@ruouttaurmind No, it’s not a sous vide cooker. Once it reaches the set temperature, it signals it’s done and switches to warm. It won’t maintain that set temperature there on out, though. It’s “done” at that point.
@narfcake Still progress compared to my Crock-Pot brand slow cooker. Both high and medium settings are too hot and scorch sides and bottom. And of course the warm setting is too low to effectively cook.
I have one about two models before this and it works very well. Stick the ingredients in, put the lid on, probe it, and set it to the desired temperature. When it reaches it, the pot automatically switches to warm.
Alas, I’ll have to wait until morning to contemplate buying a backup; my card got flagged for excessive use at catshirtswoot.
@Telanis Actuallly not. I worked at a company quite some time ago, and they had a company store where you could get their “refurbs” at insane prices. I talked to some of the engineers, and they were like…“in general, they’re better than new because any problems have been resolved…and electrical things tend to be binary; they either work or they don’t.” I’ve bought a lot of refurbs, and there’s only one that I had a problem with, and had no problems returning it.
@eeterrific The other problem with refurbs is that if a part is iffy and fails and they get a bunch of returns because of it, the refurb/warranty process will only replace a faulty part with … you guessed it … another of that same faulty part. That will likely fail again. Electonics in particular fall into that trap in the refurb/warranty process.
Search for HP and overheating video chips. Chip overheats and fails. Send it in, HP “refurbs” it with the same chip, which … overheats. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I’ve had the same problem with a Samsung over-the-range microwave and the keypad failing 3-6-9. Twice. Same failure. Replacing or “refurbing” it a third time wont change poor design or parts choices. I have a GE now.
Lo and Hi are really all I need in a slow cooker. Pass, Meh.
@mike808 I agree with you. If refurbished units were as good or better than new units, they should have equal or even better warranties but the warranties are usually less.
@mike808 Victim of the HP chip failure. Best equipped notebook I ever had. 4th gen i7, 16GB RAM, 480GB SSD, 17" touch screen, Blu-ray RW drive, AC wifi… Turned out to be the biggest POS I ever owned and my worst purchase ever. Turned me off from HP forever.
Slooowwww…I’ll hit the buy button slooowwww. Actually, I’m really torn. Bought a slow cooker two years ago, and use it quite a bit. But…do I need another one…
oh Meh.n, i thought this was a pressure cooker, and i was gunna be like what? i bought at full price and missed the amazon prime knock off price and now this price slash???
but alas, Meh. this is a slow cooker…
______________________________
( don't slow ccok / torture me )
------------------------------
o ^__^
o (oo)\_______
(__)\ )\/\
||----w |
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@Yoda_Daenerys I’m a believer. I have a 5qt and 9qt Futura stovetop and have long term borrowed my mom’s electric pressure cooker as well. Bought my sister an instant pot for Christmas (all she really wanted was a yogurt maker) and if my mom ever wants hers back I’ll get myself one.
We have this or one almost exactly the same. Never used the probe, but its a nice enough cooker; we’ve done brisket, pulled pork, pot roast and beef stew… and using this Americas Test Kitchen cookbook we’ve even done stellar BBQ ribs. Recommended if you have counter space.
@reddinghill My wife cut me in half with her gaze when I suggested this. So I use an old steel pot and trivet on the wood stove. I do my strippin’ in the winter months!
@thismyusername I’d buy it, but my computer is already named “The Probulator” and I’m afraid of what might happen if I have two “Probulators” around the house.
I’ve had one for a few years, use it often. Only thing I don’t like is storing it. It is unweildly and cumbersome when it comes to shoving it in a kitchen cabinet… Despite only weighing about 6 lbs.
@Wagnbat I hate hate hate storing appliances. Small house with precious little storage space so I have to be very selective in which appliances make the cut. FoodSaver, slow cooker, toaster oven, coffee maker. I’d love to have a blender, food processor, deep fryer, electric griddle, etc, but no room to store them.
Ditto here! Only appliances that are used regularly get prime real estate, the others go in the basement. My crock pot is old enough legally have alcohol now. In for one.
Dutch oven: deep fryer, slow cooker
Blender: food processor and blender
Those two items are great multitaskers, I cook a lot and don’t own a food processor or slow cooker because those two do the job better than what they’re replacing
Also, if you replace your coffee maker with an aero press or French press you’ll save a lot of room.
