Rival Crock Pot Parts: Some simple TLC can keep your Crock Pot cooking

Some simple DIY service and maintenance (and a few replacement parts) can mean a long life for the Crock Pot in your kitchen.

You know, when I recently became more aware of this whole 'world' of Crock Pots, I assumed that most Crock Pot owners were probably so attached to their Rival slow cookers that they would be motivated (when necessary) to seek out replacement parts to keep their Crock Pots in perfect working order. Well, when I visited a few different forums out there on the world wide web and read through some of the comments and questions from people discussing their Crock Pot appliance I was surprised by how many of them were asking about where to find the best deal on a new CrockPot simply because of relatively minor issues with their existing slowcooker appliance. I read comments from people who had resigned themselves to purchasing entire new Crock Pots just because of a broken lid or a cracked removable liner.

Wow. A damaged removable liner? A damaged lid?

Shouldn't it be obvious that in this day and age you can find so many things online if you really want to? If someone is not internet savy and doesn't know how to find things online, fine, but if someone is capable of visiting a support forum to find out something about their slow cooker, you would think that they are also capable of using the internet to find replacement parts, right? Huh, go figure.

So many of the smaller problems one might face with their slow cooker are easily managed by acquiring the appropriate replacement part. In addition, some of the bigger problems might be dealt with even after the warranty period has passed, by doing some searching to find out if your model of slow cooker happens to be on any existing product recall list. It is surprising just how many popular brand name appliance manufacturers will periodically put out such a list to inform their customer base of any issues with their products that need to be dealt with. However, I don't want anyone to take my comments the wrong way and think that I am suggesting that Rival has regular ongoing product recall issues; they are like all other large, diverse brand name companies in that they have the occasional product issues that might necessitate the occasional recall of a product.

Many of the more basic service and maintenance issues that might arise can be dealt with by the consumer themselves; something such as a cracked or damaged crock pot lid can easily be replaced. You might not find much in the way of replacement crock pot parts in your local region but that is not really a problem considering the large number of retailers with an online presence that can supply you with any needed replacements. Both ceramic and glass replacement crock pot lids are available for Rival crockpots ranging from the 2.5 quart size upto the 6 quart size. Some of the more common 5 and 6 quart models of crock pot, such as model #s 3351, 3355, 3504, 3550, 3656, 3760, 3845, 3850 and 3950, are all sold with a round glass lid that is replaceable with replacement crock pot lid model # 230-332. Crock Pot model #s 4745 and 5445 come with a lid that is replaceable with replacement lid model # 5445-bc. If for some reason your crockpot lid is in fine shape but the knob attached to your lid needs to be replaced, replacement knobs are also available for purchase.

I already hinted at the availability of replacement crock pot liners and sure enough these are available, too. The inner stoneware liner of the Rival crock can be easily replaced if the necessity to do so should arise. Rival Crock Pot replacement liners are available for crock pots in the 3.5 and 6.5 quart range. There is a replacement liner available for the Rival Smart Pot that is divided, allowing for preparation of more than one meal at the same time in the same Pot! This divided liner is also dishwasher safe, scratch resistant, and microwaveable to boot!

It really is impressive to me just how much maintenance or servicing of a Rival crockpot can be done by the owner of the appliance him/herself. And as I said, a quick search online with Google, Yahoo or MSN will reveal a long list of Rival crockpot replacement parts dealers and retailers ready to supply you with any particular part that you might need.

** UPDATE **

After a number of comments here asking for more suggestions or solutions regarding where to find a variety of rival crock pot parts, I decided to write a new post on the subject outlining my ideas on how to find those elusive rival crock pot replacement parts that you might be hunting for. Well after I wrote that post I realized that because of the way the internet works, many of the visitors that I may be lucky enough to get to this site might arrive here on this page and not see me more recent post, so ... I decided to summarize here briefly some of the more salient points of the post.

