Customer Reviews

Dr. Weil 9801 The Healthy Kitchen 7-Quart Slow Cooker

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

In the past, I never considered a slow cooker due to the potential lead leaching from the glaze of the ceramic into the food. (Several years ago, I discovered this issue with tableware glazes when I noticed my Wedgwood China pattern could not be sold in California without a Proposition #65 warning.) Now that I am confident Dr. Weil has all health aspects covered, our family looked forward to enjoying nutritious and convenient slow cooker meals.

However, all of my cookware has been All Clad. And, the All Clad 6.5Qt. slow cooker rates outstanding here on Amazon. Confounded by which cooker to buy, I bought both to conduct a cook off. We selected the chicken and mushroom recipe packaged with the All Clad model believing it was delicious since it was part of the aftermarketing experience to curb any potential sticker shock buyer's remorse. Dr. Weil's recipes would be reserved for healthier and probably somewhat less flavorful endeavors.

To make a fair comparison, I carefully measured and split all raw and prepared ingredients in half between the two batches to ensure all things being equal. From the start, Dr. Weil was the front runner with a smaller counter space footprint and yielding an extra half quart. The accented control LCD display seemed more intuitive using color coded screens and pictures for cooking, warming, etc. The handle design of the lid made it also easier to maneuver under the sink faucet for cleaning and allowing more of a safe distance between your fingers and the hot glass. Although, the All Clad ceramic insert handles were more pronounced making it more secure for cleaning and lifting a hot pot in general.

The true test was in the resulting fork tenderness of the chicken meat after 5.5 hours on low in both slow cookers. Dr. Weil won hands down with falling off the fork melt in your mouth complex moist flavor. By contrast, the All Clad cooker did not retain as much liquid to completely cover all the chicken; and, the olive oil appeared to have separated in the sauce.

I gave the Dr. Weil 9801 only four stars because the top of the LCD control panel started to separate from the slow cooker with noticable condensation building up underneath of it that may affect the function of the slow cooker. However, with a full one year warranty, I will take my chances on the Dr. Weil model.

My husband bought this cooker for me for Christmas. I love it - beautiful, cooks great, and looks lovely on the counter. I cooked pork steaks with carrots for about 9 hours, then it went into "warm" - and turned out beautifully! The meat was tender and juicy. Unfortunately, the first time we washed the crock, my husband bumped it lightly against our granite countertop and cracked the ceramic insert - a large chip out of the time, and about a 4" hairline crack down one side. So, now it is unusable. I contacted Dr. Weil (Waterford) customer service, and was told that "Dr. Weil/Spring doesn't offer any replacement items." Nothing. I wasn't asking for a free replacement, but you can't even purchase one! Fortunately we still have the receipt and the store is going to let us return it, but if we hadn't, we'd have just purchased a very expensive ceramic planter. UGH. This is a great item, but my advice is to be extremely, EXTREMELY careful with the ceramic insert because if it breaks, you ain't getting a replacement! It appears that the more expensive the slow cooker, the more fragile the ceramic insert.

I researched and researched and researched and still made a bad decision. I have been underwhelmed by this slowcooker. The ceramic insert appears to be the same as would come with any $20 slow cooker. The stainless steel portion doesn't appear to be any more solid or well made either. Even before the first use the keypad is falling apart. There is a stick on piece that covers up the actual buttons and looks like with any significant amount of heat the rest of the glue will unbond and come falling off. The lid just sits on the top and doesn't appear to have a very tight seal (although it does appear to be keeping the contents in after several hours of cooking). On the brighter side, 7 quarts is a large amount of space to cook whatever you like. The first recipe I cooked didn't even fill it up halfway. After four hours of cooking, there is bubbling but the machine doesn't appear to be boiling the food to nothingness. I am hoping that looks are deceiving and that it cooks better than it appears capable of. So far so good, however, still not worth the price. I think you can find a comprable slow cooker with the same features for half the price.

I was going to buy 2 of this slow cookers. Contacted Dr Weil to ask if they could sell me a new ceramic insert if I broke them. No answer from Dr Weil (Waterford). mailed to Amazon that said - yes no problems. Called Amazon - answer no it is not possible. Called the customer service at Waterford - answer - no we do not sell any parts and we don't even repair them. You have to buy a new one. So my recommendation - buy something else. Strange that you cannot repair an item of this quality.

This is total junk, in my opinion. The ceramic insert cracked on second use!! I threw the entire product away, as it was not returnable by that time. BIG waste of money and very dangerous, as the crack + hot liquid (it cracked while cooking) = potential explosion.

Save your money and buy a different brand.

Used infrequently for 18 months and then several of the buttons stopped working. It is now unusable. Also--ignore the references to Switzerland, it's made in China. Workmanship clearly not good enough to be Swiss.

I was cooking a pot roast this morning for dinner, and the glass lid exploded! I have no idea if there will be anything I can do about it, but this expensive timebomb is not worth your hard-earned money.

I bought this slowcooker because of the high regard most of the reviewers had for it. I am impressed with the functionality and ease of use this unit affords. However, the plastic sheet that covers the control board in the front of the unit does not stick to the board, and I have to push the sheet hard against the panel to make it stick for a while so I can use it. I find this annoying but not annoying enough to send the unit back. I will probably use some 'super glue' and try to permanently stick the sheet on.

I bought the overpriced and overrated Dr Weils crackpot one year ago. The keypad separated from the body after about 2 months. Everything else was fine until today when the ceramic insert cracked while the unit was on high. There was water running through the crockpot and ran all over the floor. This is not a well made cooker even though it had Dr Weil's name on it. Read dozens of reviews on Amazon but unfortunately picked the wrong one. Have not found a replacement liner yet.

I received my slow cooker as a gift in June, 2008. It worked beautifully until today. I loved how perfectly it cooked everything and how great it looked. I was very disappointed with it today, however. I came home from work to a cold chicken stew. Apparently the cooker quit heating a few hours before I got home, because at least the chicken was cooked through (I was glad for that). It lights up and you can program it as though it is working, but it doesn't heat at all, neither on high, low, nor warm. I'm really disappointed that it only lasted 14 months. I only use it 2 or 3 times per month. I don't feel that such a pricey slow cooker should break down after such a short time and with limited use. My old Rival Crockpot (which was a wedding gift 38 years ago) still works perfectly and up until I got this one last year, I used it also about 2 or 3 times per month. I'd go back to using it, but it's much smaller and doesn't look so good after all these years.