@kevin097 I assume you’re talking about an electric dutch oven? Will those get hot enough for deep frying?
I have a pretty decent Thermos french press I keep in my camping gear. But it’s pretty close to the same size as my Mr. Coffee 5 cup countertop brewer.
I own this it is the most expensive crock pot at Wal-Mart. We went crazy and spent the extra money we have had it a year maybe. We don’t use it as much as I like but every time we do we always say what a good job it does and how we should use it more.
I really want to but my kitchen cabinets are at maximum capacity. I can get rid of the avocado green Crock Pot I bought for $5 at Salvation Army in 1998 but that doesn’t buy me enough space. I guess I can also get rid of the electric frying pan I got 15 years ago and haven’t used in I don’t know how long. And The Sweethome says it’s the best one. It’s only twenty bucks. Oh, what the hell.
Forum: LFW,DR (Late For Work, Didn’t Read)
Is this the unit that started highly rated and subsequent model changes (mfg. or parts “upgrades”) left inadequate?
@$20, I’ll risk it.
Can somebody post an Irk image for me please?
psychotic-talkative-troll
yep, in for one. Our old one works, but the high setting tends to burn. Plus the probe would be great for cooking to temp. And locking handles for taking to tailgates! Yessir. woven-certain-underwear (I’m not searching that one, lol)
I’ve got a similar one, and use the hell out of it. One of my favorite uses is to make Slow Cooker Marinara. Nothing like having homemade tomato sauce around for a quick meal when you don’t feel like serious cookery… like the spaghetti and meatballs I had last night.
Had a very similar model given to us as a wedding gift… worked great for 4 years then suddenly just started shutting off after 30 seconds. Wife has missed having it… so, bought!
When I was writing the specs for this product, I thought "huh, it stays on during brief power outages, that’s neat I guess."
Then I got home and my crockpot was turned off because apparently we had a power outage an hour and a half after I left for work.
My wife said, and I quote “it’s bigger than the one I currently use. Buy it” - I hope she doesn’t have that mehntality towards all things she currently “uses”
@souljah77 The one time I saw a clean one of these in a thrift store, it was priced at $24.99. They’re currently going for about $50+tax new; I paid $45 for mine a few years back.
At $20, this is a deal for a temperature sensor equipped slow cooker.
Got me for 2. My slow cooker recently developed a thin crack that I know will result in soup everywhere sometime soon. My sister lost her slow cooker. Like, it vanished.
I was away yesterday, missed my meh click, but I wish I was here to warn you about this model. I can still write for any MVP thinking about the second chance today.
This is a “refurb” which, for this model, probably means one that was returned by someone who didn’t like it, then cleaned and checked and it is probably as good as new. I seriously doubt anything was broken that was replaced, except maybe the ceramic pot itself, if someone bought one in a store with a cracked pot.
The probe sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it, to techies? The problem is, “slow cooking” depends on SLOW cooking, and time is not very important. 4 hours or 5 hours won’t make much difference, it is the “SLOW” that makes the difference.
The instruction pamphlet coming with this has a few recipes, one of which, for example by memory, is for your standard pot roast. You are supposed to program the probe to change it to “warm” when the roast reaches 165 degrees sensed by the probe. The model does that exactly right, and your pot roast is as tough as leather. You still need another 2 or 3 hours on HIGH to make it nice and soft like mama used to make. It’s not the temperature that counts, it’s the SLOW.
The probe works correctly, but that is not useful for SLOW cooking.
They would not “repair” these things, they would trash one that didn’t work right.
The probe and the fancy numbers make it look flashy and techie. It’s been cleaned and checked over by somebody to be sure everything works right. That’s nice.
So, for 20 bucks, it’s a fair deal, lower than the normal price of a new non-probe 6 quart model. If you get this, like I did, at regular price, you will probably find, like I did, that you’ll be using it the normal non-probe way, and you can ignore the probe completely. It can work like a normal slow cooker if you don’t use the probe. There may be certain foods or recipes that can make useful use of the probe feature, but I can’t think of any or I wouldn’t make such things in a slow cooker anyway.
The lid clamps are nice, if you have a need to travel somewhere with your cooked food, and the spoon which presses into the the lid handle is nice.
If you want a 6 quart model, get this, good deal. Forget the probe.
If you want a cleaned and checked over slow cooker, get this. Forget the probe.
