West Bend 84866 6-Quart Versatility Slow Cooker with Glass Cover, Stainless (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

It was time to retire my 26-year-old West Bend slow cooker.Not because it quit working, but because the non-stick surface was beginning to fade a little.As I shopped at a lot of local stores, the only slow cookers I could find were the ones that had temperature settings of just low and high. Not good enough for me, as my West Bend had a sweep-able thermostat that went from low, to medium, to high. Sorry it spoiled me. What really surprised me was fact that I could not find the West Bend brand anywhere. I figured they must have gone out of business. So maybe retirement wasn't going to happen after all. And I was not going to compromise.Not being able to find anything locally, I turned to Amazon. And as you have found out as well, West Bend is alive and well here. After reading some of the reviews, I settled for this model.Now first off, I'm not a slow cooker fanatic. I use it for spaghetti sauce, beef stew, chili, roasts, and soups. You get the idea. Nothing fancy.YES Its got a sweep-able thermostat!!! That in itself was enough for me.Some folks dislike the fact that this cooker is probably not one to leave unattended all day. Which is true, to some degree. You have to spend some time with this, to get to know its nuances. I would rather not leave any appliance like that unattended. I don't with my washer either.Some folks dislike the fact that the sides get hot while cooking. My lawnmower gets hot too, but I don't go touching the muffler. And I try not to touch the burners on the stove while I'm cooking either. Guess I'm just funny that way.Cord too short? Not for me. I have an outlet where it sits.The griddle was invented for just that reason. Why would you use the base of this for that purpose? West Bend says you can, but I don't.They also say you can brown meat in the pot on your stovetop. No thanks. I'm happy doing it the old fashion way. A little ol pan is not that hard to clean.Oh, and did I mention it has a sweep-able thermostat?Again, I'm not a slow cooker guru. This is just perfect for my needs.Would I recommend this? You betcha. But if you are really serious about slow cooking, this might not be your cup o tea.The reason I gave this four stars, was the fact that I would have liked the lid to be just a bit beefier. Bona-petit!

I've wandered into those kitchen shops where you drool over everything and can't afford anything. And I lusted after one of their upscale brand slow cookers that move from stovetop burner to oven to fridge with ease (for a few hundred dollars). And it made me wonder whether there wasn't a cheaper way to have the utility (if not the cachet) of those things.Enter the West Bend Versatility Slow Cooker.Because the pot is really just a stainless steel dutch oven (with a teflon base to prevent sticking), you can do whatever you want with it--including putting it on the burner unit that comes with it. But you can also use it to brown your meat on the stove in the same pot you use for slow cooking (saving you the trouble of putting a second pot in the dishwasher). You can also dispense with the base and put the thing right in your oven, if you choose. And it's light enough that you won't dislocate a shoulder doing so.But the mystique of the crock pot, with the stoneware container emitting radiant heat all around your roast or stew--is gone. What you get here is--just a pot and a spare burner. But really, for most things, that's what you need. You don't really need the radiant heat; you need a burner that you can leave on during the day without worrying about burning your house down. And that's what you get here.You can even use the base as a small griddle (though we don't). But that extra versatility raises some problems for people who aren't paying attention. The dial on the base goes from "keep warm" to "high" -- and then it keeps on going (kind of like the amplifier on "Spinal Tap" that goes to 11, instead of 10). The upper heat levels are for griddle use (I guess), not slow cooking. So you can burn things up if you don't watch what you are doing.If the All-Clad crowd is too rich for your blood (or you want to see whether the concept will work for you at a tenth the price), you might want to give this one a try. Even if you don't often use the base as a burner, you will gain another pot to cook in. But if for you a crock pot is all about the mysteries of radiant heat, you will want to stick with the tried and true (and heavy) crocks of yore.

I grew up knowing the West Bend slow cooker as the go-to cooking appliance in our home. From appetizers to desserts, my grandma & mom cooked it all. So of course I received one when I moved out and used it for many years until the internal coating became too scratched up. It was difficult to find a replacement as this particular slow cooker is not found in stores. Once I located them on amazon, I purchased the 6 qt. as I now feed a growing family. I am happy with the cooker's performance and results (tender roasts, perfectly cooked one dish meals, soups, using the griddle in camper trailer, having a temp control dial not just low-high, etc...) But the construction is disappointing. At purchase, I realized it had a different lid than its predecessor ( glass lid could be used as a serving tray) and it just doesn't provide the same fit\seal as older version. The pot is also a lighter material and it was "warped -wobbly" from first use. Even with these imperfections and changes, I still prefer the slow cooker over the round "crock pot" cooker. I have not been as successful with the crockpit being able to "leave it and forget it," as even the low teperature will scorch\overcook by my return from work. I have called a manufacturer about the issue and was told that the thermostats are set to cook food at a certain temp. to prevent food borne illness and really should not be used to cook food all day. So, for a true slow cooker, this item, despite some flawed changes, is preferable and welcome in my kitchen.*I am considering the purchase of the smaller unit that comes in colors as it appears to be constructed more like my first cooker.