So, you’re wandering around the Mojave Wasteland, dodging Cazadores and trying not to get shot by some Great Khan with a grudge, and suddenly you realize you need a pressure cooker. It sounds ridiculous. Why would a courier, tasked with the fate of Hoover Dam, care about kitchen appliances? If you’re trying to help the Boomers get that B-29 Superfortress out of the bottom of Lake Mead, the pressure cooker isn't just a luxury; it’s a mission-critical piece of hardware.
Finding a pressure cooker in New Vegas is one of those specific, strangely annoying tasks that reminds you just how much Bethesda and Obsidian love their junk items.
You need it for the quest "Volare!" specifically to build the ballast needed to float the plane. Jack, the young Boomer who’s a bit of a mechanical savant, tells you he needs them. He doesn't just want one for a nice stew. He needs them for the internal components that can withstand high pressure. Most players realize too late that they’ve been walking past these things for thirty hours, ignoring them because they only sell for a few caps and take up precious inventory weight.
Where the Heck Are They?
Don't panic. They aren't as rare as a Lucky 38 snow globe, but they aren't exactly lying in the middle of the Long 15 either.
The first place you should check—and honestly, the most reliable—is Field’s Shack. It’s located near the Nellis Air Force Base, basically on the path you take to get to the Boomers in the first place. You’ll find one sitting right there. It’s almost like the developers knew you’d be frustrated.
If you’ve already been there and sold it like a dummy, head over to Goodsprings. Check inside the various houses. Doc Mitchell’s place is usually a gold mine for random household items, though stealing from the man who saved your life is a bit of a low blow. Check the schoolhouse too.
Then there’s the Ultra-Luxe. If any place in the Mojave is going to have high-end cookware, it’s the place run by the White Glove Society. Just try not to think too hard about what they were cooking in them before you arrived. You can often find them in the kitchen area. Be careful, though; if you haven't dealt with the "Beyond the Beef" quest, the staff might be a little touchy about you poking around their pantry.
Why You Actually Need Them (The Mechanics)
It isn't just about the Boomers.
If you’re playing on Hardcore mode, or if you just really like the crafting system, the pressure cooker is a component for several recipes. Most notably, the Railway Rifle in the Fallout 3 era required one, but in New Vegas, its primary "off-label" use is for the Nuka-Grenade.
Wait, I should clarify. In New Vegas, you don't actually use the pressure cooker to craft the Nuka-Grenade like you did in the previous game (that’s a common misconception). However, the item remains a "heavy" junk item that many players hoard out of habit.
The real value remains Jack.
Jack is the key. If you have a high enough Science skill (specifically 45), you can actually convince Jack that you don't need the pressure cookers if you have the right scrap electronics. But most people haven't pumped their Science that high by the time they hit Nellis. They’ve been putting points into Guns or Speech. So, you hunt.
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The Problem With Weight
Pressure cookers weigh 20 units.
Twenty!
That is an absurd amount of weight for a single quest item. If you’re playing on a high difficulty or Hardcore mode where ammunition has weight, carrying three or four pressure cookers is basically like carrying a whole extra rocket launcher. You’ll find yourself moving at a snail's crawl across the wasteland, praying a Deathclaw doesn't spot you because you're literally overencumbered by pots and pans.
Pro tip: Bring a companion.
ED-E is great for this. He’s a floating eyeball; he doesn't care if he's carrying a stack of kitchenware. Veronica is also a solid choice since she’s already a tank and can handle the load. Just shove the cookers into their inventory until you reach the Nellis hangars.
Buying Your Way Out of the Problem
Can’t find one? Buy it.
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The Chet in Goodsprings occasionally carries them. Blake at the Crimson Caravan Company is another likely candidate. The inventory for these vendors resets every few days in-game, so if they don't have one, go outside, wait 48 to 72 hours, and check again.
The Old Mormon Fort in Freeside is another spot to scout. Julie Farkas and the Followers of the Apocalypse are all about utility. They have a lot of junk lying around that actually serves a purpose. Sometimes you can find one tucked away in the back rooms near the medical supplies.