Besides the official crockpot.com website, there are other alternatives to find crock pot parts online; you can try sites like ebay, amazon, craigslist, kijiji, and any relevant forum for people who might be offering up their used crock pot for sale; they might be selling it in working condition assuming that anyone who buys it would be doing so to use it as acomplete crock pot slow cooker, however you would be buying it for parts. As well, you could try the opposite approach on some of these sites and post a note saying that you are looking for a used slow cooker appliance to in fact buy it for parts - you might end up with someone's castoff on the cheap because they were about to just throw it into the trash or give it to charity thinking it had no monetary value.

You could also consider trying a variety of different brick and mortar alternatives: liquidation stores, auction/bankruptcy merchandise stores and charity shops are all possible answers in your quest for that replacement slow cooker lid, handle, stoneware liner or knob. You could also try taking your existing crock pot slow cookers to the local kitchen appliance store/retailer and seeing if it is similar enough to a newer model which might have replacement parts available if your model does not.

Okay, I hope that this public service announcement has been of some help to you. Happy hunting!

The Rival Crock Pot brand: more than just slow cookers(can you say accessories?)

A wide range of Crock Pot brand Accessories and Gadgets, or a few words about
accessorizing the Crock Pot's convenience...

It wasn't long ago that I wasn't any kind of Crock Pot slow cooker enthusiast. In fact, it was probably in the last year that my awareness of the whole discipline of slow cooking really took place. It seems that my wife had owned tbis one CrockPot for years and had got by making do with it; It was brown and round and had many years of cooking in its history. My wife had no complaints about it because it always got the job done. This feeling changed however the moment she set her eyes on her new Crock Pot; Last Summer we received a number of shower gifts for our Wedding, including a brand spanking new shiny brushed steel Crock Pot, complete with a mini dipper accessory. This was most likely a gateway moment for me. I say this because it was not soon after that my curiosity of all things Crock Pot was spawned. Learning about the existence of that shiny new cooking appliance that appeared to make cooking so damn easy, as well as the fact that there were actually accessories out there that assisted one in their endeavours made me want to know more about this whole new world of convenient cooking that had opened up before me...

Considering how easy it is to access information via the internet today, it didn't take me long to find out just how wide and diverse a range of products Rival is offering to Crock Pot devotees these days. This of course was in addition to the interesting tidbits of Rival Crock Pot history that I also uncovered.

I was intrigued to find out that in addition to the regular Crock Pot, there also exists a programmable slow cooker made by Rival, called the Smart Pot. It never would have occured to me that there would even really be a market for such an appliance given the basic nature of the workings of the Crock Pot. Ah, but that just shows that I was limited in my thinking; Who wouldn't want the option of being able to have your slow cooker start cooking at a predetermined time after you have already left home for the day? For example, say you have a recipe that requires you to cook for only a few hours (even on low) but you will be out for a lot longer than that. the obvious answer would be to somehow have the cooking start after you have left, ie. a timer function of some sort. I can pretty much imagine that the day this feature was released on a Crock Pot, there were slow cooker enthusiasts thinking: 'Yes, finally!'

Another Crock Pot variation is the transportable Crock Pot. This slow cooker comes replete with a fastenable lid which is truly invaluable for those that want to take their Crock Pot slow cooked masterpieces on the go with them once they have been prepared, or for those that might have to travel to another location to do the actual cooking. In either case, whether you are coming or going with the food in your slow cooker, it is nice to know that falling/tipping lids are not going to be a concern!

I already mentioned the Rival Mini-Dipper Crock Pot accessory, which I think is a curious and convenient little gadget (if you are into sauces). However, there are a number of other interesting and quite convenient Crock Pot accessories out there (and if you don't believe me, you can see it for yourself by using your computer to make a quick search on the internet for websites advertising a variety of these accessories). One such item is the Double Dipper Crock Pot, that comes complete with a divided decorative crock liner that allows you to prepare two different things at once, or to prepare some heated sauces and then present them to your guests at the table (in the aforementioned decorative divided liner).

Another convenient type of accessory are the meat racks that come in both round and oval designs, and are made available in both small and medium sizes for both the round and oval design.

