To worry about leaving slow cooker on?

[just2comment]

Sorry it's a boring one!
It's made it's at out of the depths of the cupboard as I want to make meals that are ready for when we all get home on my working days.

I'm worried to leave it on all day whilst no one is home! It will be on from 8.30am to 6.15pm, is that too long? I feel scared I'll come home and the house has gone up.

Get a plug in timers to come on at mid day for 6 hours or 2pm for a 4 hour cook

It should be fine. It's designed to do this. Is there a low setting you can put it on? Maybe get it PAT tested if you are worried about it, or replace with a new one?

🙊 I leave mine on overnight regularly and never have any issues. So far as I'm aware they're designed for this very thing 🤷🏻‍♀️

They are made for that kind of thing, I leave mine all the time. I wouldn't get a plug timer if it's electrical fire safety you're worried about

I leave mine longer than that all the time. It's fine.

IIRC fridge/freezers are among the worst appliances (fire safety wise) and most prone to going up in flames. I wouldn’t worry about it tbh there’s always a (minuscule!) risk with whatever you leave plugged in

It's equivalent of leaving a light on or so my DH tells me.

Hi it will be fine , I do this regurlarly . Do leave it on low though . I think it's so ingrained in all of us to switch everything off before leaving home that it feels dangerous !

Do you turn off your fridge when you leave the house?
One keeps it warm, the other cold.
It's ok :-)

just2comment How about a hay box instead?
The old fashioned version is literally a large box insulated with a lot of tightly packed hay. You heat up the food to boiling, put it into a warm crock, and leave it in the middle all day. Its pretty easy to knock up an insulated box. And they don't use any electricity.

It's equivalent of leaving a light on or so my DH tells me.

Digressing a bit but I haven't left lights on ever since one of my DCs left the toilet light on and when I went in there later, there was a smell of burning and the thing that you screw on to keep the lampshade in place prior to putting the bulb in had scorch marks on it.

Had to get an electrician to replace the light. I kept wondering what would have happened if we'd been out.

It's a newish one and big brand name, I'm going to go for it then. So fed up of coming home and faffing to put a meal together.

@Inebriati Sounds good but in reality my dog will either try to shag it or sleep in it 😬

@Wheat2Harvest 😬😬 this is what troubles me!

It’s fine. Do you switch your fridge off? If not, what’s the difference?

I feel the same OP! Rationally I know that's what they're designed for and the risk is tiny but I can't quite bring myself to leave the house with it left on.

I have used a slow cooker for at least a decade, get a plug in timer for yours so it comes on when you want it to.

It is very safe and as others have said we leave fridge freezers on permanently.

It is wonderful coming home to a cooked meal.

YANBU to feel anxious about anything ever, but you are literally using an appliance as it is intended!

The bonus of coming back to dinner ready will outweigh worry anyway after a few days of getting used to it

if the damn things going to ignite I would rather not be in! (& seriously they are safe to leave on)

I have a related question, kind of! I got a slow cooker with the intention of using it for weekday meals, but my partner thinks that it’s cruel to the dog because the house is going to fill with the smell of cooking and make him want the food...

And then that made ME think, what if he tried to get into the slow cooker I do t actually think that’s likely but still!!

^ oh I guess my question is does anyone have a slow cooker and a dog and does it seem to affect them in any way??

I have a slow cooker and a dog and she honestly takes no notice. I don't even think she can tell the smell of cooking food from the smell of (f'rexample) air freshner.

Mind you, she eats week-dead rats so...her sense of smell might not be the most reliable. But she remains unbothered and isn't a drooling mass of starvation when I come in having left a stew on all day.

That's what they're made for. Alternatively use an electronic pressure cooker and do it when you get in

I worry about this too.... I did a test a couple times when I was home or back in a couple hours before leaving it all day at work. Now mine is on from 7am - 7.30pm most days! Now I mostly worry there's not enough liquid and it'll go dry so everything is cooked in a lot of moisture!!

@GreenTulips that’s not good advice. You hugely increase your risk of food poisoning doing that. Food needs to quickly come to a safe cooking temperature and won’t do that if you use a timer. Some slow cookers have a keep warm function which would be a better option.

I always put mine on overnight for that very reason. I have a plug in timer but have never used it with the slow cooker, I don't like the idea of leaving meat out at room temperature for food safety reasons