Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I grew up with my mom cooking stews and stuff on low temps in the oven while we were gone, so I've never given it a thought when I have my crockpot going and I'm not at home. I understand the fear though.

I'm too scared to leave mine on while I'm away from home too. Sometimes the sides can get quite hot and so the fire hazard of something getting up against it concerns me. I use mine all the time overnight for steel cut oats and on weekends for suppers.

When I first got mine, I had the same worry. So, I turned it on several times overnight, enough to convince me that all is fine. I do prefer to use it when I know I'll have a shorter workday though.

I do believe that appliances like slow cookers are UL listed, and thus are tested for their propensity not to cause fires. Of course this doesn't rule out faulty wiring in your house causing a fire, or a malfunction caused by deterioration or damage to the slow cooker.