Crock-Pot 7-Quart Oval Manual Slow Cooker | Stainless Steel (SCV700-S-BR)

After a bumper harvest of apples and pears, i did a little research and slow cooker apple butter and pear butter was the way to preserve my bounty. I chose the size of this model so that i could do large quantities, and i selected i used but good condition, and i’m glad i did it is an excellent cooker and i have jars and jars and jars of pear butter and apple butter and i will continue to use it similarly in the future thank you

Easy to use, and big….cooks fast… I found that if recipe calls for 4 hrs on high that 2 hrs works and 8 hrs on low usually over cooks, so about 5 to 6 hrs max on low for a 2 lb pot roast. I always use a thermometer to check meat temp and dont depend on recipe time. The bagged skinless chicken breast, i can cook an entire bag in about 3 hours on low and obtain meat temperature of 165 to 170 degree.

I wanted a big slow cooker since *for some reason* my family of six insists on eating three meals a day every. Single. Day. Ugh! Luckily my mil recognized my struggle and bought me the fanciest device i’d ever seen for christmas: a calphalon 7 qt digital slow cooker. I was in love with it… At first. Then i noticed liquid seeping into the base after each use. Long story short, after three complimentary replacement parts i still had a broken appliance and calphalon wrote me an e-mail using the exact words: “…calphalon has made the decision to stop producing electronics…” then issued me a refund. I turned around and bought a maximatic 8 qt slow cooker (go big or go home, right?). It cooked waaaaay too hot (it boiled liquid on the lowest setting in under 5 minutes!) then stopped working entirely after a few months. I received my refund, bought this crock-pot… And the rest, as they say, is history!

How does this one compare to the others?

It’s huge.
…but not as big as the maximatic. Both slow cookers claim to be eight quart size but in reality eight quarts of liquid fills the crock-pot all the way to the lip of the lid, which isn’t realistic for actually cooking that much liquid. Still, it’s pretty huge, especially compared to calphalon’s biggest size (7 quart). The maximatic gives you a little extra room above the eight quart point but…

Crock-pot has better temperature control.
In the crock-pot “low” could cook a 4 lb pot roast all day (6+ hours). On “high” it cooks in about 4 hours. “warm” keeps it warm. The maximatic, on the other hand, cooks it in less than 2 hours on low (and it leaves the meat tough as rubber) and the maximatic “high” setting approaches temperatures comparable to the depths of hell. Calphalon had accurate temps but it didn’t make up for the constant leaking, smaller crock and lack of customer support.

The outside is very hot.
This is one of those “duh” moments. Anything that cooks will get hot. Don’t touch hot things. Don’t put them near the edge of the counter where kids can touch them. Again: duh! The calphalon is the only model on the market that claims to be “cool to the touch” and guess what? It’ll still burn the crud out of you! It’s not as hot as other brands, but it’ll still do damage if you touch it, especially on the exposed areas of the crock liner. So as much as everyone complains about this aspect, i have to wonder if their moms never used the old 70’s crock-pots with the wheat patterned orange shells that made delicious soup and seared the flesh off your bones if you touched them (so you just didn’t touch them). Shoot, my mom still uses hers. The moral of the story? Grow up! And stop shopping for cooking appliances that don’t feel hot.

There is no timer.
This is not a digital slow cooker. “digital” slow cookers have specific temperature controls, fancy timers and auto shutoff options. They also break down faster, have things go wrong more often and (if they are calphalon brand) their manufacturer discontinues selling them completely. There’s a reason those 70’s crock-pots that i mentioned previously still walk the earth serving fondue at your grandma’s bridge club potlucks: simplicity. There are no buttons on this crockpot. There is no digital screen. There is only a single knob with four options: off, warm, low, high… Just like grandma’s crock-pot! What you give up in convenience you’ll make up for in durability, longevity and simplicity though. And you’ll just have to be *slightly* less lazy than slow cooker “dump it, leave it, eat it” style cooking permits by, you know, setting a timer. ::ding::

the crock liner is dishwasher safe.
Maximatic and crock-pot both allow their stoneware crock liners to be washed in the dishwasher. Calphalon does not. But even with dedicated handwashing, the calphalon liner developed hairline cracks. Twice. The maximatic did too, after a few months of regular use. This crock-pot has been used and run through the dishwasher every other day (literally) since i bought it and has absolutely no issues whatsoever. I also notice the glaze on the stoneware is much more even on the crock-pot. It had thin spots, pits and irregularities in both the maximatic and the calphalon. I have to assume there is better quality control on the manufacturing end at crock-pot.

