Hamilton Beach 33134 3-in-1 Slow Cooker with 2-, 4-, and 6-Quart Crocks
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Kitchen and Housewares Reviews of Hamilton Beach 33134 3-in-1 Slow Cooker with 2-, 4-, and 6-Quart Crocks
Customer Review: Best slow cooker I've owned.
Summary: 5 Stars
I love this slow cooker! I had been using an old Rival that I had had for about 15 years which worked fine but was only 4 quarts -- I recently gave it to my college aged son who wanted to give crock pot cooking a try. I needed a crockpot that was versatile and dependable. This one has everything I was looking for and more. I love the colors of the crocks (tuscan colors) and I have used all three sizes and they all cook beutifully, no worries that the larger crocks wont heat evenly in the base; my meals have turned out great! The negative reviews I read have been unfounded, I believe Hamilton Beach has made upgrades to alleviate these complaints. For instance, the small hole on the lid is surrounded with silicone and keeps the lid from rattling while releasing steam. The lid is not cheap plastic, it is heavy glass with a stainless steam rim. I also like that all three crocks nest inside one another, I leave it sitting out on my counter and it looks very nice. I have made taco soup, lasagne, and pot roast so far and can't wait to try more recipes. This is a great deal for the quality. The only suggestion I would make to Hamilton Beach is to include a timer for those of us who need to program our crocks to start cooking after we have left for work.Customer Review: Love it! Versatile, easy to store and looks nice
Summary: 5 Stars
Love it! The round shape takes up less storage room, not to mention it's 3 crocks in one. It does run hot though, so do a trial run when you can watch it before leaving it all day. I haven't burned anything yet, but I also haven't left it unattended for very long. I think it runs so hot because if you're using the 6 qt, half of it isn't touching the heating element, so it has to overcompensate.
Although I love the versatility and thinks it looks nice, I'm glad I also have a regular 6 qt elongated Rival, because I don't think I could fit a bunch of ribs or a large roast in it--the bottom is narrower than the top. Also, this isn't a "traveling" crockpot like the HB Stay n Go or some Rival products, so if you like to make and take, you may want to go w/ the Stay n Go or a crockpot w/ an insulated bag.
Finally, I read in a natural living forum that HB crockpots don't have lead in the glaze. I don't know if that's true or not--I thought all stoneware glaze contains it, and I can't believe HB wouldn't advertise that as a selling point. But supposedly, Rival has FDA-approved amounts of lead and HB has none. Take that unattributed info for what it's worth!
Customer Review: Lid doesn't fit snugly with 6 Qt stoneware
Summary: 1 Stars
I ordered this slow cooker (Model# 33134) from TODAYS CONCEPT and they shipped me old Model# 33133. Also the Lid came with the cooker doesn't fit properly with the 6 Qt stoneware, but it did fit well with the 2 qt and 4 qt stoneware bowls.
I was furious with TODAYS CONCEPT behaviour with the transaction. I returned the product and asked for a replacement. The customer service was arrogant. i sent mails to them for around 14 days. when i called the customer service once a guy picked up i gave hime the RMA# (return authorization#) and told him still i'm waiting for the replacement. He looked at my account and asked me "What are you waiting for?" i said i requested a replacement. He again asked me for the RMA# and then sang "Some body made a mistake i'm gonna correct it" and again "Some body made a mistake i'm gonna correct it" and again "Some body made a mistake i'm gonna correct it". I was surprised and said "Wow you guys are cool". He said "ya! Cool baby" and said he will ship it. No action. I waited few days and told them i'm disputing the charges with Amex. They shipped me the replacement but the same wrong model 33133 again!!!
Customer Review: Is it supposed to do this?
Summary: 5 Stars
I was actually in the market for a smaller crock pot when I found this. How interesting - three sizes in one. My larger crock pot was about shot, too, so decided to go with this one. When it arrived, it was larger than I expected, but that's okay because it is wider than it is deep, which I find makes the food inside easier to manage, and makes the pot less likely to tip. I tried my famous pork ribs and potatoes in the smallest pot on the highest heat. My old pot would simmer the food. This one didn't ever reach a simmer. Is that normal? Maybe my old pot was a "piece", I don't really know, but I can see that I'm going to have to re-train myself in crock pot cooking. This pot is going to take less liquid and more time than my old one, but it also won't overcook the food. Yay! Just a note: the medium and large bowl look really funky in the base, because they stick up over the base. The largest one especially, it looks like only the bottom third of the pot is in the base. It remains to be seen how that will work.Customer Review: Not What I Expected
Summary: 2 Stars
Chose this item because 1) I liked getting three crock sizes in one appliance, and 2) all the rave reviews.
This product is different from what I expected. First, I was surprised to see a hole in the lid. It's not shown in any of the product pictures--not in the user manual nor on the manufacturer's Web site. Called Hamilton Beach's "customer support" line multiple times. It was either out of service or the department was closed. After much Web surfing, I discovered that the hole is a steam vent and can be used for inserting an instant-read thermometer (which is not included with this model). Some owners simply plugged the hole with foil, others used it as is, and still others gave up and returned the product.
I cooked a pasta dish last night, following the recipe exactly and leaving the steam vent alone. The dish turned out poorly: undercooked and dried out. (Clearly too much moisture evaporated.) I may give this product another try, but so far I am not impressed.