If you are someone that does have to transport their Crock Pot on a regular basis, then you might be interested in one of the various Crock Pot travel cases that, you guessed it, come in a range of shapes and sizes to suit many of the different Crock Pots out there. If your Crock Pot stays pretty stationary most of the time but you want to keep it covered up and avoid it getting dusty when it is not in use, then one of the varying sizes of Crock Pot dust covers might be up your alley.

Now I was also pleasantly surprised to find that there is a range of official Crock Pot brand heat-resistant silicone stainless steel cooking utensils; Tongs, forks, spatulas, spoons, ladles, and slotted ladles are all available for use specifically with your Crock Pot. Of course you can make use of these utensils while following along with any one of the recipes that you might find in one of the Rival Crock Pot sanctioned cook books that are out on the market.

Did you know that there are even several different potpourri scents available that are Crock Pot sanctioned? That's right, you now can choose from Orange Spice Scent Potpourri, Wildflower Scent Potpourri, or Peach Scent Potpourri. Now that's one that I didn't see coming...

Of course each and every item that I have mentioned above is currently available through both the official Rival Crock Pot website (click the link to see for yourself) or through any one of a number of online merchants and retailers who are easy enough to find through a simple search on the internet.

The Rival Crock Pot: A history of time saving convenience

CROCK POT means CONVENIENCE

When it comes to the kitchen, there have been a number of appliances which have been considered unbelievably innovative at least for the short term; often, however, this opinion is abandoned as the appliance itself drops to the wayside and is forgotten almost as quickly as it had come to prominence. It is pretty much a given that today's late night infomercial marvel is tomorrow's forgotten appliance, just taking up space in the home.

One most impressive exception to this rule has been (and continues to be) the Rival Crock Pot brand slow cooker. For decades now this kitchen appliance has truly been helping domestic cooks succeed in the kitchen. So much has been said by so many about this kitchen marvel. Truly, what says the most about the CrockPot is the fact that it is so popular the world over as a kitchen slow-cooking appliance. This well earned popularity has been earned over the decades and has so far appeared to stand the test of time. This popularity and longevity is the result of basic concepts that are behind the success of the Rival Crock Pot: it's ease of use and its time saving nature.

The Crock Pot really is easy to use. I say this as someone who does not have the most experience in the kitchen and who has reached the point of confidence and competence with only a limited number of kitchen appliances - and some of those only because my charitable wife effectively held my hand as I learned my way around them. Saying this however, I have had no real issues or concerns with the Crock Pot. Even the most challenged kitchen cavemen can learn their way around it. If you can clean peel and chop up your vegetables, or unwrap and wash the meats you buy at your local grocery store, then you are halfway there because you have learned how to prepare your ingredients for their time in the crock pot; it isn't really a leap from that to actually cooking them in the slow cooker, because it pretty much involves just throwing your chosen ingredients into the slow cooker and setting and forgetting it for a few hours. That doesn't sound too hard, does it? And if you do end up cooking your meals with a Crock Pot slow cooker, I'm sure that you will find some way to take advantage of all that extra time you will have as a result of using the slow cooking method to practically let your meal cook itself!

Saying what I have about having extra time leads me to my other point that I was making about the Crock Pot and its time saving nature. No matter how much things change, there will always be one constant: people always seem to have too many things to do and not quite enough time to do them all in. This applies to everyone, and not just to those responsible for making sure that dinner is always on the table for their family. Whether you are cooking for a whole family or just cooking for one, we should all appreciate anything that legitimately gives us back some precious time instead of just eating it up. The Rival Crock Pot slow cooker is definitely one such tool.

Think about it: what more than simply prepping the necessary ingredients and then throwing them into the slow cooker do you have to do? Sure you can do more, as much or as little as you like, really, but it is really up to you in the end. In fact, as I came to realize, the more you use it and grow accustomed to its workings, the more you may feel compelled to do with your Crock Pot recipes. Keep in mind that the more you get used to using it, the more you can do with your slow cooker in the same amount of time as when you started out just doing the basics.

