How to choose a Slow Cooker

I am no expert but I hope my 'typing out loud' will be of use to others trying to workout which slow cooker to use.  For those who are not in the UK, a slow cooker is a crock pot, a way of cooking things very slowly over a long time at low cost.  They are great for taking tough meat, cooking it very slowly all day and turning out something 'melt in the mouth'.  In times of rising fuel costs they are invaluable as they cost very little to run so a casserole is not only inexpensive in ingredients but also in fuel costs.

1. Research what is out there.  Check on Amazon and Ebay to see what is available.  The variety will probably surprise you.  There are one or two that just have one setting, others have High and Low settings.  I want an inexpensive one.

2. Decide what type of gadget, whether just a slow cooker or multi function.  Concentrate on what you are likely to actually use it for, not what you aspire to perhaps one day using it for.  My experience is that with a multi function gadget there are more things to go wrong and more bits to lose.  I want a straightforward slow cooker.

3. Decide on size.  There is the issue of capacity.  I am cooking for four, use the slow cooker for joints and plan realistically to curry for lunch any casserole left over from dinner.  I am not planning on batch cooking as anything frozen for batch cooking goes into the freezer and is never seen again.  Between three and four litres will be fine for me.  That is a medium capacity slow cooker.  There are bigger and smaller ones.  Then consider the 'footprint' of the slow cooker, how much counter space and cupboard space it will take up.

4. The brand and source of the slow cooker.  If you need to there are usually slow cookers at car boot sales and on freecycle.  If you do have choice get recommendations and reliable makes.

5. How pretty do you want it?  There are all sorts of options.  I want inexpensive coloured.

Here is one I noticed

It is over £200 on Amazon and looks terrifyingly complicated.  I almost certainly won't get it.