Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I had been debating buying this slow cooker for several weeks. It has all the features that I was looking for, did well in consumer tests, was priced right, and had a fair number of glowing reviews. The only thing that gave me pause was that many of the negative reviews all stated the exact same problem, which was that the cooker would sometimes switch itself completely off for no reason. This of course was a very big concern. I decided to take a chance and buy it anyway, secretly hoping that others has just received a batch of duds and/or that Hamilton Beach had corrected the problem. Unfortunately, I was wrong. The very first time I used the cooker to make a chicken and vegetable dish the slow cooker shut itself off completely approximately 3 hours into cooking for no reason. It wasn't overfilled and it was plugged in correctly. Fortunately, I was at home that day so I was able to turn it back on within a few minutes. I promptly returned it for a refund and bought the Cuisinart PSC-400 4 Quart Programmable Slow Cooker, Brushed Stainless Steel instead which has worked like a dream, doesn't take up as much space on the counter and is the perfect size for my family of four. Buyer beware. Hamilton Beach knows that their cooker has this problem but they have no plans to fit it. FYI: While the snap shut lid on the Hamilton Beach is an attractive feature, I found it a bit cumbersome to lock and unlock.