I can't answer all your questions, but if you are dividing and freezing, then get the bigger one.
I have three slow cookers, varying in size. I think they are 2.5 quart, 5 quart and 7 quart. We use the largest more often, as we love left overs.

I was in your same predicament 3 years ago when my faithful West Bend bean pot style finally gave up.

What I kept finding reading reviews - many of todays models cook hotter, I'm not sure if that's a safety thing or what (bacteria) but I didn't want to cook hotter ;)

It may not help you but I bought the Fagor Multi Purpose that I stumbled across when shopping and haven't been sorry for a minute - I use it a lot, more than I ever thought of taking out my one function slow cooker (and maybe why the West Bend lasted 30+ years;) ). Love the browning feature with the Fagor.

I've only had 6 quart and I cook sometimes for 4-5 in it, but more often I'm cooking for two with planned leftovers and never have questioned the size - it's been adequate for a pot roast, whole chicken, whatever I've chosen to serve.

I use my middle size a lot, my small size almost a often, and my big one very seldom.

If I was you, I would look in thrift stores. The older ones are always in there... and in my opinion they are the BEST. :)

Moni

If your budget allows, I would purchase an electric pressure cooker. I'm not sure about all of them, but mine (Instantpot) can also be used as a slow cooker and a sauté pan. So things like chili, I can brown the meat and then add ingredients. Then either slow cook or pressure cook based on how much time I have.

This is an interesting post. I'll be watching as well. My BIG crockpot is at least 30 years old. It has an auto setting where it stays on high for 1.5hrs then switches to low automatically. I use that setting the most often. It can't last forever tho.

I like the look of stainless steel and a digital readout...yet don't electronics fail when exposed to heat? Maybe they just look good and burn up every 12 months? :0)

A LOT of people on the cooking forum say that the newer crockpots cook on too high a temperature, and to find an older one by shopping at a thrift store. Just a thought.

Somehow I made a duplicate post. Oooops!

This post was edited by caroline on Mon, Nov 3, 14 at 10:31

Nicole, my Fagor is stainless with a digital readout, it had it's third 'birthday' last month and looks and functions as brand new.

But it's a multi function cooker, browns (beautifully)/slow/pressure cooks and has the rice feature.

It takes the place of 4 appliances and I really needed that in my smaller kitchen. Now that I've got space, I'm still enjoying the multi function and use it often. And it's pretty ;)

Such wonderful ideas; thanks to all!

I feel so wasteful replacing old, sturdy, long lasting USA-made appliances with the flimsy, poorly made-in-China items that are available now.

- Okla Moni, my neighbor found a small vintage crock pot. It's great for a dinner for two. It's so old the crockery liner is not removable! Remember those?! She picked it up for 75-cents at a yard sale so I traded her a big bag of garden veggies for it.

It's clean with no chips or cracks to the crockery, has a sturdy power cord, and puts the "slow" back in slow cooker! I need a bigger one for freezer stocking though. I'll just keep haunting the thrift store.

Morz8 - I checked out the Fagor site. They have a great pressure cooker that is made in Spain (!) and it is red. If I didn't already have a Presto pressure cooker that was a gift, it would be living in my kitchen.

I was looking at my "cooking appliances." I have the larger pressure cooker; a huge pressure canner, the small crock pot, a small rice cooker, my MILs vintage smaller toaster oven (it's a real jewel; it's self-cleaning!), a sturdy English-style electric water kettle, and a flimsy new plastic toaster. I use the toaster oven the least, but it's such a vintage charmer that I want to keep it.

Still, I think I need a 6-qt. slow cooker.

Morz8 - that multi-function cooker does sound tempting. I could use it to replace my smaller slow cooker and the rice cooker, and it it's large enough I wouldn't need a larger slow cooker.

Can you cook smaller portions of rice, say 3 scoops worth, in it?

May I ask where you purchased yours?

Caroline, I have three stove top pressure cookers so its not like I needed another....two that are canner size that I do can in, and a third 8 qt size that just sits lonesome on a shelf now that I have the electric model. Easy, easy cleanup. No need to stay in the room and monitor, it turns itself to 'hold warm' when finished. Quick like a bunny come-to-pressure and cool down and a silicon gasket that's a dream.

Any of the slow cook only cookers I came across that were highly rated/reviewed were the same price as the multi function pots, bought mine at Amazon.

Morz8 yours sounds very much like mine. I often cook small portions 2-3 cups of rice or oatmeal. Soup at least once a week.
I might use it 4 or 5 times in one Sunday afternoon as I prep my meals for the week.
6 chicken breasts frozen to completely cooked in about 20 minutes. Very moist and no added oils to cook.
I agree very easy clean-up.

I don't use any actual "crock" pots I use slow cookers that use a regular pot. I have had my favorite one that I use quite often since shortly after we got married, so very very very long ago!
I was hosting a Tupperware party and that was the hostess gift if you had enough sales, I did. What a fabulous work horse it has been. And my mom had one exactly like it but smaller so now I have hers too. This is the one that it is like
West Bend 84905 5-Quart Oblong-Shaped Slow Cooker

It sits on a burner unit so you can use the pot on the stove too. I have never used the burner unit as a griddle but you can do that. My pots that are for that unit have never lost a single spot of the non stick coating it is all fully as it came.

A few years ago I decided I wanted to get their bigger one which has a stainless steel pot this one
West Bend 84866 6-Quart Versatility Slow Cooker with Glass Cover, Stainless
Many reviews warned that the coating inside would come off very quickly. Well they were right, I used it maybe 3 times and the non stick coating came off in big pieces. So now I have a pretty pot I can not use and a nice new heating base.
I should have contacted them and had them replace it with another model but I didn't. What I do now is use the base with one of my oval enamel cast iron pots and it works very well.

But I would absolutely get another one of the original kind if mine every died. It must be over a hundred in slow cooker years lol.
I did find another of the pots that fit on the original one at a goodwill store and snatched it up with the lid included so now I have 2 pots and 2 lids for that base.

I don't think I have any other kitchen appliance that I have used as much and has lasted so long and worked perfectly for so many years.

I do have an Aroma cooker that I love but mine does not have the slow cooker feature, it does have the brown and saute feature. I would love it if mine had the slow cook on it but that feature started coming out on them just after I was given mine for a Christmas gift.