You can get standard 4 or 5 quart models when they’re on sale from the big W or T or even M(acy) or K(mart or ohl) for $20. Make sure it has OFF-WARM-LOW-HIGH. Cheapest models don’t have WARM, don’t get one of those. WARM setting is useful. Probe is not.
@sammydog01 Oh, I think it’s hilarious. Because I bought two, one came with just a label stuck on the retail box and one came in the retail box inside another much larger box.
Just wanted to add that I contacted Hamilton Beach (Thanks for helping me get in touch, Holly!) and though it took a few days to get everything sorted out, they eventually sent me another Slow Cooker. They actually sent me a brand new one.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with the cordless model.
I just took it out of the box so that I can use it for the first time tomorrow at my departmen’s pot luck lunch. I’m taking a terrible risk, Vader. This had better work.
Use mine to slow cook a chicken yesterday with the probe. I cooked breast down with onions on the bottom + half a cup of water. Set to 165 and let it cook on warm for 2 hours before I got home.
Came out tender but I’d cook it breast side up and maybe 160 next time.
As a veteran electronics engineer, I’m very familiar with the smell of burnt circuits. I get a whiff of this from the control panel area of the cooker. Maybe something was soldered during the refurb process? I’ll be monitoring this but the 90-day warranty period may not be adequate.
If I had read @ojohn’s review first I wouldn’t have bothered writing to Meh and HB to get a replacement for the probe with the frayed cord that I received. Crock pot made beef stew on timer mode and pork chops on manual very well. I’m still not ready to leave it cooking when no one is home all day.
I have used this no less than twice a week since it arrived! SOOOOO convenient. And its big enough to cook a whole chicken. So glad I bought it. Worth way more.
Just tried to use this slow cooker for the FIRST time and it does not heat up at all!!! Wtf?? Why sell not working refurbished items that cost more to return than the purchase price?? Very disappointed at Meh!!
@Hotchoklatte did you contact hamilton beach yet? You might not have to return the crock (the heavy part)… looks like you still have 30 days warranty… if they give you any problems contact meh support.
Friendly advice from a meh regular:
ALWAYS check meh purchases when you get them to make sure they work (especially 90 day warranty items)
ALWAYS consider shipping for warranty service into the price you pay when you are determining if it is a good price for an item on meh
@shaun42 me too they are the best ever… they are so wonderful any fault ever must be a fluke!!! if it doesn’t work for you, you must be doing it wrong!!!
Specs
What’s in the Box?
1x Slow cooker base
1x Stoneware crock
1x Lid
1x Probe
1x User manual
Pictures
Cooking with probe
Side view
Probe
Price Comparison
$49 (new) at Amazon
Find a relevant price comparison? Please share it in a comment in this thread
Warranty
90 Day Hamilton Beach
Meh, burn your house down type Meh
Probing this deal tonight-- cooking up more sales meh? What a crock…:)
Hahahaha. Probe…
I have one of these, it works well as a slow cooker. I haven’t tried to probe things with it though.
This is a nice slow cooker, if you need one. We bought it new, use it regularly and have no regrets.
@tomvarela Can you set a temp, and it will adjust to maintain that temp?
The description here leads me to think it will only display current temp, not maintain a specific user selectable temp
Food stylists, though! Meh.
@ruouttaurmind See the comment below from @narfcake.
@ruouttaurmind No, it’s not a sous vide cooker. Once it reaches the set temperature, it signals it’s done and switches to warm. It won’t maintain that set temperature there on out, though. It’s “done” at that point.
@ruouttaurmind See here also. (Model number might vary because it is refurbished.)
@narfcake Still progress compared to my Crock-Pot brand slow cooker. Both high and medium settings are too hot and scorch sides and bottom. And of course the warm setting is too low to effectively cook.
@tomvarela Answers all my questions, thank you!
I have one about two models before this and it works very well. Stick the ingredients in, put the lid on, probe it, and set it to the desired temperature. When it reaches it, the pot automatically switches to warm.
Alas, I’ll have to wait until morning to contemplate buying a backup; my card got flagged for excessive use at catshirtswoot.
@narfcake Thanks! This answers the question I asked above.
@narfcake One last stupid question please… Is the crock removable? I had a Sunbeam cooker that the crock couldn’t be removed.
PITA to clean.
