Consider using crock pot replacement parts to lengthen the life of that slow cooker in your kitchen

I had the idea of discussing Rival Crock Pot parts kicking around in my head for awhile now with this blog and something I recently experienced pushed me to finally do so; Everybody and their Cousin know about slow cookers in general and Rival Crock Pot slow cookers in particular. Indeed, the rival brand of slow cooker, their crock pot, is likely the most widly used brand of slow cooker out there. Everbody knows how slow cookers can free up many hours that would otherwise have been spent slaving away in the kitchen and instead can be spent doing something - anything else that you may wish to spend that new found time doing.

Okay, we are all on the same page when it comes to the idea of crock pot slow cookers - or any other brand of slow cooker for that matter, but I don't believe that we all share the same level of awareness when it comes to the subject of maintaining your trusted slow cooker appliance. A slow cooker is like most other kitchen appliances in that if you maintain it properly, you can expect it to have a long and useful life in your home's kitchen. Of course in the case of crock pot slow cookers, this means that over time you might end up needing to replace one or more parts of the crock; whether it is the crock pot lid, the knob on the lid, a handle on the outside of the crock pot, or even the stoneware crock pot liner, there are a number of areas that might need replacing and that without too much trouble can often be replaced by the purchase of a new part. To some, the idea that you can replace these parts of the crock pot when necessary is a relatively obvious one, but to many others that idea just doesn't occur to them. Unfortunately this means that many times an appliance such as a crock pot is simply discarded when it could easily be maintained. Here is an example: the other day I was taking the garbage down to the dumpster at the back of our building; when I got there I noticed that someone had left a well used crock pot sitting next to the bin with a sign attached to the top of it that read:

"Free crockpot that still works - help yourself. Handle on the lid is missing."

I didn't take it because i already have aslow cooker, but I thought that somebody would probably grab it since it looked like it was still in decent shape despite missing the handle on the lid. I thought that it was actually too bad that it had not been left at a charity shop instead of at the back of our building but I didn't think much more on it - after all, people give up and give away things all of the time. It was later that day when I went down to the dumpster for a second time with another bag of garbage and looked in the dumpster that I saw it: someone had taken the crock pot and thrown it in the dumpster as if it were garbage.

This really bothered me as I thought about it on my way back upstairs; I realized that people had given up on that appliance twice just because it needed a simple part replacement! A simple handle for the lid and it would have been nearly as good as new. I went back down and rescued it from the trash, wiped it off and took it down to my nearest charity shop the next time I was passing by. I guess the message that I am trying to get across here is that sometimes, in this consumer society, people are just too quick to discard what they have got for something new and shiny when maybe they shouldn't. It might take abit more effort to track down an appropriate replacement part for an appliance but it is almost always going to be the cheaper alternative and in the long run it is probably going to save you money.

If you don't know where to look to find replacement parts for your crock pot then let me give you some suggestions. One place to look is on the crock pot home page (crockpot.com); this site has a variety of rival crockpot replacement parts available for order. As well, a simple search on Google or Yahoo will yield up a long list of retailers offering replacement parts for many different models of crock pot slow cookers. Other online alternatives are to search on ebay or amazon or any relevant forum for someone offering a used crock pot for sale cheap. You can also consider posting in the relevant forums that you are looking for a cheap used crock pot to use for parts.

If the traditional brick and mortar storefront is more your cup of tea then you can always try an appliance parts store. Other options are to consider actually buying a whole new crock pot for parts if you are lucky enough to find one for cheap at an auctioneers or overstock retail location. Sometimes you can find a whole one for almost the same price as a replacement part and it will give you asource of replacement parts for the future if they should be needed. Of course don't forget your local charity or used goods store, you might find a used appliance that is mising a different part from the one you are seeking which is good news for you.