A Nesco (as any electric roaster) makes heat so naturally it will give off heat. It will also add humidity to the air, as will a slow cooker. People who say they use a slow cooker because it "doesn't heat up the room" don't have it turned on or are fooling themselves. A light bulb gives off heat. A hair dryer gives off heat. So do all cooking appliances, even a microwave to a point. So yes, if you leave a hair dryer going for hours will it heat up a room? Sure. Will a Nesco? (Or a toaster, or an electric frypan or a space heater?) Of course it will. However, since it's probably smaller than your ovens, it likely would heat up less then a conventional oven. A 10-14# turkey should work fine in a 12 quart but if you want to put some potatoes around it or something you might want to get the 18 qt, or if you have occasional use for something larger, you might want to go with the 18 qt. Size-wise they're not much different. A guideline is 1#+ per quart size so a 12 qt would handle a 12# but they will take a little more. I've put 7.5# turkey breast in my 6 quart and it's fine. I believe the max recommended is 14# on a 12 qt. and 22# on a 18 qt. Many people put the roaster outside on a patio, porch or whatever for various reasons. Some don't like cooking odors, some don't want the heat and/or humidity, some want the extra room. For browned items, you need dry heat and electric roasters generally retain moisture, which is why things are so tender, juicy and tasty. If you must have browned skin on a turkey, the best way is to use the Roast-Air fan. Alternatives: Use a browning agent. (I never have) Cock the lid and let moisture out, but you'll lose heat. Frequently drain the juices out of the cookwell. Or, when you're pretty much done, pull all juices, pat the turkey dry and crank up the heat. What I do when I really want something browned, is to cook it normally without the fan and then the last 15 min or so, pull the juices and turn on the fan. I don't eat the skin anymore so it's not an issue with me anymore. The difference between a slow cooker and a roaster is an electric roaster is a portable oven with the cooking container. You can do everything you can do in a slow cooker and more and essentially you can do *most* everything you can do in a conventional oven but more. I have the nonstick and the conventional cookwells for both of my Nescos and the porcelain only gets used when I need the second one. Cleaning? I don't use abrasives. I soak it and the stuff comes off quite easily. Occasionally I need to use one of the plastic scrubbers. I would never use steel wool, SOS, and *definitely* not Scratchbrite pads. I'd be hesitant to use oven cleaner on a cooking surface. I wouldn't use cleanser although baking soda would probably be fine an Barkeeper's Friend is supposedly not abrasive. I'd still hesitate to use it *in* the cookwell though. Dawn Power Dissolver probably would work and the (relatively) new Dawn Power Clean dish detergent has been highly recommended by friends. If you have seasoned your cookwell and soak it a bit, you probably won't have trouble. I don't. Also, clean as you go instead of letting it crust up will help too. Frankly there's so much moisture in there you shouldn't have much trouble cleaning it right away or soak it right away. If you're getting a black crust you're probably letting the heat dry it out and bake it on there. That's a big mistake. Keep in mind that if you season your cookwells properly you won't have many cleanup issues. In that respect it's similar to cast iron. My porcelain cookwell for my 6 quart is damaged from using it for a humidifier on dry winter day. The minerals and stuff from the water clung to that thing and I made the mistake of using cleaning pads I shouldn't have used. So when I use that one now I line it with foil most of the time. As for uses, I've gone into detail in other threads, but suffice to say anything I'd put in a slow cooker or the oven I'll put in the electric roaster, including breads, baking potatoes, casseroles, soups, chili, stew, etc. As I said before, you won't get a good crusty meatloaf in it unless you use the fan. Occasionally I want that thick crust on meatloaf so it goes in the oven and of course it'll be dried out. (And no, I *still* won't bury it in 2 inches of ketchup! HA!)

cynic, as an aside to the roaster discussion, I use a big green unbreakable Stanley Thermos. It's not pretty, but I got mine because all th farmers and construction workers I know used them. Mine will keep a pot of hot chocolate steaming hot for several hours while the kids go tobogganing, so we're talking outside in a Michigan winter and usually stuck right into the snow. I used them a lot for camping, I could make coffee at breakfast, put it into the Stanley and it would still be drinkable at supper. Oh, and I've put ice water in it or iced tea when spending a few hours out in the hay field and it keeps ice in the liquid for a couple of hours too. I can definitely recommend them, although my oldest one is over 20 years old, so I'm hoping they haven't "improved" them. Annie

I'm the polar opposite of Grainlady. I don't particularly care for kitchen gadgets (although Elery does) and seldom use them, opting for basic knives, pots, etc. I LOVE my Nesco, though. I have the 6 quart and the 18 quart and I use both of them regularly. I don't have a toaster oven, a counter top convection oven, etc., although Elery does have a countertop rotisserie oven. Of course he does. (grin) The 6 quart does a wonderful roast chicken, and I use it in place of a crockpot. I can cook outside in it when it's hot and the kitchen is steamy, which was an issue in my old house, although for the first time ever I'm living in a house with air conditioning, so it might not be an issue this year. I've cooked in the garage, I did lamb on the back porch so I could avoid the smell, and I've dragged it to my daughters' houses when they were short on space. I use it for additional cooking/oven space on holidays, although now I have double ovens, so I might not have to do that either. The big one I use to simmer large batches of stock for canning or freezing, to make the baked beans or au gratin potatoes for family parties (we have a lot of those, we like to get together, what can I say), I've used it to bake brownies when my oven was on the fritz and I can take it with me and just plug it in and not take up kitchen space when we're at one of the girls' houses. We took it with us when we did Christmas with Elery's family too, so we didn't mess up the oven/stove assignments at his son's house. So I'd say yes you need one, although I would encourage you to borrow one for this particular gathering and see how you like it. You very well might decide that you need one after all. Annie

Finding a dish that will fit inside is the big problem with the 6 qt Nesco. A loaf pan will fit and I have a vintage Westinghouse Hall porcelain dish that fits inside. I find that my 60's vintage Nesco 'Redi-Oven' is a lot more useful. It's sorta' an Easy Bake oven for adults. It came with a custom sized 8.5 x 9.5 x 1.5 aluminum pan that slides out of the oven on a tray. I use it at least a couple of times a week. Brownies, cornbread, biscuits, meat loaf, baked potatoes, sweet potatoes, baked chicken. Used it last week for pork chops & stuffing. Love that little oven. Heats up in a flash. The Redi-Ovens are pretty rare. The only one that I've actually seen is the one that I own. Bought it at a garage sale years ago. Occasionally one will pop up on eBay.