Crock-Pot 8-Quart Manual Slow Cooker, XL Family Size Serves 10+ People, Removable Stoneware with Warming Setting, Dishwasher Safe for Easy Cleanup, Red

I count on name brands like Crock-Pot. This is the perfect size, and cooks faster than most cheaper brands. Price was very reasonable too. Easy clean up and the lid fits snuggly so it creates some steam and keeps the liquid in. I find the oval shape best for any slow cooker, easy to add ingredients and stir when needed, also it cooks evenly.

I wanted a BIG slow cooker since *for some reason* my family of six insists on eating three meals a day Every. Single. Day. Ugh! Luckily my MIL recognized my struggle and bought me the fanciest device I’d ever seen for Christmas: A Calphalon 7 Qt Digital Slow Cooker. I was in love with it… at first. Then I noticed liquid seeping into the base after each use. Long story short, after three complimentary replacement parts I still had a broken appliance and Calphalon wrote me an E-mail using the exact words: “...Calphalon has made the decision to stop producing electronics...” then issued me a refund. I turned around and bought a MaxiMatic 8 qt Slow Cooker (go big or go home, right?). It cooked waaaaay too hot (it boiled liquid on the lowest setting in under 5 minutes!) then stopped working entirely after a few months. I received my refund, bought this Crock-pot… and the rest, as they say, is history! How does this one compare to the others? It’s HUGE. …but not as big as the MaxiMatic. Both slow cookers claim to be eight quart size but in reality eight quarts of liquid fills the Crock-pot all the way to the lip of the lid, which isn’t realistic for actually cooking that much liquid. Still, it’s pretty HUGE, especially compared to Calphalon’s biggest size (7 quart). The MaxiMatic gives you a little extra room above the eight quart point BUT… Crock-pot has better temperature control. In the Crock-pot “Low” could cook a 4 lb pot roast all day (6+ hours). On “High” it cooks in about 4 hours. “Warm” keeps it warm. The MaxiMatic, on the other hand, cooks it in less than 2 hours ON LOW (and it leaves the meat tough as rubber) and the MaxiMatic “high” setting approaches temperatures comparable to the depths of Hell. Calphalon had accurate temps but it didn’t make up for the constant leaking, smaller crock and lack of customer support. The outside is very hot. This is one of those “duh” moments. Anything that cooks WILL get hot. Don’t touch hot things. Don’t put them near the edge of the counter where kids can touch them. Again: Duh! The Calphalon is the only model on the market that claims to be “cool to the touch” and guess what? It’ll still burn the crud out of you! It’s not as hot as other brands, but it’ll still do damage if you touch it, especially on the exposed areas of the crock liner. So as much as everyone complains about this aspect, I have to wonder if their moms never used the old 70’s Crock-pots with the wheat patterned orange shells that made delicious soup and seared the flesh off your bones if you touched them (so you just didn’t touch them). Shoot, my mom STILL uses hers. The moral of the story? Grow up! And stop shopping for cooking appliances that don’t feel hot. There is no timer. This is NOT a digital slow cooker. “Digital” slow cookers have specific temperature controls, fancy timers and auto shutoff options. They also break down faster, have things go wrong more often and (if they are Calphalon brand) their manufacturer discontinues selling them completely. There’s a reason those 70’s Crock-pots that I mentioned previously still walk the earth serving fondue at your grandma’s Bridge Club potlucks: simplicity. There are no buttons on this Crockpot. There is no digital screen. There is only a single knob with four options: Off, Warm, Low, High... Just like Grandma’s Crock-pot! What you give up in convenience you’ll make up for in durability, longevity and simplicity though. And you’ll just have to be *slightly* less lazy than slow cooker “dump it, leave it, eat it” style cooking permits by, you know, setting a timer. ::Ding:: The crock liner is dishwasher safe. MaxiMatic and Crock-pot both allow their stoneware crock liners to be washed in the dishwasher. Calphalon does not. But even with dedicated handwashing, the Calphalon liner developed hairline cracks. Twice. The MaxiMatic did too, after a few months of regular use. This Crock-pot has been used and run through the dishwasher every other day (literally) since I bought it and has absolutely no issues whatsoever. I also notice the glaze on the stoneware is much more even on the Crock-pot. It had thin spots, pits and irregularities in both the MaxiMatic and the Calphalon. I have to assume there is better quality control on the manufacturing end at Crock-pot. That pretty much sums it up though. If anything changes, breaks, acts up, smells funny or does anything else unusual I’ll be sure to update this review. As it stands though, no news is good news. Buy this Crock-pot. You can thank me later. UPDATE: I bought this 8 quart Crock-pot through Amazon in December 2016. As of today, January 15th 2018, it is still running strong. I continue to use it several times a week and always run the crock liner and lid through the dishwasher. It is still as temperature-reliable as the day I first unboxed it and continues to be my favorite appliance... and that's big, considering I also own a Kitchenaid mixer AND an Instant Pot (but the Instant Pot hisses at me and the mixer gives everyone dirty looks). If you haven't bought one yet, you definitely need more pot roast in your life. And beans. Which BTW, this puppy can easily fit 2 lbs of dry pinto beans (hint: Use ham hocks! And shred the meat into the beans before serving. All other beans will be ruined for you after that). I'll continue abusing my Crock-pot and updating my review if anything changes though, because SCIENCE!

