Product Description

Rival's Smart-Pot 5-quart white oval crock-pot

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #50203 in Kitchen & Housewares
• Brand: Rival
• Model: 38501-W
• Dimensions: 9.40" h x 14.10" w x 14.30" l, 12.35 pounds

Features

• 5-quart slow cooker makes family-style meals for 4 to 5 people
• Programmable temperature control; auto-shift to warm setting when cooking is complete
• Dishwasher-safe stoneware crock with stick-resistant coating
• SUREGRIP side handles for improved grip and comfort
• Dishwasher-safe glass lid; 1-year warranty

Amazon.com Review
The original slow cooker, the Crock-Pot was first introduced by Rival in the 1970s and has proved to be much more than a fad. This convenient appliance helps you prepare delicious family-style meals while you’re working, running errands, hiking, or just relaxing around the house.

The 5-quart, round Crock-Pot is large enough to cook four to six chicken breasts with vegetables or enough chili or soup for four to five people. The easy-to-use programmable timer turns on and off with the push of a button and lets you choose among time settings of 4, 6, 8, and 10 hours. When cooking time is complete, the Crock-Pot automatically shifts into warming mode, which keeps food at the right eating temperature but doesn’t overcook it.

The exterior of this Crock-Pot is white plastic that wipes down easily and matches the décor of most kitchens. Plastic handles provide a secure and comfortable grip for transporting the cooker. The Crock-Pot’s internal liner is made of durable stoneware that is attractive enough to go from cooker to tabletop to serve your meal. The liner also has a stick-resistant coating and is dishwasher-safe to make clean-up easy. The glass lid lets you peek at your food while it cooks and is also dishwasher safe. Rival offers a limited 1-year warranty on this stoneware slow cooker. --Cristina Vaamonde

Customer Reviews

Verified that it cooks too hot
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).

ROUND IS BETTER THAN OVAL
Most crockpots I have looked at felt cheap. This one is feels solid. I think the round lid design is the only way to go because it just fits the pot better. This lid is all glass with no metal parts to trap dirt of bacteria. Because of the inherent imperfection when the stonewares and the heavy glass lids were made, the oval pots and lids almost never fit together well enough to form a seal. A poorly fitted lid can allow an unpredictable amount of moisture and heat to escape, which can make your cooking inconsistent. The round lid on this model allows me to rotate it on the stoneware to find an excellent fit. The same cannot be done with an oval pot. The solid color of this unit makes it somewhat immune to going out of fashion in terms of appearance. The timer with its "keep warm" feature allows me to have peace of mind when I have to stay late at work. Dinner will not be overcooked when I get home. Take it SLOW and happy COOKING!

horrible product
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.