That pretty much sums it up though. If anything changes, breaks, acts up, smells funny or does anything else unusual i’ll be sure to update this review. As it stands though, no news is good news. Buy this crock-pot. You can thank me later.

Update: i bought this 8 quart crock-pot through amazon in december 2016. As of today, january 15th 2018, it is still running strong. I continue to use it several times a week and always run the crock liner and lid through the dishwasher. It is still as temperature-reliable as the day i first unboxed it and continues to be my favorite appliance… And that’s big, considering i also own a kitchenaid mixer and an instant pot (but the instant pot hisses at me and the mixer gives everyone dirty looks). If you haven’t bought one yet, you definitely need more pot roast in your life. And beans. Which btw, this puppy can easily fit 2 lbs of dry pinto beans (hint: use ham hocks! And shred the meat into the beans before serving. All other beans will be ruined for you after that). I’ll continue abusing my crock-pot and updating my review if anything changes though, because science!

I replaced my 20 year old crockpot with this one and oh my gosh, i wish i would have done it many years ago. The size and shape are much better than my old round one. The warm function is great. I didn’t have that on my old one. I also got my son one and he loves his too.

This is not top of the line (i.e. No clips to hold lid in place while traveling). However, for the price, it is an invaluable kitchen tool. Great for roast beef, ribs, vegetable soup, chili or any other one pot meal. Throw it in and leave it, slow cook for tender savory beef. Let it cook while you work on something else. It’s well built, easy to clean and a true asset for the busy cook.

Nothing fancy. Just the basics. Seems to work fine. Outside gets really hot during cooking, but it’s just a thin metal shell.

I like the size. So far i have used it for a beef roast. A boston butt and brunswick stew.

This was the easiest use crockpot i have ever had in my life! I can make enough to last a few days for the whole family!

Easy to use and clean ! Also works great ! Made a pot roast came out wonderful !

I received this crock pot in a well packaged box. Item is new and in good condition. I haven’t used it yet but expect it to work well.

Overall the best unit i’ve owned. The only issue i’ve encountered is the low setting is hotter than i like. Although a friend broke the lid handle on hers. Mine is a few years old and maybe not the newest model as others have reported melting handles.

I love this crockpot. I am rating it 4 stars only because the outside of the crockpot does get very hot and because the cord to plug it in is very short. But it works for us. It’s actually very big also which we like!

I didn’t realize how very large and heavy this item would be. I considered keeping it after seeing the size, although i didn’t feel i needed that large of a pot for most of my slow cooking recipes, i didn’t see a lot of harm in having a larger pot, but when i tried to lift it, it was way too heavy for me to handle. Taking this item in and out of a pantry, of a lower storage shelf would not be possible for me, and i bet if i kept it i would leave it in one place and never use it as it wouldn’t be stored on my counter top. If you are strong, and have a lot of people to feed, this may be for you.

How does crockpot cause i needed a new one it does the job high heat does get really hot so if you don’t be careful it will burn the food easily tried it on a lower setting for a longer time worked out really well i like my old crockpot better but i’m not gonna replace it so i guess it’s worth the money

This size is great for family meals. It heats evenly. Looks nice too.

Don’t get this unless you are very familiar with slow cookers or are only mainly using it to full capacity. It gets so hot that when we put smaller roasts in it, we always use low even when it’s only for 4 hours and it’s done and could be dry unless you use enough liquids.
It’s a good pot, but be warned!

Nice cooker im not real happy with the way the lid fits it’s not real tight but other than that very content

The only thing i don’t like is this cooks very hot even on the low setting.

Additional information after using this slow cooker for 4 months (as of february 27, 2013):

we have used this slow cooker to make our chili a dozen or so times and are very pleased.