@ruouttaurmind Yes, it’s removable.
The $20 price tag just makes it seem even more iffy. You’d have to be insane to buy a refurb crockpot.
@Telanis Actuallly not. I worked at a company quite some time ago, and they had a company store where you could get their “refurbs” at insane prices. I talked to some of the engineers, and they were like…“in general, they’re better than new because any problems have been resolved…and electrical things tend to be binary; they either work or they don’t.” I’ve bought a lot of refurbs, and there’s only one that I had a problem with, and had no problems returning it.
@eeterrific The other problem with refurbs is that if a part is iffy and fails and they get a bunch of returns because of it, the refurb/warranty process will only replace a faulty part with … you guessed it … another of that same faulty part. That will likely fail again. Electonics in particular fall into that trap in the refurb/warranty process.
Search for HP and overheating video chips. Chip overheats and fails. Send it in, HP “refurbs” it with the same chip, which … overheats. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I’ve had the same problem with a Samsung over-the-range microwave and the keypad failing 3-6-9. Twice. Same failure. Replacing or “refurbing” it a third time wont change poor design or parts choices. I have a GE now.
Lo and Hi are really all I need in a slow cooker. Pass, Meh.
@mike808 I agree with you. If refurbished units were as good or better than new units, they should have equal or even better warranties but the warranties are usually less.
@mike808 Victim of the HP chip failure.
Best equipped notebook I ever had. 4th gen i7, 16GB RAM, 480GB SSD, 17" touch screen, Blu-ray RW drive, AC wifi… Turned out to be the biggest POS I ever owned and my worst purchase ever. Turned me off from HP forever.
@ruouttaurmind that happened to my Sony laptop too with similar specs. Jinx.
Slooowwww…I’ll hit the buy button slooowwww. Actually, I’m really torn. Bought a slow cooker two years ago, and use it quite a bit. But…do I need another one…
Gonna have to think…
oh Meh.n, i thought this was a pressure cooker, and i was gunna be like what? i bought at full price and missed the amazon prime knock off price and now this price slash???
but alas, Meh. this is a slow cooker…
@Yoda_Daenerys That prime day instant pot deal was tempting but I stayed strong. I thought the same thing for a second when I saw this.
@djslack if you like to cook, and you like to save time, and you like to save energy, instantpot won’t disappoint…
@Yoda_Daenerys I’m a believer. I have a 5qt and 9qt Futura stovetop and have long term borrowed my mom’s electric pressure cooker as well. Bought my sister an instant pot for Christmas (all she really wanted was a yogurt maker) and if my mom ever wants hers back I’ll get myself one.
@Yoda_Daenerys @djslack Just a heads up, Amazon has the Instapot 6-in-1 for $70 today.
http://slickdeals.net/f/9002955-instant-pot-ip-lux60-6-quart-1000w-6-in-1-programmable-pressure-cooker-69-99-free-shipping
/giphy futile-undaunted-ninja
We have this or one almost exactly the same. Never used the probe, but its a nice enough cooker; we’ve done brisket, pulled pork, pot roast and beef stew… and using this Americas Test Kitchen cookbook we’ve even done stellar BBQ ribs. Recommended if you have counter space.
@duodec I clicked on the link to discover that I already have that book. Now that I bought this deal I guess I’ll dust it off.
Slow cooker? Hell, if my dinner cannot be cooked in 5 minutes or less in the microwave, I don’t want it.
@cengland0 Cup o Noodle and Hungry Man?
@sp3ar Nope. Top Ramen and a bag of Pop Secret.
@sp3ar I’m gluten free and vegetarian so either a baked potato or nachos would be fine.
used my last one to remove paint from vintage metal hinges to which someone had applied a million coats of latex paint. i’m in.
/buy
@reddinghill It worked! Your order number is: dandy-perennial-thumb
/image dandy-perennial-thumb
@mediocrebot Awwww, my Little Dandy.
@reddinghill Just water & heat? Or other ingredients?
How did the paint taste?
@compunaut Water, heat, and the tiniest bit of dish detergent. It’s an overnight process. And as for the paint, I prefer mine fresh out the can.
@reddinghill My wife cut me in half with her gaze when I suggested this. So I use an old steel pot and trivet on the wood stove. I do my strippin’ in the winter months!
