the Loyalty of Volare!
Let's talk about the most famous use for this item. If you want the Boomers—those xenophobic, explosion-obsessed residents of Nellis Air Force Base—to actually like you, you'll eventually meet Jack. He’s the guy hanging around the hangars who has a bit of a crush on Janet from the Crimson Caravan. But more importantly for your inventory management, Jack is a tinkerer.
During the quest "Volare!", you have the option to help the Boomers raise a crashed B-29 Superfortress from the bottom of Lake Mead. It sounds insane. It is insane. To do it, you need ballast. Jack tells you he can fashion the necessary equipment, but he needs a Fallout New Vegas pressure cooker to make it happen. Specifically, he needs it to create a breathing apparatus or to help with the floatation assembly, depending on how you approach the dialogue and your Repair skill.
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If your Repair skill is high enough (specifically 65 or higher), you can actually bypass the need for the physical item by just fixing the neck broken parts yourself. But let’s be real: not everyone pumps points into Repair early on. If you’re playing a low-intelligence "brawn over brains" build or just focused on Speech and Guns, you’re going to be hunting through every kitchen in the Mojave looking for that one specific pot.
Making Things Go Boom: The Crafting Side
Beyond specific quests, the pressure cooker is a staple for the Mojave’s amateur chemists and demolitions experts. You aren't just cooking stew in these things. If you head over to a reload bench or a workbench with the right perks, you'll see it listed as a component for the Cook-Off. No, not a chili competition. I'm talking about the homemade explosives.
The most notable craftable item here is the Time Bomb.
To make a standard Time Bomb, you need:
- 5 Dynamite
- 1 Scrap Electronics
- 1 Timer
- And, of course, 1 Pressure Cooker.
It’s heavy. It’s bulky. But the damage output is massive. If you have the "Mad Bomber" perk—added in the Gun Runners' Arsenal DLC—the pressure cooker becomes even more vital. You can start crafting "Fat Mine" explosives and other high-end ordnance that makes the standard Frag Mine look like a firecracker.
I've seen players ignore the Explosives skill entirely because they think it's too much work to find the ingredients. But once you realize that most of these items are just sitting in the kitchens of the Ultra-Luxe or scattered around the H&H Tool Factory, the game changes. You stop being a guy with a gun and start being a guy who can trap an entire hallway in three minutes.
Where to Actually Find One (Without Losing Your Mind)
You’re looking for a Fallout New Vegas pressure cooker and you can’t find one. It’s the classic Bethesda/Obsidian curse: when you don’t need it, they’re everywhere. When you do? Gone.
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Don't panic. Check these spots first:
Field’s Shack. This is right near Nellis. If you’re already doing the Boomer quests, this is the most logical stop. It’s a small, dilapidated shack filled with random junk, and more often than not, a pressure cooker is sitting right there on the table or near the stove.
Goodsprings. In the very beginning of the game, check Doc Mitchell’s kitchen. He’s a nice guy; he probably won’t mind if you take it to save the world (or blow it up). There's also one usually found in schoolhouse or some of the abandoned trailers nearby.
The Ultra-Luxe Kitchen. If you want to feel fancy while scavenging, the kitchens in the Strip are a goldmine. Just try not to think too much about what the White Glove Society is actually "cooking" in those pots.
Novac. Check the bins and the kitchens in the motel rooms. Since Novac is a major hub for players mid-game, it’s an easy place to fast-travel to and do a quick sweep.
A Note on Weight Management
One thing that trips people up is the weight. A pressure cooker weighs 3 units. In a game where every pound counts—especially on Hardcore mode where ammo has weight—carrying three or four of these "just in case" is a recipe for being overencumbered in the middle of a Deathclaw nest.
Pro tip: Don't hoard them early. Mark the locations on your map or just remember which ruins still have unlooted kitchens.
The Science of the Mojave Kitchen
Why a pressure cooker? Why not a frying pan? From a game design perspective, it makes sense. A pressure cooker is a sealed vessel designed to handle high internal pressure. If you're building a bomb or a breathing apparatus for underwater salvage, you need something that won't leak or shatter the moment things get intense.
It adds a layer of "MacGyver-ism" to the game. You're not just buying a "Bomb Kit" from a vendor. You're taking pre-war trash and turning it into post-apocalyptic treasure. That’s the core aesthetic of New Vegas. It’s about the remnants of the old world being repurposed for the brutal realities of the new one.
Misconceptions and Junk Logic
A lot of people think you can use the pressure cooker for actual cooking at a campfire. You can’t. This isn't Breath of the Wild. In New Vegas, cooking happens at a campfire and usually requires a "Survival" skill check, but the game doesn't require you to have specific cookware in your inventory to make a Bighorner steak. The pressure cooker is strictly for "Repair" and "Science" related tasks, or for the Boomer questline.
Also, don't confuse it with the "Pot" or "Casserole Dish." They look similar in the dark, but they don't have the locking mechanism on top. Only the one labeled "Pressure Cooker" works for Jack or for the Time Bomb recipe.
Practical Next Steps for Your Playthrough
If you’re currently staring at a pressure cooker in-game and wondering whether to pick it up, ask yourself these three things:
- Am I going to Nellis soon? If yes, grab one. It saves you the headache of hunting for it later when Jack asks for it.
- Am I an Explosives build? If you have even a passing interest in the "Mad Bomber" perk, start a stash of these in your player housing (like the Lucky 38 or the Dino Dee-lite motel room).
- Do I have the "Long Haul" perk? If weight isn't an issue because you can fast-travel while overencumbered, there's no reason not to grab every single one you see. They sell for a decent amount of caps relative to other junk items if you have a high Barter skill.
Go back to your latest save. Check your containers. You might already have one tucked away between a stack of Pre-War Money and some Sensor Modules. If you don't, head to Field's Shack or the Goodsprings trailers. Getting your hands on a Fallout New Vegas pressure cooker is a small task, but it’s the difference between being a helpless courier and being the person who raises a literal bomber from the depths of a lake.
Stop treating junk like trash. In the Mojave, trash is power.
Next Steps for the Mojave Scavenger:
- Locate Field's Shack on your map (it's slightly Northeast of the Nellis Main Gate).
- Verify your Repair skill; if it's under 65, you definitely need the physical item for the Boomers.
- Collect Dynamite from the Powder Gangers around NCR Correctional Facility if you plan on crafting Time Bombs.