Slow cooker worries

katiepants

Hi all,

Newbie here.

I'm considering buying a slow cooker in the near future. I love the idea of having tea already cooked when I come home from work.

However, are there any worries about leaving something like that (electrical, hot) plugged in all day whilst the house is unoccupied? Is there a fire risk? Any do's and don'ts with slow cookers? Safety precautions?

I'm probably being worried about nothing, but I've only come accross the idea of slow cookers recently, and I can't get my head around leaving a cooker on all day1

TIA

richardw

Would leave a lamp on all day?

katiepants

Yes, but not the oven

katiepants

I'm assuming from your reply that they are perfectly safe then?

Do they use a lot of electricity or not much? I'm assuming they are more economical than cooking in the oven?

BookWorm

Yes they are perfectly safe to leave on all day - that's what they are designed for. They are very low power usage and so not really comparable to leaving an oven on.

I use mine that way all the time and you can't beat coming home to your dinner being cooked already!

ariba10

They only consume the the equivalent of one or two light bulbs worth of electricity.

No riskier than leaving your refrigerator on.

joedenise

They use about the same amount of electric as a light bulb so far more economical than using the oven.

Denise

katiepants

Good to know, thanks

Valli

I leave mine on all day with no-one in. Mind you I also sometimes stick stuff in the oven and set the oven on delay timer. I'm not in then, either.

What I DO do is sit it well back on the worktop with a bit of space around it.