/buy
@intenseNERD It worked! Your order number is: tampered-enlightened-swing
/image tampered-enlightened-swing
/buy
@mutagen It worked! Your order number is: slick-wasteful-sneeze
/image slick-wasteful-sneeze
@mediocrebot gaaaa wtf did I just buy?
@mutagen that’s a slightly misshapen but delicious-looking sfogliatella
@thismyusername I’d buy it, but my computer is already named “The Probulator” and I’m afraid of what might happen if I have two “Probulators” around the house.
@jakeline Just name this “Crocky.”
/buy
@mtb002 It worked! Your order number is: worthless-fluent-meal
/image worthless-fluent-meal
God bless you bastards, what the hell did I just buy? Wait, more accurately why the hell did I just buy this!
/giphy affectionate-macho-toe
@giphy is really starting to make me sad. Time for some giphy-pop up in here.
Effing @giphy!
/image affectionate-macho-toe
Really? REALLY? It’s an IMAGE CONSPIRACY! Image conspiracy I tell you!
Came here to say I bought this retail, have owned it for years, it’s awesome, and I’ve made amazing food with it.
Then saw some folks beat me to it.
So I won’t say it.
@actionjbone Gotta admire your conviction.
It’s a darn good deal. Crock Pot finally burned out (circa 1976). Now grandma can go digital.
I would buy it if it,were the pressure cooker also. please,feature one of,those
@mintermom poetic use of the, comma! Kudos
I’m in!
/giphy flowery-amok-mouth
Well, it’s Wirecutter/Sweethome’s best slow cooker. I’m in.
@RedFawn Thanks! I was just about to head over there to check.
Nice! Been looking for a larger slow cooker for a while now.
/giphy noted-adamant-death
Nice shinigami
arbitrary-transient-groundhog
Been meaning to try this.
/buy
@rand3y It worked! Your order number is: dizzy-ginormous-rainstorm
/image dizzy-ginormous-rainstorm
Ready Fire Aim… I got one!
I’ve had one for a few years, use it often. Only thing I don’t like is storing it. It is unweildly and cumbersome when it comes to shoving it in a kitchen cabinet… Despite only weighing about 6 lbs.
@Wagnbat I hate hate hate storing appliances. Small house with precious little storage space so I have to be very selective in which appliances make the cut. FoodSaver, slow cooker, toaster oven, coffee maker. I’d love to have a blender, food processor, deep fryer, electric griddle, etc, but no room to store them.
Ditto here! Only appliances that are used regularly get prime real estate, the others go in the basement. My crock pot is old enough legally have alcohol now. In for one.
@ruouttaurmind
May I suggest some space saving tips?
Dutch oven: deep fryer, slow cooker
Blender: food processor and blender
Those two items are great multitaskers, I cook a lot and don’t own a food processor or slow cooker because those two do the job better than what they’re replacing
Also, if you replace your coffee maker with an aero press or French press you’ll save a lot of room.
@kevin097 I assume you’re talking about an electric dutch oven? Will those get hot enough for deep frying?
I have a pretty decent Thermos french press I keep in my camping gear. But it’s pretty close to the same size as my Mr. Coffee 5 cup countertop brewer.
If I didn’t already have two slow cookers, I’d be all over this… But I don’t use the ones I have nearly enough to justify a third.
I own this it is the most expensive crock pot at Wal-Mart. We went crazy and spent the extra money we have had it a year maybe. We don’t use it as much as I like but every time we do we always say what a good job it does and how we should use it more.
I really want to but my kitchen cabinets are at maximum capacity. I can get rid of the avocado green Crock Pot I bought for $5 at Salvation Army in 1998 but that doesn’t buy me enough space. I guess I can also get rid of the electric frying pan I got 15 years ago and haven’t used in I don’t know how long. And The Sweethome says it’s the best one. It’s only twenty bucks. Oh, what the hell.
/buy
@SSteve It worked! Your order number is: innate-okay-soup
/image innate-okay-soup
Thanks for the recipe idea, @mediocrebot!
Forum: LFW,DR (Late For Work, Didn’t Read)
Is this the unit that started highly rated and subsequent model changes (mfg. or parts “upgrades”) left inadequate?
@$20, I’ll risk it.
Can somebody post an Irk image for me please?
psychotic-talkative-troll
I dunno, I think there are some experts out there that would disagree on the robot-ness of this slow cooker.
