Alfred Sung By Alfred Sung

I've enjoyed this slow cooker for about 2 years but today the one of the plastic feet on the base fell off. It cracked and dropped right off. Not sure why, because it hasn't been handled roughly, and hasn't been taken out of my home or used excessively. Also the "stainless steel" around the outside is really just a think sheet of metal that isn't fitted together properly and seems a bit cheap. I love the ceramic crock itself with glass lid and the big rubber-band like thing to keep the top on for travel. The crock comes clean pretty easily. Maybe cooks a little faster than it should on low. But it's the base I have a problem with. To their credit Hamilton Beach will probably send me a whole new cooker but I have to pay to send the base to them first. It's worth the trouble but I may just get a new one anyway.

When I wanted to upgrade to a large size slow cooker the Hamilton Beach was my first choice, largely owing to its reasonably inexpensive price and the simplicity of operation. Some of the selling points were the lid with a good gasket seal and the removable strap which can be used for transportation and storage. The five quart capacity is a nice balance between some of the larger and smaller slow cookers as well, especially since my largest complaint with my previous one was its small capacity.

After five years I've yet to have any complaints about its durability or service. One of the selling points for me was the simple settings (Off, Keep Warm, Low, and High) versus those of more advanced slow cookers. Granted, you want to learn carefully what each setting is capable of before you leave your slow cooker unattended, lest something unexpected happen. As I've learned, the High setting on this cooker really is high, the Keep Warm does just that, and Low is not to be...Read more

I actually have this exact version crock pot but in the 6qt. capacity, which Amazon didn't have listed. (Got it on sale for $34 - originally $50 - at a department store.)

It's great for all the reasons a crock pot are great: fix it and forget it convenience

This crock pot has a "Keep Warm" setting which was a feature I didn't have on my old one, and is very nice. I like the chrome/black accents which fits in with most modern kitchens. The see-through glass lid was an important feature for me...I don't know why. I know it's not necessary to see the food cooking, but I like to.

Another thing that I like about this modern crock pot is that it is NOT digital like some newer models. I thought a digital setting could easily break and garner my crockpot useless so I wanted the tried and true turn knob, which serves my purposes well.

This one also has the removable "pot" which is convenient for cleaning or storing in the refrigerator...Read more