Hi
I have been having issues with a Sunbeam HP-5520 slow cooker.
We have found the temperature control to be very poor with the product cooking too hot. Also the external casing gets exceptionally hot necessitating the use of an insulating mat on the bench top to prevent damage.
Has anyone else had good or bad experiences with this product?
Regardless of any input you receive, it reads like you are not happy with the particular item you have in your hands, but if you read your owners manual, it states:
• Do not touch any metal surface of the slow cooker whilst in use as it will be hot.
• Do not operate slow cooker when placed directly onto a bench top. Place a heat proof mat or chopping board underneath to protect the surface.
That does not seem user friendly, and it is surprising Choice would not have called that out as a bad point, and they apparently did not.
We have the same model Sunbeam, but we’ve found the opposite - that it cooks too slowly. Recipes that used to take around 8 hours in our previous Kenwood, take around 10 hours in the Sunbeam.
We haven’t noticed that the outside becomes any hotter than our previous slow cooker, and haven’t had any damage to our benchtop, which is Formica.
I agree with your comments TheBBG.
I did read the manual but did not expect the unit to reach the temperatures it does. The first time we used it the stone bench top became very warm and that was when I sourced an insulated mat to protect the bench top. I too would have expected this to be highlighted in the Choice testing.
Hi Scott
I cooked lamb shanks yesterday which is what spurred my post. Our previous cooker would allow me to put it on in the morning and when I returned in the evening it would be perfect, approximately 10 hours on slow.
The Sunbeam had them cooked in approximately 4.5 hours and it was lucky I was home to turn it down to Keep Warm. There appears to be a variation in unit performance.
Sounds like you have a faulty temperature control in this instance where it is running away, rather than being regulated. If it’s still new or covered under warranty try to get it exchanged.
I can’t add any more to @jcouch’s suggestion that you try for a replacement, as it doesn’t appear to be fit for purpose.
CHOICE only tested a single example of each model. It definitely sounds like yours has a thermostat that is faulty. We’d be interested to hear other Community members’ experiences with slow cookers not behaving as a slow cooker should.
