Rival Crock Pot - Smart Pot 6-quart 38601 Review

I received the Rival 38601 SmartPot CrockPot as a Christmas present from an aunt who knew I was looking for a larger slow cooker than the one I had.  My penchant for overflowing my 4.5 quart CrockPot is well-known.  Although I had high hopes for this product, I must say that it has been disappointing and a bit dangerous.

This unit is programmable and easy to use.  You simply select "low" or "high" power and then select the number of hours that you want it to cook for.  When that amount of time has elapsed, the Rival SmartPot will automatically switch over to the "keep warm" setting to keep your meal warm until you are ready to eat it.  Simple enough, right?

The problem is that this CrockPot cooks everything very quickly which defeats the whole purpose of using a slow cooker.  Even on the low setting, the food will be bubbling and, well, boiling within just a few hours.  My chicken chili was cooked in something like four or five hours.  My pot roast, which I set to low and start the night before, was completely cooked by 6am the next morning.  I actually had to leave the Rival SmartPot on the "keep warm" setting for another 12 hours until it was dinnertime. 

Another problem that I noticed with this "slow cooker" is that the stainless steel exterior of the base gets extremely hot during use.  If you have young children, this is not the machine for your family as it would be very easy for the kiddos to burn themselves.

Although I like the fact that the Rival 38601 SmartPot has a large 6-quart capacity, overall this product has been a disappointment.  It gets too hot too quickly which means that meals are cooked (or overcooked) much earlier than you want them to be.  If you are looking for a large-capacity slow cooker, I'd suggest you buy something else.