Customer Reviews

Crock-Pot SCVP600-SS 6-Quart Smart-Pot Programmable Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(73)

 

 

Even on the lowest setting it boiled, it cooks at way too high a temperature. Food was overcooked, it is a waste of money. I'll stick with my old one. You would think appliances could be IMPROVED upon over time. It looks good, but doesn't do the job for which it is intended.

My husband gave this to me as christmas present. I like the size and I thought I would like the different settings. HA! Just like all the other reviewers mine cooks way to fast. When I do use it I set it on the 10 hour setting everything is done in 4 hours or less. Not exactly helpful for people who work. I would have given it zero stars if I could.

I've had Rival Crockpots since the early 70's and they were all great. Then I got THIS. Wanted to cook large quantites to have plenty of leftovers, BUT...this pot is only good if I want to boil meat. Beans, potatoes, and stews burn and stick badly. Meatloaf looks like a burnt offering for the "gods". I can't even simmer corned beef and cabbage while I'm at work - by the time I get home, even if the pot is on the lowest setting, the water has boiled low and the meat is sticking because the bottom got far too hot. This is NOT a good investment. Unfortunately, I didn't do my research before purchasing it. Am now looking at Hamilton Beach products as they all seem to be getting very high ratings both on-line and with people I know. I use to swear by Rival Crockpots, but not not anymore. BTW, the newest version has a hinged lid for "buffet serving". It is NOT a good thing either as you can't get the lid to move out of the way in order to remove the liner to clean it. So...what's the point?

I bought this crock pot thinking that it would work better with the two temperature controls. But, even on the lowest setting, the temperature is WAY TOO HOT and overcooks everything. Everything burns and meat gets too stringy. Boiling meat is a good way to ruin it. Not a good choice for a fix it and forget it method. I would not recommend this crock pot unless you always need a high heat. I wish I had read these reviews before I bought it.

With my busy schedule and trying to ensure my family has a hot meal to come home to even if I am not home I have found this smart pot seems to ALWAYS overcook even on the lowest settings. I am now looking for another brand that will do a better job.

I attempted to buy this item after seeing it at Costco in the past, but stopped myself on at least two occasions. The reason is that I once purchased a crock pot in college, can't even remember which model, and it performed horribly. I burned a few dishes in that one and threw it out -- what a waste of money!
This time, I had a $10 off coupon for the this particular crock pot (sold at Costco in Stainless Steel as a set that comes with the Little Dipper) which brought the price down from [...].

I've used it about once a week since purchasing it. My first couple of attempts turned out ok but then I started to "get it."

1. Beef Stew -- ok. My mistake for not adding enough liquid. My only liquid was red wine and the dish came out a bit dry.
2. Chili - ok. I didn't add enough ground meat and too much kidney bean. The spice and flavoring came out ok.
3. Beef Stew - awesome! My husband started out by cubing the chuck roast (3 lbs of it) and sauteeing that with some onions and spices. That went into the pot with cubed potatoes and carrots and some red wine a equal parts water. About 4 hours later, I thought it was a bit dry so I came up with a slurry for moisture (and added flavor): 1 can of tomato paste, 1 cup of red wine, a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, 2 T of chicken consomme powder (bouillion). I mixed this in a pan and heated it up and then poured the mixture over the beef stew in the crock pot. I let the stew cook for another 2 hours. It came out perfect.

I've read about some overheating problems and boiling over. I don't see that happening with this unit unless I put too little food/fluid in it. I would personally always try to fill it at least 1/3 and, even better, 1/2 way. The instructions indicate that it should not be more than 2/3 full. If you are having any overheating problems, go ahead and return the item and get another one to try. You may have received a defective one. I am reading reviews that are either hit or miss here.

I was given one of these for my wedding 4.5 years ago. I've used it almost every week since; despite the fact that it cooks WAY faster than it should. Someone mentioned to me that crock pot liners sometimes leach lead into food and that I should test mine. I did. It turned up positive. I'm furious. I'll be buying All Clad or Hamilton Beach next time. They apparently don't use lead in their products.

I've owned a Rival crock pot before and wish that I still had the old one. This crock pot dries everything out. The hinge for the lid seems to make it fit a little funny, and the small "vents" along the rim of the pot also allow moisture to escape. I've been disappointed with nearly everything that I've cooked in this unit. Mine is less than a year old, and after last night's chili I'm beyond ready to get rid of it. Anyone want mine?

I've been reading tons of reviews all over amazon and elsewhere. In one place a reviewer wrote that the crock pot should always be at least half full. It seems that consistently the larger the quart size, the more problems there are with burning. I'm suspecting that the smaller ones do better because they are fuller. The crock pots that are 5.5+ in size generally tend to be 2-3 stars with complaints of burning and overcooking, while the smaller ones tend to get 4 stars and have much less complaints about being too hot. (There are 2 large crock pots with slightly better reviews.)

I do cook for larger groups on occasion and the potential for cooking larger amounts is appealing, but all the reviews are enough to convince me that a smaller one is going to give me better results for most of my cooking. So I'm going with something in the 4 qt. range. If you're worried about the "burn factor" as you're investigating what type to buy, just thought this observation may help.

In the end I didn't buy this crock pot, so I just put what the average rating was for the crock pot because it wasn't an option to leave the rating empty.

We got one as a wedding gift - cooked way too hot. My aunt had the same pot and it boiled over onto her counter - it could have started a fire! We contacted Rival and there was apparantly a heating element problem in many of these units. They sent us a replacement crock pot for free. We opted to switch to the VersaWare because the stoneware was more versatile, and we're very happy. If you have the Smart Pot and it cooks hot, you should contact Rival immediately. They were very good about it all.