Best Crock Pot slow cooker for me? Back to work in Sept., full time!

[gerbo]

I'm returning to work in September full time and want a slow cooker to batch cook and leave on all day to make dinner for after work/school run. It's for a family of 4 so I'm wanting a 5.7-6.5 litre model to eat then freeze meals from.

For me the important thing is knowing it won't burn food if I put it on at 7am, and the crock pot brand offer a facility to cook, then automatically switch to "keep warm" facility, perfect for me. (They are quite high tech with a countdown timer, etc)

A friend has recommended the Crock Pot brand. I don't mind investing in a more expensive model if it's reliable when being left on all day and works for us.

My question is regarding the 5.7 litre models. There seem to be 2 kinds. One you can use the dish to sauté in direct on the hob then pop on the slow cooker cradle, and one you can't. They both have the automatic keep warm facility.

Does anyone have any crock pot experiences?! Good or bad? It's a lot to spend so thought I'd check in with the mumsnet lot! There are a few online reviews saying the can burn things but the overwhelming majority say they're great.....?

Thanks!

----

This thread is very old now, so some of the suggestions are out of date, but we’ve recently refreshed our best slow cooker page with plenty advice on choosing the right Crockpot model for your family. We hope you find the guide useful.
MNHQ

[Rockchick1984]

I just have a cheap, own-brand one from tesco and never had a problem. I put it on in the morning, set the timer and it switches to warm once the timer runs out. Never had anything burn in it - think it was about £12!

[bruffin]

The morphy richard flavour savour is excellent. It has a stainless steel pan and is much easier to clean than the ceramic ones. It also has a setting to seal the meats etc at the beginning and or otherwise can be used on the hob first. It also goes to warm when the timer runs out. It also comes in two sizes. I have the smaller one which is ok for 4 of us.