Customer Reviews

Crock-Pot 3850-W 5-Quart Programmable Slow Cooker, White

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

When I first saw this Crock Pot, I thought, WOW...WAY COOL. Being an avid crockpot user, this news was better than good...it's GREAT. Once I actually got it and used it, I found it was much adieu about nothing. A crock pot that would be better than this would be a crock that you could program the times, yourself. You have preset times (4 or 6 hours on high/8 or 10 low). Anything in between these times, you should proabably hope for the best. Also consider the fact that if you have a dish that goes over these times, you will have to do a little calculating and guesswork. The warming feature is nice but since this has never been an for me, that didn't grab me either (I think the warming feature lasts an hour or two). I would think this crock pot is for folks who need a little reassurance while away. I have been using an older model Rival Crockpot for over 10 years and it hasn't let me down yet. To control my times, I either cook my food overnight or gauge my recipes according to my times away from home.

I ended up selling mine to a young lady who has quite a commute from her job. So I guess that is a consideration as well. It is not bad and with a few improvements it could be better but all in all, w/a little planning, crockpots before this one are just as good or better.

I use this crockpot quite often, and love the fact that I can spend 15 minutes in the morning and then not think about dinner again until I'm hungry that night! I have two minor complaints. One is that it gets very hot on the outside; melts nearby butter, for example. My old, non-programmable pot had a cooler exterior, which I miss. My only other negative comment is that it is kind of limited in terms of timing. You can choose 4 or 6 hours on high, or 8 or 10 hours on low, and that's all. I'm sure those settings are sufficient, but I would like to have a little more flexibility. The fact that it goes to a Warm setting automatically when the time is up is great! I wish my programmable pressure cooker did the same!

My first dinner with this crock pot was fantastic. I was a little reluctant as I am knew to crock pot cooking and my recipe had so few ingredients (potatoes, onion, pork chops & italian seasoning, salt & pepper). However in 8 hours I had one of the best dinners I ever cooked. I've never eaten pork so tender! I'm scouring the internet searching for awesome Crock Pot recipes as we speak.

Its a good addition to anyones kitchen; great for singles who don't like the mess of making elaborate meals and standing in the kitchen for 2 hours making something that's going to be eaten in 15 minutes.

Prepare the crock pot in the morning, set it and then when you get back from work--dinner is served! I am so impressed.

I recently purchased The Rival 3850-W 5 quart Programmable Crock Pot Slow Cooker and have nothing but praise for it. It produces excellent results every time and so easy to use and clean. Just remove the inner stoneware liner and wash in the sink with a little dish detergent and water or put in the dishwasher. The settings on this slow cooker are 4 or 6 hours on HIGH and 8 or 10 hours on LOW. That's more than enough settings to cook almost anything. It also switches to the keep warm mode automatically when the cooking time has elapsed (very welcome feature in case you can't get home in time to turn the unit off). It will remain on the keep warm setting for up to 4 hours. If you need to call customer service for any reason you can find the toll-free number as well as more information about Rival products on their website at www.rivalproducts.com The customer service is available during normal business hours Monday through Friday. Thanks to Rival, now I have more choices for the amount of time that I want to cook our meals instead of just "HI" or "LOW" like is found on other brands of slow cookers. Great job Rival!

Pros: The size is great, the shape is good, the timer and warmer functions are a good idea, but...

Cons: The outside gets too hot, the timer function limits you to 2 or 4 hours (high) and 6 or 8 hours (low) with nothing in between. Worst of all, the lid doesn't fit snugly enough to keep in the heat, resulting in uneven cooking.

I returned the unit to where I bought it. While there, I noticed another Rival unit without the timer, a little bigger, shaped about the same, and... (here's the pertinent point) using the same lid. The lid fits that unit nice and snugly. Looks to me like they just didn't want to take the trouble to manufacture two different lids. Dumb.

I was surprised to see so many people were disappointed with this crockpot. I absolutely love mine. I love that it will cook and automatically set to warm once the cooking time is done. I have no complaints and find it to be very useful. I would highly recommend this brand for anybody interested in getting a crock pot.

my rival went out after 3 uses!!! Their customer service stinks! they wanted me to send the whole unit back PLUS (money). I didn't take their offer. Needless to say, I DID NOT BUY A RIVAL!

I have had a crockpot for many years and loved it but I wanted a larger one. I got this one as a gift and hate it. It gets too hot inside and outside. I only used mine 3 times and each time I used it, it cooked my food quicker and quicker. By the 3rd time it cooked my food (that was supposed to take 8 hours on low) in about 1 1/2 hours!

I called customer service and was told that I had to pay to send the bottom of the crockpot back and send along a check for $10.00 to cover the cost of sending it back to me! They said it would take one month. I did it and thankfully it only took 2 1/2 weeks. They sent me another WHOLE crockpot (in a damaged box). I just got it back yesterday so I am anxious to try it out and see if the same thing happens. Hopefully this one will work.

I used this 5 qt crock pot for a pre-packaged meal that recommended a four quart pot. Either the recommendation was right on the money, or the thermostat on this unit is shot. The (frozen) food was boiling in an hour on low setting, and six hours later was charred around the edges. Turning to 'warm' didn't seem to reduce the heat any.

I'm taking it back to where I bought it and getting one with an old fashioned knob. I guess I'll have to figure out what to do for dinner, too, since this one's inedible.

I'm not sure about all the issues others have had, but I've had this model for 4 years now and use it 2-3 times per month, and I've never had a problem with it. It does get hot on the outside, but I figured that's to be expected with an appliance that gets HOT....kind of like a toaster oven. It's not so hot you're going to blister your finger if you touch it, but would need to put a towel over your hands if you were going to try to pick up the unit and move it in the middle of a cycle. As for its flexibility (or lack thereof) I find the four settings to be all I need. Let's face it, most recipes tell you to cook on high for 4-6 hours or low 8-10 hours....and those are your choices. Kind of a no-brainer! Plus the "warm" setting is fantastic if you are not going to be there as soon as the cycle is over. I just bought the same model in the next size up for making larger portions, but I imagine I will be using both for flexibility. Maybe there were some defective units produced...but that certainly wasn't my experience--I love this thing!