The greatest podcast ever: Robot or Not.
yep, in for one. Our old one works, but the high setting tends to burn. Plus the probe would be great for cooking to temp. And locking handles for taking to tailgates! Yessir. woven-certain-underwear (I’m not searching that one, lol)
Apparently the state of Montana hates slow cookers.
Cheapest wedding present ever.
Where are all you anti-pausers now, huh? Only on your high horse when it’s convenient, huh? That’s what I thought.
/giphy predictable-finished-pain
I’ve got a similar one, and use the hell out of it. One of my favorite uses is to make Slow Cooker Marinara. Nothing like having homemade tomato sauce around for a quick meal when you don’t feel like serious cookery… like the spaghetti and meatballs I had last night.
Had a very similar model given to us as a wedding gift… worked great for 4 years then suddenly just started shutting off after 30 seconds. Wife has missed having it… so, bought!
You might get my cooker! Bought this model new; returned it when the handle (that clamps the lid down) snapped on the 2nd use.
A good PROBE is key!!!
I made the mistake(?) of buying a small crock pot and then finding all the recipes need to be scaled. So I’m in for 1 on this.
How does this work?
/image matchless-faithful-talk
Can you program it to turn off after six hours instead?
@mattsayar Yeah, you can set a timer, and it switches to warm when the timer finishes.
When I was writing the specs for this product, I thought "huh, it stays on during brief power outages, that’s neat I guess."
Then I got home and my crockpot was turned off because apparently we had a power outage an hour and a half after I left for work.
First MEH! I was holding out for alien technology — you had me at “probe.”
@awemaker Welcome!
Been lurking on Meh for months and finally created my account for this one. Now I’ll be waiting for the good headphones like everyone else.
@Kendizzle808 Greetings!
/giphy clingy-chunky-shaman
/giphy acute glaring rabbit
Not sure about refurbished anything, I usually buy new only but we’ll see how it goes.
My wife said, and I quote “it’s bigger than the one I currently use. Buy it” - I hope she doesn’t have that mehntality towards all things she currently “uses”
/buy
@adamloooong It worked! Your order number is: devilish-hard-rifle
/image devilish-hard-rifle
@mediocrebot I feel that is the most perfect order number for my comment. Thanks meh!
My husband who never wants to buy anything saw your daily teaser email and said, “Buy it.” I think it was the probe.
So many comments debating spending $20 on a crockpot,seriously…$20 lol
@souljah77 The one time I saw a clean one of these in a thrift store, it was priced at $24.99. They’re currently going for about $50+tax new; I paid $45 for mine a few years back.
At $20, this is a deal for a temperature sensor equipped slow cooker.
@narfcake I agree. Nice use of the semicolon by the way.
/giphy grody-amethyst-thief
A week ago, when I was still a VMP, I’d have jumped on this. But you broke my heart, Meh. You broke my heart. (kiss on the lips).
Got me for 2. My slow cooker recently developed a thin crack that I know will result in soup everywhere sometime soon. My sister lost her slow cooker. Like, it vanished.
/giphy pleasing-rational-scene
/buy
@daleyshow It worked! Your order number is: petty-antique-elf
/image petty-antique-elf
Who refurbished the fuck’in thing…how’s that for
Inert lmfao!
It’s all about pacing yourself, apparently.
[1]:
Soggy fabulous fritter. …I got a new slow cooker, what a kicker!!
Now to throw out my old crock pot when this gets here!!
sweet deal. very reasonable price. I got one.
VMP after hours test case…
/buy
@kshannon1 It worked! Your order number is: premium-courteous-sycamore
/image premium-courteous-sycamore
I was away yesterday, missed my meh click, but I wish I was here to warn you about this model. I can still write for any MVP thinking about the second chance today.
This is a “refurb” which, for this model, probably means one that was returned by someone who didn’t like it, then cleaned and checked and it is probably as good as new. I seriously doubt anything was broken that was replaced, except maybe the ceramic pot itself, if someone bought one in a store with a cracked pot.
The probe sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it, to techies? The problem is, “slow cooking” depends on SLOW cooking, and time is not very important. 4 hours or 5 hours won’t make much difference, it is the “SLOW” that makes the difference.
