The Hamilton Beach 33182 is a great option if you need plenty of room to cook family meals. With a five-year warranty, this slow cooker is built to last. To compare with other models, head over to our best slow cookers guide. Or, for alternatives, check out the best Instant Pots.
This device stood apart from others amongst our taste testers. The beef was tender and the vegetables and broth of the stew were flavorful. One taste tester stated that the flavor continued to deepen as you ate, which was something he hadn't experienced from other devices. Whether this cooking experience was due to the state of the ingredients or to the slow cooker itself is unclear.
In our evaporation test, this device lost a whopping 22 percent of its water after running on high for four hours and reaching a temperature of 195 degrees. This was the most water loss of any device we tested with the next closest water loss being 16 percent. When run on low for four hours, this device lost only 8 percent, which is neither high nor low. Since it did lose so much water when running on high, you will want to make sure you place enough liquid inside to prevent your food from becoming dry and chewy.
Even though this was the largest capacity slow cooker we tested, it wasn't the heaviest. It weighs 12.1 pounds, which is to be expected for an eight-quart slow cooker.
Hamilton Beach covers this basic slow cooker with a five-year warranty, so you can rest easy knowing that your device is covered for a few years longer than most others. It also happens to be the most powerful device running on 375 watts, while the next most powerful one runs on 320 watts.
When you are done cooking, both the lid and the bowl can be placed inside a dishwasher to save you some cleanup time.
This is a basic unit, so it doesn't come with any accessories, nor is there a timer or digital display. There is a warm setting, but you will need to manually switch to it when your food is done cooking. If you'd prefer a slow cooker that offers a digital display and automatically switches to warm you might be interested in BELLA 13973W.
No recipes accompany this Hamilton Beach slow cooker, so you will need to find your own to get you started.
The cord is 26 inches long, which is longer than the average 25 inches, so it might be able to help you reach an outlet easier. We were surprised to find a built-in cord storage area on the back of the slow cooker, which made it easier for us to save room on our counter when it wasn't in use.