I could spend time and words regailing you with the familiar ( and often long-winded ) story of the person who comes home in the late afternoon after working all day and who has to go out again that evening, while in between that they have to also find the time to get the evening supper on the table for the whole family, or how about the story of the person who has to have everything ready for the dinner party that they are hosting?

In both examples, the story is one of pressure, stress and tight schedules all of which we can relate to. In both scenarios the introduction of the Crock Pot into the mix is shown to be a solution that can really make the difference: a few minutes of prep time in the morning followed by slow cooking your recipe during the day, and presto you have the dinner ready for that night! Whether the time saved by doing this means more quality time to spend with your family, more time to socialize with your guests, or simply just more R&R time for you to relax on the sofa with a nice drink - whatever, it means you have more time to do with as you please!

CROCK POT HISTORY

If you want to hear about an interesting history, the Rival Crock Pot definitely has that. In fact the Crock Pot is something of a byproduct of some professional cooks experimenting in the company kitchen. Rival actually has something of a history when it comes to introducing new kitchen appliance concepts into the home as well as experimenting with and introducing a new twist to existing kitchen appliances. As far back as the early nineteen-thirties, the Rival corporation has been introducing innovative products. One of their earliest forays into consumer items was the introduction of the Rival Can-O-Mat in 1932. Like I said, Rival has also added a twist to a number of more traditional items already in the home kitchen: More recently, Rival has released versions of its Fryers, Skillets, and Griddles, all with removable parts.

So what about the Crock Pot?

In late 1970, the Rival corporation acquired the assets of a smaller appliance company called Naxon Utilities Corp. One of theses assets was a device known at the time as the kitchen beanery. This item was a basic bean slow cooker, and was composed of awhite steel shell, a glazed brown crock liner and an aluminum lid. The Rival company had their own in-house development cooks play around with this little appliance and it wasn't long before they realized that the beanery actually cooked meat even more effectively than it cooked beans! The company realized that they had a potential winner on their hands and soon after, the Crock Pot was born. The first Crock Pot was released in 1971, and was a hit with consumers. It featured a round red steel outer shell and glass lid. You have probably seen apicture of one of these somewhere along the line, and of course with the advent and growth of the internet, pictures of this early Crock Pot are easily available.

In 1974, Rival introduced the removable stoneware liner to their Crock Pot appliance. This improvement in the design made a big difference in the ease of clean up of the slow cooker after use. It's a lot easier to have to just remove a stoneware liner and clean it than to have to clean it while still in the actual Crock Pot base unit! As well, the shape had undergone some modification, with a more oval design beginning to emerge.

By 1981, only ten years after its introduction to the consumer market, the Rival Crock Pot had reached $30 million in sales. That's a lot of slow cookers and a lot of people happy to have found an easier way to prepare their family meals.

By 1997, the basic shaping of the Rival Crock Pot had been modified to the more familiar full oval design that we see today.

In 2001, the Rival company advanced slow cooking even further with the development and introduction to market of the Smart Pot, the first ever programmable slow cooker.

Below is a visual that should give you some idea about the progression of the Crock Pot from its inception upto today.




It hasn't stopped there however and it seems like every few years brings us something new in the Crock Pot's design. All of these innovations have played their part in shaping consumers perceptions of the Rival Crock Pot brand of slow cooker; these innovations in its design have all contributed in making a brand name (Crock Pot) synonymous with the category of appliance (slow cookers). To put it another way, when you think of cleaning your ears you probably think of Q-Tips and not cotton tipped swabs; when you think of covering up a cut you probably think of Band Aid brand bandages and not adhesive elastic bandages. When it is time to clean your windows or mirrors, you probably think of Windex instead of spray window cleaner, right? Well I am pretty sure that for most people it is the same way if and when they think about slow cookers: they are thinking about slow cookers but the name that comes into their minds is probably Crock Pot.

That alone really says a lot about the success of the Crock Pot brand.