The instruction pamphlet coming with this has a few recipes, one of which, for example by memory, is for your standard pot roast. You are supposed to program the probe to change it to “warm” when the roast reaches 165 degrees sensed by the probe. The model does that exactly right, and your pot roast is as tough as leather. You still need another 2 or 3 hours on HIGH to make it nice and soft like mama used to make. It’s not the temperature that counts, it’s the SLOW.
The probe works correctly, but that is not useful for SLOW cooking.
They would not “repair” these things, they would trash one that didn’t work right.
The probe and the fancy numbers make it look flashy and techie. It’s been cleaned and checked over by somebody to be sure everything works right. That’s nice.
So, for 20 bucks, it’s a fair deal, lower than the normal price of a new non-probe 6 quart model. If you get this, like I did, at regular price, you will probably find, like I did, that you’ll be using it the normal non-probe way, and you can ignore the probe completely. It can work like a normal slow cooker if you don’t use the probe. There may be certain foods or recipes that can make useful use of the probe feature, but I can’t think of any or I wouldn’t make such things in a slow cooker anyway.
The lid clamps are nice, if you have a need to travel somewhere with your cooked food, and the spoon which presses into the the lid handle is nice.
If you want a 6 quart model, get this, good deal. Forget the probe.
If you want a cleaned and checked over slow cooker, get this. Forget the probe.
You can get standard 4 or 5 quart models when they’re on sale from the big W or T or even M(acy) or K(mart or ohl) for $20. Make sure it has OFF-WARM-LOW-HIGH. Cheapest models don’t have WARM, don’t get one of those. WARM setting is useful. Probe is not.
@ojohn TL;DR you most like the probe feature?
Received both of mine today. I haven’t turned on either, but one looks fine. The other?
Someone cut the cord off.
@aristan I know that’s not funny but I can’t stop laughing. They’ll take care of it. It’s like the snow cone maker I got missing the on/off switch.
@sammydog01 Oh, I think it’s hilarious. Because I bought two, one came with just a label stuck on the retail box and one came in the retail box inside another much larger box.
Guess which one is missing the cord?
Just wanted to add that I contacted Hamilton Beach (Thanks for helping me get in touch, Holly!) and though it took a few days to get everything sorted out, they eventually sent me another Slow Cooker. They actually sent me a brand new one.
Now I just have to figure out what to do with the cordless model.
@aristan How good are you with a soldering iron?
If nothing else, keep it for spares. If the control panel goes wonky, or if the crock or lid breaks, you have the parts already.
I just took it out of the box so that I can use it for the first time tomorrow at my departmen’s pot luck lunch. I’m taking a terrible risk, Vader. This had better work.
Apparently they forgot to refurbish mine. Came DOA:(
Use mine to slow cook a chicken yesterday with the probe. I cooked breast down with onions on the bottom + half a cup of water. Set to 165 and let it cook on warm for 2 hours before I got home.
Came out tender but I’d cook it breast side up and maybe 160 next time.
As a veteran electronics engineer, I’m very familiar with the smell of burnt circuits. I get a whiff of this from the control panel area of the cooker. Maybe something was soldered during the refurb process? I’ll be monitoring this but the 90-day warranty period may not be adequate.
If I had read @ojohn’s review first I wouldn’t have bothered writing to Meh and HB to get a replacement for the probe with the frayed cord that I received. Crock pot made beef stew on timer mode and pork chops on manual very well. I’m still not ready to leave it cooking when no one is home all day.
Turns out I have no clue how to cook in this thing.
I have used this no less than twice a week since it arrived! SOOOOO convenient. And its big enough to cook a whole chicken. So glad I bought it. Worth way more.
Just tried to use this slow cooker for the FIRST time and it does not heat up at all!!! Wtf?? Why sell not working refurbished items that cost more to return than the purchase price?? Very disappointed at Meh!!
@Hotchoklatte did you contact hamilton beach yet? You might not have to return the crock (the heavy part)… looks like you still have 30 days warranty… if they give you any problems contact meh support.
Friendly advice from a meh regular:
ALWAYS check meh purchases when you get them to make sure they work (especially 90 day warranty items)
ALWAYS consider shipping for warranty service into the price you pay when you are determining if it is a good price for an item on meh
I am using other models of Hamilton Beach, it doesn’t have such heating problems. I am happy with the performance!
@shaun42 me too they are the best ever… they are so wonderful any fault ever must be a fluke!!! if it doesn’t work for you, you must be doing it wrong!!!