Question about slow cookers

Hi chloe,

This probably isn't much use to you as my slow cooker is almost 22 years old.

Model: Tower
Capacity: 3ltrs
Wattage: 135 watts
Cost: No idea it was a wedding present

For me the main benefit of a slow cooker is if you've been out all day for whatever reason, coming home to find a hot meal waiting for you. I would definitely recommend getting one.

Pink

Aldi Delta slow cooker = 320 Watts.

I haven't got a clue about all the stuff you wanted to know about my slow cooker - but I got mine as a gift from my parents at christmas and I'm completely in love with it.

Prior to this, I had a little one that was ideal for one busy person. I'd put everything in it the night before and keep it in the fridge. In the morning, before leaving to walk dogs and do the horses prior to work, I'd pop it in the slow cooker, add boiling water (and a stock cube) and by the time I got home around 9pm, I'd have a lovely hot stew waiting for me. Bliss.

My new SC is big enough to cook a whole chicken and its friend, if needs be.

I have noticed no increase in our electricity consumption since getting it at Christmas - and I use it, on average, between 3-5 times a week.

I think the way to get the best out of your SC, is to investigate what other people are cooking in theirs. I had no idea it could be used to make yoghurt, for instance. Or rice pudding! Or curry! Its not just a vehicle for a good stew.

If your oven takes 45 minutes to come up to heat, a SC would have been cooking for at least 40 of those minutes.

chloe99 wrote:

It takes 45mins to warm up my electric oven (stupid thing) plus say 1hr 45 mins to cook chicken and 2 hrs 30 to cook meat. So, total ON time in a week is approx 8.25hrs at approx 1kwh = 36kwh per month. This was looking good when I read that they are usually the same wattage as a light bulb (= 100w x say 6 hrs to cook x 3 times per week = 7.8kwh per month giving a good annual post-price rise electricity saving of approx £22 per year at 6.5p per kwh - woohoo!!!!!)

BUT, I read in one thread that the newer slow cookers have higher wattages than they used to and so 300w for 6 hours per meal won't really be much of a saving (£9.81 per year to be precise).

Hiya

We have a couple of older threads discussing the economics of using a slow cooker and I've now added your thread onto one that has some useful and informative links too.

Posts are listed in date order, so you will need to read this thread from the beginning to catch up.

Good luck.

I would really appreciate if someone could explain to me what Auto actually does! So far I have bunged everything on at low for 8 hours and that seems to have worked fine. Is auto hotter of cooler or does it change?

I bought the SWAN 3.5 litre from LX Direct with the discount comeone posted on here so it cst £10. I've had it for about a month and am using it once nor twice a week: so far have done whole chicken, stock, soup, roast beef, potato cheesy bake, curry and chicken in tomato sauce. Its brilliant, I keep thiniing of more and more ways to use it! The benefit for me as a working mum is havng tea ready as soon as we get in at night time.