Do electric slow cookers cost a lot to run?

camNolliesMUMMY

i am going to be trying to use my slow cooker all this week without using my gas oven as im on pre payment meters so il see how we get on, just made a pasta bake in ours tonight, if your stuck for recipes have a look on the old style forum on MSE and look for the thread "in my slow cooker today".

MsSupertech

Cheap running costs are a major selling point of slow cookers, plus the fact that slow cooking is a brilliant way of cooking cheaper casserole meat. Win, win situation!
Once you've used one you wouldn't want to be without it..

LandyAndy

MsSupertech wrote: »

Cheap running costs are a major selling point of slow cookers, plus the fact that slow cooking is a brilliant way of cooking cheaper casserole meat. Win, win situation!
Once you've used one you wouldn't want to be without it..

:rotfl:I've used one. I think they are rubbish. I prefer cooking.:)

Tucker

Lamb shank in the slow cooker. That's the dogs dangley bits...

Candy53

My daughter keeps on at me to get one, as she swears by hers, but I've always been taught to cook meat on a high heat to be safe.

Would any salmonella etc, be killed in a slow cooker?

Thanks
Candy

CBH88

OP, running a slow cooker is as cheap as chips! Candy53 as far as I know you have to seal chicken before you put it in the slow cooker, that's what mine tells me to do anyway. I'm not sure about red meat though...

Ben84

Slow cookers have a convenience aspect and some people prefer the results too, but I'm also questioning the claimed energy savings.

I know they're fairly low wattage, but they do run for long amounts of time so I'm also tempted to think the total energy use may be more than expected. They are also however heating a much smaller volume of space than a cooker, which may be where the energy savings come from.

Does anyone have any calculated comparisons between a slow cooker and an electric cooker, and perhaps even between a slow cooker and a gas cooker? I couldn't find any and am unsure how many kWh a cooker uses per use to calculate it for myself.

sunshinetours

Ben84 wrote: »

Slow cookers have a convenience aspect and some people prefer the results too, but I'm also questioning the claimed energy savings.

I know they're fairly low wattage, but they do run for long amounts of time so I'm also tempted to think the total energy use may be more than expected. They are also however heating a much smaller volume of space than a cooker, which may be where the energy savings come from.

Does anyone have any calculated comparisons between a slow cooker and an electric cooker, and perhaps even between a slow cooker and a gas cooker? I couldn't find any and am unsure how many kWh a cooker uses per use to calculate it for myself.

Miost slow cookers will be rated at under 300W or so and some smaller ones much less. An electric oven would be 3kw +. Anything that would take an hour or more in the oven is likely to be cheaper in the slow cooker. Gas may be a bit cheaper

They are great items for campers/caravanners as well due to their low power consumption for electric hook up points

Ben84

sunshinetours wrote: »

Miost slow cookers will be rated at under 300W or so and some smaller ones much less. An electric oven would be 3kw +. Anything that would take an hour or more in the oven is likely to be cheaper in the slow cooker. Gas may be a bit cheaper

They are great items for campers/caravanners as well due to their low power consumption for electric hook up points

This is kind of where I'm at, I can see there is a difference in the appliance's wattages and the time you use them for, but really want a way to turn these in to total kWh consumed for each option. I'd like to be able to say a stew in the cooker costs ? kW and in the slow cooker ? kW.

The electric oven is clearly much higher wattage, but then it won't draw 3 kW constantly during use. It will also be used for a shorter amount of time than the slow cooker.

As for gas vs. electric, gas is about 1/3rd the cost per kWh of electric and just comparing gas to electric ovens there is a significant price difference per use.

sunshinetours

Ben84 wrote: »

This is kind of where I'm at, I can see there is a difference in the appliance's wattages and the time you use them for, but really want a way to turn these in to total kWh consumed for each option. I'd like to be able to say a stew in the cooker costs ? kW and in the slow cooker ? kW.

The electric oven is clearly much higher wattage, but then it won't draw 3 kW constantly during use. It will also be used for a shorter amount of time than the slow cooker.

As for gas vs. electric, gas is about 1/3rd the cost per kWh of electric and just comparing gas to electric ovens there is a significant price difference per use.

And nor will a slow cooker as they both have thermostats. The electric scenario is fairly easy to work out for specific appliances if you know their power rating and cooking time. In my example above the electric oven would use 10 times as much power roughly for each hour it was turned on

Another mopney saving aspect for slow cookers is you can use cheaper cuts of meat and still make them melt in the mouth