In response to some comments made by others: the stainless steel unit does get hot. Do not touch it while in use just as you not touch the side of a pot on your stove top while in use.

Add water according to your recipe but consider adding more if it cooks off before completion. Stir every 15-30 minutes or so by bringing the lower materials to the surface. This will provide you with a good indicator of whether or not more water should be added.

Do not fill above the lip where the lid sits. It is not supposed to fit tightly. This is not a pressure cooker. Heat and steam need to be able to escape. You may need to keep the level at or below the lip by removing some material periodically. This also provides a tasting opportunity.

We never leave our slow cooker completely unattended for hours at at time. Some people do this but they are creating a situation that can result in problems. Periodic stirring is required.

The only negative comment with which we would completely agree is the one about the three legs causing instability. It is easy to tip this slow cooker because it only has three legs. Never try to slide it or move it while cooking unless you lift it first.

This slow cooker should be labeled as 7 quarts. It is does not have an 8-quart capacity (see details in original review).

This slow cooker is labeled as 370 watts (provided in response to a question).

Original review follows (october 25, 2012):

we have been slow-cooking for over 20 years with a crock-pot brand slow-cooker and it has been reliable and free of any problems whatsoever. We have used it over 100 times to make our award-winning chili. The only negative was that it was only 4 quarts (not 5 quarts as promoted in the user’s manual). Because we wanted to increase the amount of chili, we started researching larger slow-cookers and narrowed the search to a hamilton beach (model 33182) advertised as having an 8-quart capacity, and the subject of this review, crock-pot scv700ss, advertised as having a 7-quart capacity. Based on our previous positive experience with the crock-pot brand, we selected the latter.

It is excellent in every respect except one. It does not have a capacity of 7 quarts. It is, and should be labeled as, a 6-quart slow-cooker. This actual capacity was determined by adding water, 2 cups at a time, until the level of water was at the lip where the lid sits onto the stoneware. As anyone who uses a slow-cooker knows, you must cook with the lid in place on the lip of the stoneware designed for this purpose. You should never add more material to the slow-cooker which raises the level above this lip. If you added 4 more cups of water (to reach 7 quarts), the lid will displace the material and overflow the stoneware. In fact, if you added even another one-half cup of water, this would cause the material to be displaced from the stoneware onto the top of the lid. Neither of these events is recommended when slow cooking.

Note: 6 quarts = 12 pints = 24 cups = 192 fluid ounces = about 5.678 liters. This is the amount of material that can be effectively and safely cooked in the crock-pot scv700ss slow-cooker. This is 1 quart, 2 pints, 4 cups, or 32 fluid ounces less than advertised.

While calling this a 7-quart slow-cooker when it only holds 6 quarts should not deter a potential buyer who is more interested in reliability and effectiveness of the slow cooking process, be advised that if the capacity is important you may be disappointed. We are disappointed but will use this slow-cooker while we continue to seek one that is actually larger and as advertised.

Note also that the owner’s guide that comes with crock-pot scv700ss explicitly states the following: (1) ‘…always fill the stoneware 1/2 to 3/4 full…’, (2) ‘do not overfill stoneware…’, (3) ‘…do not fill stoneware higher than 3/4 full…’, and (4) ‘always cook with the lid on…’. These instructions, if followed, lower the capacity from the 6 quarts noted above to a manufacturer-recommended capacity of 3 to 4.5 quarts. This effectively makes the advertised 7-quart capacity a clear deception, not a mistake.

The aforementioned hamilton beach 8-quart slow-cooker (model 33182) is available for review on amazon. Anyone who has one is encouraged to post a review indicating the actual, measured capacity of hamilton beach 33182. One current review states that ‘this unit is an 8 qt…’ but does not indicate how this was determined, while another review says ‘…in reality i measure right at 7 1/2 quarts…’.

Finally, i want to again say that the quality of crock-pot scv700ss is excellent and i am confident it will be effective and reliable in slow cooking. My only complaint is the false advertising which conflicts with reality and the manufacturer’s own instructions.

I’m going to try the same meal on low and see if it cooks ok. It nearly ran out of water on high.