A Note on the "Volare!" Quest Logic
The Boomers are an isolationist group of xenophobes who live on an airbase and shoot howitzers at anyone who walks near them. Why do they need your help finding pressure cookers? They have an entire base!
The lore explanation is basically that they’ve exhausted their local supply of specific pre-war alloys found in high-grade cookware. It’s a bit of a stretch, but in a world where you can heal a broken leg by sleeping for an hour, we let it slide.
When you hand them over to Jack, you gain Fame with the Boomers. This is essential if you want their help during the Battle of Hoover Dam. Having a B-29 fly over and rain fire on your enemies is one of the most satisfying moments in the game. It makes the tedious hunt for kitchen supplies totally worth it.
Common Pitfalls and Mistakes
Don't confuse the pressure cooker with the Crock Pot or other random metal pots. They look similar in the dark, dingy ruins of a suburban kitchen, but the pressure cooker has a very distinct locking lid mechanism on the 3D model.
- Check the Name: Always hover your crosshair over the item. If it says "Pot," leave it. It’s useless.
- Don't Scrap It: If you have mods installed (like Project Nevada or various crafting overhauls), be careful. Some mods allow you to "break down" junk into base metals. If you break down your pressure cooker into "Scrap Metal," you cannot use it for the Boomer quest. You’ll be left with a pile of iron and a very disappointed Jack.
- The Nellis Mess Hall: People often forget to look in the Boomers' own mess hall. It’s ironic, but sometimes they have one sitting right there that they haven't "salvaged" yet.
The Ultimate Scavenger List
If you are absolutely desperate, here is a quick-fire list of locations where pressure cooker New Vegas spawns are almost guaranteed:
- Sloan: Check the worker barracks. The miners there are living rough, and they have some basic cooking gear.
- Cerulean Robotics: In Freeside. It’s full of protectrons, but there’s a lot of industrial and kitchen junk in the back offices.
- Lone Wolf Radio: South of Goodsprings. It’s a creepy abandoned trailer, but it often has survivalist supplies.
- The Devils Throat: Inside the trailer near the radioactive crater. It’s a dangerous trek, but there’s usually good loot.
- Miguel’s Pawn Shop: In Westside. Miguel sells a lot of random garbage. Sometimes he has exactly what you need.
Why This Matters for Your Build
If you’re doing a "Completionist" run, you can’t skip the Boomers. If you’re doing an "Independent New Vegas" run (the Yes Man route), you really want the Boomers on your side so you don't have to wipe them out.
The pressure cooker represents the "fetch quest" peak of RPG design. It forces you to look at the world differently. Suddenly, you aren't looking for ammo or stimpaks; you're looking for a lid with a gasket. It’s mundane, it’s frustrating, and it’s perfectly Fallout.
Moving Forward with the Boomers
Once you’ve delivered the cookers and finished "Volare!", you’re basically a god at Nellis. They’ll stop trying to blow you up with artillery. You get access to their munitions, their trainer, and eventually, their support at the Dam.
Next Steps for the Scavenger:
- Inventory Audit: Go through your companions' inventories right now. You might already have a pressure cooker buried under a pile of Legion ears and bent tin cans.
- Visit Field's Shack: If you haven't been there, make it your next map marker. It's the easiest "win" for this quest.
- Check Your Science Skill: If you're at 40 Science, use a Programmer's Digest magazine to boost it to 50. This might allow you to bypass the need for more cookers entirely by talking to Jack.
- Clear Weight: Drop your excess heavy weapons at your player housing (like the Lucky 38 or the Novac motel room) before you go on a cooker hunt. You’ll need the carry capacity.
The wasteland is a big place. It's full of monsters, madmen, and radiation. But sometimes, the biggest obstacle between you and saving the world is just a piece of pre-war kitchenware. Happy hunting. Keep your head down and your eyes peeled for that stainless steel shine.