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HomeSmall AppliancesSlow CookersCrock-Pot 38501-W 5-Quart Round Smart-Pot Slow Cooker, White |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 187 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
314 of 327 found the following review helpful:
 Verified that it cooks too hot Nov 16, 2005
By Paul Fredrick
"pfredrick"
I'm an engineer, not a cook, hence the appeal of a crockpot (I can't boil water without burning it...)
I had an old Rival crockpot that worked well for many years (manual, round, and small). It broke, so I bought a 5-quart Smart-Pot at Costco this past weekend. I noticed it ran very hot (top of outside WILL burn your hands if touched!), so decided to test it.
I filled the unit 3/4 full of water and placed it on the high setting (4 hours) and measured the temperature after several hours with a thermometer. Water temperture was about 215 to 220 degrees F. I then repeated the process for the low temperature setting, but the temperature was about the same!
This disturbed me, so I placed a Kill-A-Watt (very handy device to measure electrical power consumption and wattage for electrical devices) between the pot and the outlet. Sure enough the unit draws the same power on the low and high settings (about 245W). Occasionally on the low settings the unit would pulse the power (this is probably how they get the lower temperature; by modulating the power, rather than using separate, and more expensive, heating elements in the manual units). The problem is that sometimes the low setting does pulse the power, and sometimes it does not. Even on the warm setting I found that occasionally the device will draw the maximum power without pulsing. It is apparent to me that they have a controller problem with the SmartPots that is overdriving the temperature. The units themselves run very hot, and I wonder if the excessive temperature causes controller problems.
I am going to return and try another one, but I suspect I will get precisely the same results, in which case I'll avoid the Rival brand entirely. This is an obvious problem that many people have complained about over the past year or so (viz. the comments), so they have either a major defect, or severe quality control problems, both of which shoudl warrant some kind of response from them. I am disappointed. If the second unit works correctly, I'll post on my success.
Interestingly, Rival makes a separate controller for an older crockpot to allow timing and temperature control (same idea of pulsing the heater current, and varying the duty cycle to change the effective heating capability --a perfectly legitimate approach), and it is inexpensive ($13-$15 on the street).
39 of 40 found the following review helpful:
horrible product Dec 26, 2005
By L. Rogers
Used this item 3 times. I wanted to give it an adequate test run. It boils everything even on low setting. It gets so hot that I would never consider leaving the house with it on. The lid does not fit so all the moisture escapes. The meat did not turn out to bad, but I really had to keep an eye on the food. Defeats the purpose of fix it and forget it cooking. I absolutely do not recommend buying this crock pot.
27 of 27 found the following review helpful:
Awful Feb 14, 2006
By J. Eckelkamp
I agree with the majority of these reviews. I previously owned a 4.5 Q oval Rival that I loved and used for years until I dropped and broke the insert. I got this to replace that one and am so disappointed. It ruined 5 meals before I took it back. All the food was dried-out and burnt way before it was even supposed to be done cooking. The lid rattled all day, letting out moisture and annoying me in the process. I had to "even exchange" it because I didn't have all the packaging and stuff. I was hoping I had gotten a lemon, but no, the replacement was the same way. This time they gave my money back. Of course I read these review too late... any suggestions for a crock-pot that works?
19 of 19 found the following review helpful:
Cooks too high Feb 08, 2006
By Nikki Evans
"nikkiev"
Even on low this crock cooked everything too fast. And after having it for 7 months it burned itself out. I was very disappointed since I liked the size and shape. I will never buy another crock with smartpot since I bought another rival and it's been fine without the smartpot feature. I am not sure if that's what it was or not but I am not taking any chances!
17 of 17 found the following review helpful:
Turned my roast into shoe leather! Nov 23, 2005
By Jules
I've been using the Rival crock pot I got as a wedding present in 1984 and I've had fantastic results every time. This week at Costco I saw this new one and thought it would be great to have a bigger size and a removable insert for easier cleaning. Well, I just ruined a 4 pound roast which was on "slow" cook for 8 hours. It came out so dry and tough we could barely chew it. I see now I should have checked these reviews before I purchased. BUYER BEWARE!! (Doesn't anyone at Rival check these reviews??)
See all 187 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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