Hamilton Beach 8-Quart Slow Cooker with 3 Cooking Settings, Dishwasher-Safe Stoneware Crock & Glass Lid - Black - Perfect for Family Dinners, Potlucks & Holiday Meals

I have NEVER written a review on anything, and I have purchased hundreds of items online over the years, but this slow cooker has inspired me to give my humble opinion.I didn't think there was such a thing as a bad slow cooker. So when my last slow cooker bit the dust during the holidays last year, I just bopped on to Amazon and figured that I would pick up a medium of the road slow cooker for a reasonable price and all would be well with the world, once again.Since I was planning on serving a beef roast for Christmas dinner, I wanted to make sure that I got one big enough and it wouldn't take 15 hours to cook. I quickly browsed through the various slow cookers on Amazon, read a few reviews and purchased what I thought was a lovely cooker - Crock-Pot SCCPVL610-S 6-Quart Programmable Cook & Carry Oval Slow Cooker, Stainless Steel. It was only $50.00 and I figured that it would fit the bill, nicely.Boy, was I wrong! Right out of the box, Christmas Day, I could tell that this slow cooker and I weren't going to get along. It heated up way too quickly, ran HOT the entire cooking time (on low), and by the time I was ready to serve dinner most of it was stuck to the side of the cooker. Dinner tasted slightly burnt, the veggies were WAY over cooked and even after soaking the darn thing for 2 hours after serving the meal, I never could get all the stuck on crud off the sides.Well, needless to say, I'm not the brightest bulb on the tree sometimes, so I thought that I would give this worthless piece of junk another few tries before I finally gave up and threw it in the dumpster.Ah, but now this is where the good part starts...Back to Amazon to look at slow cookers. (I absolutely LOVE Amazon and my Prime membership) This time I decided that I was going to REALLY read all the reviews, compare and then make a logical, fact based decision.I immediately liked the reviews I read for this slow cooker - Hamilton Beach 33182 8-Quart Oval Slow Cooker, Black - but was somewhat concerned by a couple of people who said that it "ran hot". Having had that experience, I didn't want to repeat it, so I continued looking at every slow cooker under God's green Earth. I kept thinking that there had to be something wrong with a cooker that was so big and yet so inexpensive, so I kept looking. After another couple of hours of reading, debating and analyzing, I decided that I would give this slow cooker a try.Well, it arrived safe and sound in just a couple of days, of course. (Still love Amazon) And I proceeded to use it today for the first time.I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SLOW COOKER! The temperature was perfect! The dinner was perfect! The clean up was perfect! And, once again, I am in love with my slow cooker and can hardly wait for Winter so I can give it a really good work out.If you are reading this and considering purchasing this slow cooker, BUY IT! It's absolutely wonderful. Good temperature, great size, fantastic price and all around, I think the best slow cooker I have ever owned. I'm considering buying another one as a back up.Okay, now you know why I never write reviews...There just isn't enough hours in the day. But this product was well worth the time. :)