Rival Crock Pot Tips

Being replacement part friendly could save you money (and frustration), and remember: size does matter... 

Being replacement part friendly could save you money (and frustration), and remember: size does matter...

If you thought that I was being rude, then get your mind out of the gutter and read on, lol.

Throwing the crock pot out with the damaged or cracked part bathwater

I would be the first to admit that i am still mostly learning my way around the kitchen and the various kitchen appliances compared to my wife, but even I have picked up a few things already; you can maybe file these pointers under the heading of 'commonsense'. The first tip would simply be to not give up on something too early: by this I mean if your first (and maybe even your second) effort to find that needed replacement part for your trusty crock pot fails, don't throw your hands up and declare that you are giving in and going to have to buy a whole new shiny crockpot - unless that was subconsciously your goal the whole time! This thought came to me courtesy of my wife, who the other day said to me that she could not believe how many people seem ready to just give up on something that they have used and relied on in their kitchen for so long just because they can't find the needed replacement part at the drop of a hat. In fact in some cases, she added, they even locate the part but decide that it would cost almost as much as buying a complete new appliance and so opt to buy the new appliance instead. When I enquired about why she was of this opinion, my wife directed me to a couple of different forums that she had recently been frequenting and showed me some posts from people searching for various replacement parts for things like toaster ovens and slow cookers. I did some reading - and some more reading ... and some more reading, and I have to admit I was surpised by some of the posts that I read; people were actually feeling stymied or frustrated enough by going to their local retail store or home depot-type store and not being able to purchase the part that they needed there and then that they decided that there was nothing more to be done and would have to go and buy a whole new appliance! Wow, it's kind of ironic that someone would go to the trouble of using the internet to declare to the world that they were giving up but that it would apparently not occur to them, or that they would not feel confident enough to use that same internet to get themself the parts they needed. It's kind of like my Mother and ATM cards: she has got along well enough without them so far, so why start letting them make your life more convenient now...

I can understand someone's reluctence to use the internet to shop online considering the regular parade of online fraud horror stories that we hear regularly from the media. However, if one can just overcome such fears, the rewards cn be great. There are enough legitimate retailers on the internet offering to supply you with a variety of Rival Crock Pot replacement parts ; Some of the names are recognizable from their having brick and mortar locations, while some of them are not so recognizable because they deal primarily online. In fact, you can even go to the website of the company that actually makes the Crock Pot (Rival) and browse through their selection of Crock Pot parts: there you will find quite the selection of replacement crockpot lids, replacement crock pot knobs, replacement removable stoneware liners and maybe even more. In fact, you might find that you end up lingering in the section featuring their newest models of programmable LCD crock pots.(If my suggestion to visit that site leads to you shelling out some hard earned dough on one of those bad boys, you have my appologies for lighteneing your wallet, lol)

I have also read more than a few times that the cost of a replacement part is almost the same as the cost to purchase a brand new crock pot. I am sorry if I have some trouble accepting this, but it is my experience from searching for these kinds of things before that they will often run you around $10 if ordered online. Maybe in the case of a significantly older model the replacement is less plentiful and hence more expensive to stock (like some older computer hardware and memory or RAM chips can be) but I can't help but wonder if the problem isn't that people just called up Rival customer service and asked how much it would cost to buy a specific replacement part and have it shipped, and that the person on the other end of the line that they were speaking to quoted them prices that were not from their website but from their customer service price listings. There should not be any difference between the price on the website and the price quoted by customer service, but I can't help but have a sneaking suspicion that their inhouse pricing on such matters might not be in sink with their online retail arm, especially on things like shipping costs and any discounted pricing offerd on the retail site. Just in case this actually is the case and to prevent even one person from spending more than they need to for a replacement part, I am going to post the link to Rival's crock pot website below (in big letters), and no, it is not an affiliate link, lol: RIVAL'S WEBSITE FOR REPLACEMENT CROCK POT PARTS There you go. I hope that helps those of you that have yet to accept Google into your life.

Cooking for one or cooking for some?

My earlier cryptic comment about size was a reference to the size of crock pot that one can buy. Deciding on whether you might want a round crock-pot or an oval crock-pot is important for some people based on the kinds of foods that they might be preparing ( roast sizes, for example); others may be deciding whether or not they should buy a programmable crock pot - also known as the Rival Smart Pot, or maybe even the new Rival eLume touchscreen technology Crock Pot. (wow, beam me up, Scotty!) However, i think that not enough people are thinking about what size of slow cooker - or rather what capacity of rival crock pot slow cooker they should be shopping for. I know that until recently it wasn't something that I would think about. About a month ago, my wife and I were out shopping for a Crock Pot for someone as a wedding shower gift. We looked at all of the pretty new shiny Rival slow cookers on the shelf and wondered whether we should go with oval or round, programmable or 'manual', and even whether we should try and get one that has a mini-dipper crock pot included. My darling wife was the one who reminded me that it was just as important to figure out what size we should be shopping for: whether our engaged friends were the type to entertain and cook for a larger grouping of people, or a smaller more intimate gathering most of the time? We ended up somewhere in the middle. What I took from this - and what you should, too, is that (crock pot)size does matter: before you go and buy that first shiny new slow cooker for yourself, you need to have some idea whether you are the type who likes to cook for others, and if so, for how many others most of the time? If you will primarily be cooking for one then you have to be honest and ask yourself will that be the case for the forseeable future, or will that situation be changing? (think positively here, lol) Remember, if it is just you, then you need to be okay with your leftovers, heh heh. Crock pot sizes range from the smaller 2.5 quart models, upto the larger 5 and 6 quart size. They even offer a 7 quart monster for those who really like to 'bring it to the table', lol.

See, size does matter, even in the kitchen...