This 7-quart Crock-Pot is an absolute workhorse. The size is perfect for feeding a family of five with plenty of leftovers. I love the simplicity of the manual dial, there are no complicated electronics to fail, which means this will likely last for years. The stainless steel finish looks great on the counter, and the stoneware and lid are both dishwasher safe, making cleanup a breeze. If you want a reliable "set it and forget it" appliance, this is it.

I purchased this slow cooker as a gift. My choice of this particular brand/model was made because I have had the exact same cooker for my own kitchen for years. I do a LOT of cooking; I love using my slow cooker for the convenience and superior results. The price on this cooker was so reasonable compared to the HIGH quality of performance. I love the versatility of "warm", "low" and "high". I cook meats, veggies and one-pot meals. My chicken, beef and pork come out so tender you don't need a knife! The heavyweight insert resists burning and it's high capacity makes it family friendly; yet small meals come out just as superior. My own slow cooker has had many, many hours of use and still stands sturdy and reliable. Now my gift recipient is discovering the joys of using their Hamilton Beach slow cooker. HIGHLY recommend.

It’s a really good crock pot! You don’t always need the bells and whistles. Straight forward.

I have NEVER written a review on anything, and I have purchased hundreds of items online over the years, but this slow cooker has inspired me to give my humble opinion. I didn't think there was such a thing as a bad slow cooker. So when my last slow cooker bit the dust during the holidays last year, I just bopped on to Amazon and figured that I would pick up a medium of the road slow cooker for a reasonable price and all would be well with the world, once again. Since I was planning on serving a beef roast for Christmas dinner, I wanted to make sure that I got one big enough and it wouldn't take 15 hours to cook. I quickly browsed through the various slow cookers on Amazon, read a few reviews and purchased what I thought was a lovely cooker - Crock-Pot SCCPVL610-S 6-Quart Programmable Cook & Carry Oval Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel. It was only $50.00 and I figured that it would fit the bill, nicely. Boy, was I wrong! Right out of the box, Christmas Day, I could tell that this slow cooker and I weren't going to get along. It heated up way too quickly, ran HOT the entire cooking time (on low), and by the time I was ready to serve dinner most of it was stuck to the side of the cooker. Dinner tasted slightly burnt, the veggies were WAY over cooked and even after soaking the darn thing for 2 hours after serving the meal, I never could get all the stuck on crud off the sides. Well, needless to say, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree sometimes, so I thought that I would give this worthless piece of junk another few tries before I finally gave up and threw it in the dumpster. Ah, but now this is where the good part starts...Back to Amazon to look at slow cookers. (I absolutely LOVE Amazon and my Prime membership) This time I decided that I was going to REALLY read all the reviews, compare and then make a logical, fact based decision. I immediately liked the reviews I read for this slow cooker - Hamilton Beach 33182 8-Quart Oval Slow Cooker, Black - but was somewhat concerned by a couple of people who said that it "ran hot". Having had that experience, I didn't want to repeat it, so I continued looking at every slow cooker under God's green Earth. I kept thinking that there had to be something wrong with a cooker that was so big and yet so inexpensive, so I kept looking. After another couple of hours of reading, debating and analyzing, I decided that I would give this slow cooker a try. Well, it arrived safe and sound in just a couple of days, of course. (Still love Amazon) And I proceeded to use it today for the first time. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SLOW COOKER! The temperature was perfect! The dinner was perfect! The clean up was perfect! And, once again, I am in love with my slow cooker and can hardly wait for Winter so I can give it a really good work out. If you are reading this and considering purchasing this slow cooker, BUY IT! It's absolutely wonderful. Good temperature, great size, fantastic price and all around, I think the best slow cooker I have ever owned. I'm considering buying another one as a back up. Okay, now you know why I never write reviews...There just isn't enough hours in the day. But this product was well worth the time. :)

Love this Crock-pot 7 Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker! Best performance of other slow cookers I have had. The heat settings are Off, Low, High and Warm. It cooks consistently and makes tender meant recipes. The cord isn't too long which is a great safety feature and the glass lid is clear, easy to see the food, no need to open often which means you don't lose heat. The 7 quart Crock-Pot is big enough for about any size meal. Love the aroma that fills the house. YUM! Easy to wash as the bowl is removable from the base.

Awesome crock pot big enough works great

Buena calidad en el material, uso práctico y fácil de limpiar.

I love this crock pot! Money well spent. Cooks food well.

The first time I used it the handles just melted and I got a burning smell from all the plastic surrounding material... have just returned it - maybe got a defective piece.. lets see what happens

Good product

This is a great CrockPot and is a great value for the money. It is a large pot that feeds 10 people or produces a lot of meals for the freezer. It's also easy to use with the 3 settings...you don't need a college degree to run it...it's simple and reliable.