Lizbeth, all of my Nescos are vintage so can't comment on the new ones. The porcelain interior can be a challenge to clean; soaking for a few hours or overnight makes it a lot easier to clean. About the only thing I use a large 18 qt one for is turkey and, for that, I use a roasting bag so no mess there. Anyway, I use the soak approach & a Brillo pad, if needed. With porcelain, you have to resign yourself to the fact that the cookwell will get chipped. All of mine have chips but only on the edges, not inside the cookwell. Youngest Nesco I have was born sometime in the '80's and purchased new. The others are garage sale finds, unknown vintage but obviously lots older than the '80's style. And, yes the cookwell is heavy duty & no, I'm not careful with them. All that said, if I was buying new & didn't have the birds, I would buy the non-stick.

Well, I have an 18 quart and I have the 6 quart. It's the most regularly used appliance in my house next to those used for roasting and brewing coffee. I use the 18 quart for stock because I have cattle and chickens and make a lot of stock from the bones and can it. I put the bones of either in the big roaster, add my vegetables (onion, celery, carrot) and seasonings (bay leaf, salt, pepper), and roast the whole thing at 400 or 450 for a couple of hours, then add water to cover the bones and let it simmer all day, sometimes all night. The longer you cook, of course, the more flavorful the stock is. I also use the 18 quart to make things like scalloped potatoes, baked beans, sloppy joes for family parties and I use it to roast turkey or ham when my oven is busy at said parties. That happens a lot. I use the 6 quart in place of the crock pot a lot of the time. There is a learning curve, I've found that the "slow cook" setting on the Nesco is still too hot for my liking, so I turn it down further. That's the beauty of it, it can be adjusted for temperature instead of the mostly high/low crockpot type settings. I don't sear a roast in mine, the heat is on the sides and so it's not great for that, but I just plop it in with no liquid and roast it, then add whatever else I want and turn the heat down for a slow roast. The advantages of different sizes depends on the volume of cooking/product. I use the big one and I use the 6 quart but I don't really need anything smaller or larger, those do what I want them to. I can also put either on the back porch in the summer time to avoid any heat in my kitchen, as I do not have air conditioning, and I can bake in them in lieu of turning on an oven. I've baked brownies and banana bread, and used the small one as a bain marie for cheesecakes although you have to cover the tops to avoid condensation dripping onto the tops from the lid. I do know that others have the fan in theirs and love it, but I've never used one with that option, so I can't help you there. I love my roasters, the 6 quart gets a regular workout and the 18 quart is a lifesaver for big gatherings, I highly recommend them. Annie

When I read this my light bulb started to flicker and I thought, hey, I wonder... but... I see a problem or two. The heat is applied more indirectly and from the sides. Using a Weber kettle or something for smoking and a stovetop smoker you apply the heat to the bottom to start and keep the wood smoking. I don't really see a simple way to keep the heat on the wood to keep it going short of adding another appliance to the mix or putting in some charcoal or something. As lindac mentioned you could start the wood elsewhere and put it in there but how long would it last? I wouldn't think too long since there isn't really the airflow you would get in a smoker, kettle grill or the like. I could be missing something but I think there's better options for smoking. Although, I guess you could fasten the pouches to the side of the roaster so the heat is applied there. Even just hang the foil out of the top and let the lid hold it in. Wet the wood and it would be against the side where the heat comes in, although I think the heat would have to be set a bit higher to "cook the wood" enough to smoke, wouldn't it? Hmmm. Maybe.... just maybe.....

I use both a small Nesco and a 25+ year old Rival crock pot in my cooking. Although I have not tested the temp in either, I think the differences may arise from the shape and size of the two appliances. A crock pot is usually deeper and maybe be more round than a Nesco oven. And I think the crock pot has the heat source from the bottom and the Nesco has a the heating elements of the sides for their "Circle of Heat." IMO, the Nesco is the better choice for roasting, baking, and long cooking than a crock pot. I have made the 5 hour @ 250 degrees Sticky Chicken recipe in the Nesco that I originally baked in my large oven and it actually took a little less than 5 hours. I use the crock pot now for recipes that are more liquid - soup, stew, spaghetti sauce, pepper steak, etc. I confidently go off to work and let the crock pot cook away for 8 hours. Because I think the Nesco is a hotter appliance, I have not gone off and left it unattended - although maybe I could do so, but just not for 8 hours. The only (edible) flop that I have had with the Nesco was trying to make chicken and dumplings (the thin slider version). The broth didn't reach a low boil to cook the dumplings the way I like them. But I still could eat the results. And, I know the crock pot won't cook the dumplings right for me either, so chicken and dumplings will always be made on the stove top. Teresa