Warning: That slow cooker I left on overnight almost started a fire last week

Last Tuesday I put a pork shoulder in my slow cooker before bed (like I've done a hundred times). Around 3am I woke up to the smell of burning plastic and found the cord had melted against the counter edge. The outlet was hot enough that the plug was discolored. Turns out the cord was frayed right where it meets the base, probably from years of yanking it out. I never checked that part because the outside looked fine. Has anyone else had a slow cooker cord go bad like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerycarr20d ago

Hold up, I gotta push back a little here. A cord getting frayed from normal use isn't really a design flaw, it's just wear and tear. Most slow cookers tell you right in the manual to check the cord now and then, and to unplug it by the plug, not yank the cord. You said yourself you did it the same way a hundred times without ever looking at the base, so the real issue is that you never did a simple safety check on a 10 year old appliance. It's kind of like leaving a space heater plugged in for years and then being shocked when the outlet gets hot.

the_blair20d ago

The cord was discolored at the plug? That's the kind of thing you'd see in a house fire documentary, not in your kitchen at 3am.