The BELLA 13973W holds five quarts, making it a good option for a small family or dinner party. The digital interface makes it a preferred choice for anyone constantly on the go, since it adds convenience. It provides some of the best cooking results of any device we tested and doesn't get too hot on the outside, so you can feel safer about leaving it alone in your kitchen without burning anything.
It was a favorite amongst our taste testers who stated that the beef offered good depth of flavor with a little bit of tang while the broth was less oily than other devices and yet still flavorful. Oddly enough, in our evaporation test, this device only lost 10 percent of water when set on high for 4 hours, but it lost 13 percent when set on low for 4 hours. This was the worst low-setting evaporation score of any device we tested. It did much better in our external temperature test with the front side of the unit coming in at only 113 degrees on the high setting while the sides near the handles measured at 140 degrees, which is much lower than other devices in our comparison. This makes this unit safer and easier to both transport and leave in a room.
The handles didn't get very warm, but they weren't as easy to grip as some of the others in our comparison since they were so slick. When you are done cooking, both the inner bowl and lid can be placed in the dishwasher to save you cleanup time.
You can set the digital timer between 30 minutes and 20 hours with the ability to adjust the timer at 30-minute intervals. BELLA covers this slow cooker with a two-year warranty, which is better than the average one year of coverage but isn't as good as the Hamilton Beach 33182's five-year warranty.
Unlike the other slow cookers in our comparison, this one has a mirror-like reflective exterior instead of the usual brushed stainless-steel look. While this makes the unit look nice when clean, it also allows food-drips and fingerprints to show up more easily than other devices.
The BELLA instruction manual features two recipes for you to try. If you happen to lose your manual, you can find it on BELLA's website, recipes included. There are no additional accessories that come with this slow cooker.
We measured the cord at 27.5 inches, which makes it tie with the other BELLA slow cooker, KitchenSmith by BELLA, for having the longest cord. This means that you will be more likely to reach an outlet from your preferred counter.
