The brands we get the most complaints/returns on are the Hamilton Beach slow cookers. The customers say they don't hold a temperature and break down after a few months use. Same way with their hand mixers, poor quality. I wouldn't buy HB items. The quality isn't there. I purchased a new Cusinart programmable slow cooker a few months ago. Have used it 4 times. So far so good. Everything has come out well. It has the SS outside, Black ceramic insert with a meat rack inside. It is the 6.5 quart size. That seems to do best for our family of 4. I also have 2 Rival Crock pots that I received as wedding gifts 30 years ago. They are still going strong and don't show any signs of breaking down. They are stained on the outside and the lids are a bit scratched but I won't give them up for any amount of money. They have lasted so long they are like family! lol NancyLouise

I also have the Nesco 6 quart and love it, the dial actually has a setting that says "slow cook" on mine. I set the temperature and let it cook all day, just as I would a crockpot. I use it in place of the crockpot, I use it in place of the oven and I use it in place of the electric skillet sometimes. I can plug it in and roast a chicken without heating the whole house, or I can bake brownies in it, and I can plug it in outside on the back porch. I really like mine, and I put the lid in the dishwasher, but not the nonstick insert. Mine actually takes up less space than the Corningware crockpot I have and is far more versatile. That said, neither of my girls have one, because they both have crockpots and don't have the space for another large appliance that they would only use occasionally, they don't cook like I do. Yet. So, if you know the bridge well enough, I'd call and ask. If not, I would buy the Nesco and add a nice note saying why you chose that in lieu of the slow cooker. And keep the receipt handy, just in case she really DOESN'T want it, she can always take it back and get the slow cooker, although I can't imagine that she would. Annie

Hi Sooz. I went back to the Good Will this morning, tape measure in hand and your previous post with the measurements pulled up on my phone. Unfortunately, the crock only measured 10 inches from outside edge to outside edge (across the top) so it's too small to fit for you. It was 11 and 1/2 from handle to handle, and 10 without including the handles. Sorry it didn't work out! It was sooooooooo close! I didn't know they made crock pots with so many different variations in size. Good luck with a new one though... maybe you'll find one you love even more than this one! I do see older crock pots from time to time at the thrift stores, but they are invariably missing the control knob and while it would still work, would drive me CRAZY! They had the vacuum still that I wanted, and it did follow me home, but I'm still sorry this didn't work out for you!

The article above is either old, or misinformed or both. Jarden owns the CROCK-POT name and a number of other trademarks on the product. Not all crock-pots have removable "crocks". That was the problem with one of them I had. The 50plusfriends site tried to get technical on whether the hyphen makes a difference or not and was threatened with a lawsuit by Jarden. (Here's what their lawyer had to say in one letter.) A little more trivia, "Slo-cooker" is a UK trademark for a similar appliance. That issue aside, the biggest complaint I see from people with these appliances these days is the temperatures are so high. They've always been inconsistent and one unit's "high" temperature could be the same as another unit's "low" temperature. It's not unlike the problem with people talking about hot, warm or cold wash in laundry. They'd be far better off to talk about temperature in degree rather than ambiguous terms. Interesting how cooks get concerned about oven temperature when they put a roast in the oven, but don't care when they put it into a countertop appliance. This is why I prefer a roaster oven or at least a unit with a temperature control probe. Forgot to address it earlier, but the point about a timer on here is much like a timer on an oven. What good is it? Possibly for stewing some veggies but I sure wouldn't put meat in there and leave it feed bacteria for hours before starting. Plus these units with a crock take a long time to get up to temperature which is why they say never put frozen meat in them and many say it's best to brown stuff first.