My slow cooker blew up & caused damage to my kitchen. Morphy Richards have sent it back to me saying it's not their problem.

[Bohica]

I've just received my slow cooker back through the post, no cover note/explination nothing.
So I phoned them & they are saying they have tested it & there is nothing wrong with it.

I was slow cooking a stew & moisture splashed onto a fuse socket next to the plug socket it was plugged into & the fuse socket caught fire, luckily we were at home at the time so we could deal with the fire but the socket is damaged & our worktop has a burn mark on it.

I took photo's of the damage & fired off an email to Morphey Richards explaining what had happened & I was asked to return the slow cooker to them to investigate.

It is still under warranty & we also have an extended 3 year warranty with it.

I asked the women at Morphey Richards what they planned to do about the damage to my kitchen & wether the company thought it perfectly acceptable to expect me to trust using this slow cooker again & was basically told it was not their problem.

The slow cooker was only half filled & cooking on medium & I used my sc during the colder months at least 3 times a week.

AIBU to think this is just not good enough?

[[http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/306/fire2003.jpg
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My slow cooker is the one I liberated from my mother when I left home. It dates to about 1983. So, not under guarantee anymore and the instruction booklet long since disintegrated.

@Tatty

My lid bobs up and down sometimes but I've never known it to splash. (diff model) - I second contacting trading standards.

I've had 3 slow cookers and I've yet to find one with a lead long enough to move it away from a socket. Wherever it is in the kitchen it's near a socket.

tatty I'm perfectly sure it didn't happen any other way than I have described.
It's hard to describe how full it was because I didn't take to much notice, I just made a stew to cook it the same way I have for years & years without any problems.

alt I've been putting sc#s in the same place in the same kitchen for over 5 years now & never had any problems, infact I don't think I have a kitchen space not close to a socket tbh.

I'm thinking they are at fault because their product may have a design fault which caused this to happen, I didn't do anything differently to normal use.

I have to say too that its idea of "slow cooking" is faster than mine! It doesnt do the bare simmer that others I have had do, it bubbles quite fast even on low.

OP, what model do you have? Sounds like it could the same as mine in which case I would happily join you in a complaint as although mine hasnt caused any damage, it is dangerous.

have you googled op? not sure what model yours is but there are a few people saying that the lids is 'loose' on there sc :)

Model No: 48715.

I have now received a letter from them basically telling me I am a liar & there is no fire damage to the sc. They have even said that the damage to the worktop is well away from the socket (that is where the sc was sat) and that the damage is a solid block so could not be caused by the sc.

I know what happened but I don't know why it happened & really feel like I am being fobbed off.

techinically, your contract is with the shop yo ubought it from - even if it's faulty, you should return it to them, not to MR - the shop is obliged under your warranty to send it off for repair, or replace it, according to their policy.

Thanks nickel I am going to take it back to the store tomorrow.

hi I know this is an old post but it flagged up on google when I searched, I've had the same problem as you OP, mine is also a Morphy Richards one, I'm lucky the lid was the opposite way to yours or unlucky as it caused a spillage on the floor which I then slipped on, guess that was my fault for not looking down ;)

I know how you mean it does it, spitting out of the side of the slow cooker on one point, kind of sounds like 'putputput' as does it, I've taken a video of it doing it too and if you want a copy of my video please feel free to message me and I'll try and email you it over, gravity may be a wonderful thing but so is basic physics, condensation/steam rises which means water can and does collect on the lid, if that lid isn't sealing correctly due to bad design then water by default WILL find an exit route which doesn't necessarily have to be downwards, that's called basic physics ;)

it can and does have the power to spray this far and wide, try to remember how steam power used to move major engines, if enough force gets behind the steam which in a slow cooker it can, the force can be extremely significant, mine was set away from the plug socket and was approximately 6" from the edge of the kitchen worktop and yet it DID have enough oomph to not only soak the worktop but also to spit directly onto the floor too! :(

sadly it seems the lid even though it's glass isn't heavy enough to seal the slow cooker properly, again I've had other makes and never come across this before, I bought this one as being oval shaped could put a chicken and cook larger meals in it plus with the removable crock pot being easier to remove and clean, now reading this and knowing that my kitchen could well have done the same I'm binning it, fuses are great but if they were 100% foolproof there'd never be electrical fires to worry about, water straight onto electrical will cause a fire, that's why they tell you not to use a water extinguisher on an electrical fire too......!

there is nothing in my booklet that warns about this happening and yet on searching Morphy Richards SC's it seems the oval one in particular is well known for this even though MR are denying it!

it's no fault of OP they aren't, they know IF they admit liability they are opening themselves to everyone who's had a problem being able to claim against them based on it, it doesn't mean they are right and users of the product are wrong!

User error.

Don't overfill. Slow cookers aren't sealed. Bear in mind it's like any other pan, although it cooks slower so contents can spill out.

Obvious really ?

I realise this is a zombie thread, but whilst reading it I was thinking "mine does that as well". Just had a look and it's the same model as OP's.
The lid sort of knocks against the dish and rattles which in turn spits out the condensation thats forms on the underside of the lid, so it has nothing to do with overfilling because that condensation forms regardless of how little is in the dish.

Of course, the chances of a splash of that liquid hitting the fuse and causing a fire are tiny and I suspect OP has been very unlucky here.

I've just checked mine and it's the same model. It's the first one we've had and I thought the spitting was normal, if it's not then I might replace it as it is quite worrying especially if you want to leave it on whilst out.

I put leek and potato soup in the other day, only half full and on low, didn't touch the lid but couple of hours later it was hissing and water was dribbling out and running down the side. Our kitchen layout doesn't allow for it to be moved very far away from the socket as the flex is quite short.

The problem is with your socket, not with the slow cooker. What if you had splashed water on the socket, or knocked a drink on it?
I can't imagine what sort of set up you have that this thing caught fire. Sounds like dodgy wiring at best.

Using for the first time tonight... Decided to try it while we r at home. Got mr also and was wondering if it's normal that there's no seal. Surely that will make the water reduce a lot in the 8 hours of cooking?? Nt a v good buy.

I have this slow cooker and it also spits and bubbles
the food ends up being very dry

defo a design fault.

I have had the exact same one for about 6-7 years now and use it regulary and have never had this problem. I only really cook on low or medium (sometimes start if off on high then turn it down) Are you cooking it on the high setting? I also have put too much in once or twice so its an inch from the top and have still not had it leak.

That's the slow cooker I have and it really doesn't cook well - I am a good cook but I just don't get the results described by other people - I have long suspected the lid isn't enough of a seal and it seems I'm probably right. I follow slow cooker recipes properly and get chewy meat and rock hard veg.

So this is the Morphy Richards 48715 slow cooker? And it seems to be a design fault, experienced by several posters?

Thanks OP. I've been thinking of getting a slow cooker, and will avoid that one.

My morphs Richards one does this too and I end up with splash marks in the counter tops. It's a design fault

There are threads about this on the moneysavingexpert website too, talking about concerns with Murphy Richards slow cooker lids.

I know this thread is old but it's a shame to see people up-thread wading in to the OP in quite a ridiculous fashion. People are too quick to jump on others sometimes around here.

Mine does it too. Condensed steam runs down the inside of the lid and pools on the ledge the lid sits on. The ceramic boils the little pool of water and it makes the lid shift and rattle, and the water splashes out.

I have an Argos own brand one as well which doesn't do this (it also doesn't run quite as hot).