Crockpot 38501-W Round 5-Quart Smart-Pot Slow Cooker, White

Other Rival products

Product Features

• 5-quart slow cooker makes family-style meals for 4 to 5 people
• Programmable temperature control; auto-shift to warm setting when cooking is complete
• Dishwasher-safe stoneware crock with stick-resistant coating
• SUREGRIP side handles for improved grip and comfort
• Dishwasher-safe glass lid; 1-year warranty

Product Details

Product Manual [304kb PDF]

• Product Dimensions: 14.3 x 14.1 x 9.4 inches ; 12.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 13 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B00008I8NS
• Item model number: 38501-W
• Average Customer Review: 1.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,538 in Kitchen & Dining (See Bestsellers in Kitchen & Dining)

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  #2 in	Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Electric Cookware > Cookers
  #12 in	Kitchen & Dining > Small Appliances > Slow Cookers

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

The original slow cooker, the Crock-Pot was first introduced by Rival in the 1970s and has proved to be much more than a fad. This convenient appliance helps you prepare delicious family-style meals while you’re working, running errands, hiking, or just relaxing around the house.

The 5-quart, round Crock-Pot is large enough to cook four to six chicken breasts with vegetables or enough chili or soup for four to five people. The easy-to-use programmable timer turns on and off with the push of a button and lets you choose among time settings of 4, 6, 8, and 10 hours. When cooking time is complete, the Crock-Pot automatically shifts into warming mode, which keeps food at the right eating temperature but doesn’t overcook it.

The exterior of this Crock-Pot is white plastic that wipes down easily and matches the décor of most kitchens. Plastic handles provide a secure and comfortable grip for transporting the cooker. The Crock-Pot’s internal liner is made of durable stoneware that is attractive enough to go from cooker to tabletop to serve your meal. The liner also has a stick-resistant coating and is dishwasher-safe to make clean-up easy. The glass lid lets you peek at your food while it cooks and is also dishwasher safe. Rival offers a limited 1-year warranty on this stoneware slow cooker. --Cristina Vaamonde

Product Description

Rival's Smart-Pot 5-quart white oval crock-pot

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

156 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Verified that it cooks too hot, November 16, 2005

By	Paul Fredrick "pfredrick" (Port Jefferson, NY United States) - See all my reviews

I'm an engineer, not a cook, hence the appeal of a crockpot (I can't boil water without burning it...)

I had an old Rival crockpot that worked well for many years (manual, round, and small). It broke, so I bought a 5-quart Smart-Pot at Costco this past weekend. I noticed it ran very hot (top of outside WILL burn your hands if touched!), so decided to test it.

I filled the unit 3/4 full of water and placed it on the high setting (4 hours) and measured the temperature after several hours with a thermometer. Water temperture was about 215 to 220 degrees F. I then repeated the process for the low temperature setting, but the temperature was about the same!

This disturbed me, so I placed a Kill-A-Watt (very handy device to measure electrical power consumption and wattage for electrical devices) between the pot and the outlet. Sure enough the unit draws the same power on the low and high settings (about 245W). Occasionally on the low settings the unit would pulse the power (this is probably how they get the lower temperature; by modulating the power, rather than using separate, and more expensive, heating elements in the manual units). The problem is that sometimes the low setting does pulse the power, and sometimes it does not. Even on the warm setting I found that occasionally the device will draw the maximum power without pulsing. It is apparent to me that they have a controller problem with the SmartPots that is overdriving the temperature. The units themselves run very hot, and I wonder if the excessive temperature causes controller problems.

I am going to return and try another one, but I suspect I will get precisely the same results, in which case I'll avoid the Rival brand entirely. This is an obvious problem that many people have complained about over the past year or so (viz. the comments), so they have either a major defect, or severe quality control problems, both of which shoudl warrant some kind of response from them. I am disappointed. If the second unit works correctly, I'll post on my success.

Interestingly, Rival makes a separate controller for an older crockpot to allow timing and temperature control (same idea of pulsing the heater current, and varying the duty cycle to change the effective heating capability --a perfectly legitimate approach), and it is inexpensive ($13-$15 on the street).

63 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ROUND IS BETTER THAN OVAL, February 20, 2003

By	Halcyon1 (Chester County, PA USA) - See all my reviews

Most crockpots I have looked at felt cheap. This one is feels solid. I think the round lid design is the only way to go because it just fits the pot better. This lid is all glass with no metal parts to trap dirt of bacteria. Because of the inherent imperfection when the stonewares and the heavy glass lids were made, the oval pots and lids almost never fit together well enough to form a seal. A poorly fitted lid can allow an unpredictable amount of moisture and heat to escape, which can make your cooking inconsistent. The round lid on this model allows me to rotate it on the stoneware to find an excellent fit. The same cannot be done with an oval pot. The solid color of this unit makes it somewhat immune to going out of fashion in terms of appearance. The timer with its "keep warm" feature allows me to have peace of mind when I have to stay late at work. Dinner will not be overcooked when I get home. Take it SLOW and happy COOKING!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Cooks too high, February 8, 2006

By	Nikki Evans "nikkiev" (Piqua, OH United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Even on low this crock cooked everything too fast. And after having it for 7 months it burned itself out. I was very disappointed since I liked the size and shape. I will never buy another crock with smartpot since I bought another rival and it's been fine without the smartpot feature. I am not sure if that's what it was or not but I am not taking any chances!